'Orange Is the New Black' Season 3 Cast: Laverne Cox Opens Up About Not 'Feeling Safe' Growing Up & How Life Got Better [VIDEO]
Orange Is the New Black actress Laverne Cox recently shared her complicated journey as a trans woman, admitting that she felt "shame" growing up.
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Cox has become one of the most well-known trans women in the world due to her breakout performance in Netflix's Orange Is the New Black and her continued activism. The actress appeared at Missouri State University to speak about her life and how things got better for her after her move to New York City, as reported by the Springfield News-Leader.
Growing up, she was constantly picked on and called a "sissy," to the point that she started to think that she was in the wrong.
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"I began internalizing shame. It made me feel like it was my fault," Cox said, of her internal struggle. "I didn't feel fully safe at home. I didn't feel fully safe at school."
She added that her church taught her "this was a sin" and admitted she attempted suicide by taking a whole bottle of pills.
"Forty-one percent of transgender people report having attempted suicide compared to one percent of the population," Cox revealed.
When she made her move to New York City, she began to see trans people living their lives happily and essentially realized that she could too.
"I moved to New York City with all these preconceived misconceptions about transgender people," she admitted. "I didn't equate being transgender with being successful and accomplished. [By being around transgender people] slowly my misconceptions melted away. I was able to accept them and ultimately to accept myself."
Cox plays a trans woman, Sophia Burset, on Orange Is the New Black. Her performance has brought her much critical acclaim, becoming the first openly transgender person nominated for an acting Emmy in summer 2014. She ultimately lost to her costar Uzo Aduba, who plays Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren.
While Cox's Sophia had a less significant role in season 2, she may have an increase in screen time in season 3, especially now that she has become such an icon in the transgender community.
Orange Is the New Black is expected to release season 3 in mid-2015 on Netflix, though the streaming site has not yet announced a specific premiere date.
