Since the premiere of Orange Is the New Black on Netflix last year, Laverne Cox has become a pop-culture force of nature, effortlessly toeing the line between Hollywood it-girl and outspoken trans activist.
After a whirlwind year, Cox is getting yet another honour, as Paper magazine has named her one of the beautiful people of 2014, touting her as “a mainstream voice for transgender equality in Hollywood.”
Cox’s profile includes a dazzling shot of the star in Donna Karan, as well as a short interview about her year. She even takes the time to discuss the fallout over Katie Couric’s disastrous interview, saying that she has no ill feelings. She even claimed to still be a fan of Couric’s: “There are folks who have been demonizing Katie, but we taped that segment in advance, so she chose to leave everything that she left in. I think that was a courageous thing.”
Seriously, a class act. It’s great to see someone who is, by and large, a pretty major Hollywood star, step outside of her own celebrity and help out where she can. Now, if someone at Netflix would hurry up with the next season of OITNB, that would be great.