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Laverne Cox and Nava Mau share emotional moment at 2024 Emmy Awards
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Laverne Cox and Nava Mau share emotional moment at 2024 Emmy Awards

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Laverne Cox had a big smile on her face for Sunday’s Emmy Awards, as she casually chatted with icons including Billy Crystal, Reba McEntire and Jodie Foster on the red carpet.

But the normally cheerful TV host was moved to tears as she embraced “Baby Reindeer” star Nava Mau, who became just as emotional as they shared a long embrace. Both actresses have made Emmy history as trans women: Cox, the first trans person ever to receive an acting nomination, for Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black” in 2014; and Mau, the first trans woman to be nominated this year for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series for “Baby Reindeer.”

“I’m so proud of you,” Cox told Mau, wiping away tears. “This show is so incredible and the work you do is so amazing. Ten years ago, I became the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an Emmy for acting, and 10 years later, I’m not the last. You’re the fourth (person), and the first in this category. How special is it for you to make history and be a part of such an amazing project?”

Mau responded that the trans community is “fighting” to be able to tell stories like “Baby Reindeer,” which show trans people in all their humanity.

“That’s who we are as trans people: We’re people first,” Mau said. “Yes, it’s an LGBT show, it’s a show with a trans character, and it’s also just a really good show. Ultimately, I hope we can be everything we are on screen.”

Cox went on to emphasize the importance of nuanced depictions of trans characters, at a time when they are “dehumanized in unimaginable ways and there is so much misinformation about us out there.” She also reminisced with Mau about working on the 2020 documentary “Disclosure,” which looked back at trans representation throughout film and television history. Cox was an executive producer on the project, and Mau was a behind-the-scenes production associate on the film.

“It changed my life,” Mau told Cox. “When I walked onto the set, I saw trans people in leadership positions; I got to sit and watch interviews with trans people talking about their lives, their history, their studies, their craft. I got to watch you walk with all your grace and all your strength.

“I saw that I could dream bigger than I ever dreamed for myself,” Mau continued. “It changed me forever.”