Photo: Getty Images
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Award-winning actress, singer and activist Michaela Jaé (Mj) Rodriguez will be honored with the Stephen F. Kolzak Award at the 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles at the Beverly Hilton on April 2.
``Michaela Jaé Rodriguez is an undeniable talent who is changing the way audiences understand trans people while breaking down barriers for the trans community and LGBTQ people of color within the entertainment industry,'' GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement. ``Her performance as Blanca on `Pose' was one of the most important and impactful roles in the history of LGBTQ representation on television, and she continues to spearhead the future of trans visibility and inclusion in entertainment through her talent on screen, in music, and as a passionate activist.''
Rodriguez is known for her role as Blanca Evangelista in the FX series ``Pose.'' She won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Lead Role for ``Pose,'' making her the first trans woman to win a Golden Globe award and earn an Emmy nomination. She is also the first openly transgender woman to win an NAACP Imagen Award for Best Actress -- Television.
The Stephen F. Kolzak Award, presented to a LGBTQ media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting LGBTQ acceptance, is named after a legendary casting director, who devoted his life to raising awareness in the entertainment industry about the discrimination faced by LGBTQ people and people with HIV. Previous Stephen F. Kolzak honorees include Laverne Cox, Jim Parsons, Wanda Sykes, Troye Sivan, Ruby Rose, Chaz Bono, Stephen Warren, Melissa Etheridge, and Sir Ian McKellen.
In 2021, The Advocate selected Rodriguez its Person of the Year, an announcement that came as she was preparing to appear as Carolyn in Netflix's ``tick, tick, BOOM!,'' directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Rodriguez will be starring with Maya Rudolph in the upcoming Apple TV+ series ``Loot.''
Rodriguez told Variety how being trans in and of itself is activism, stating: ``I'm obviously fighting for my community simply because I'm trans, and I have to do that, and I do it because that's my existence. I wake up in the morning, and that is my activism.''
In 2019 and in another groundbreaking role, Rodriguez appeared in ``Little Shop of Horrors'' as Audrey at Pasadena Playhouse, marking the first time a trans woman appeared as the role in a major production. Additionally, she received the 2018 Trailblazer Hispanic Heritage Award for her work in ``Pose.''
On her legacy, Rodriguez told Harper's Bazaar: ``Michaela Jaé is here to stay, and she's here to make sure that we're changing the world in all diasporas.''
The GLAAD Media Awards ceremonies, which fund GLAAD's work to accelerate LGBTQ acceptance, will be in Los Angeles at the Beverly Hilton April 2 and in New York at the Hilton Midtown on May 6.
GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis serves as Executive Producer of the GLAAD Media Awards with GLAAD staff Rich Ferraro and Anthony Allen Ramos.