FROM PLAYING A RECURRING ROLE IN ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK TO FRONTING FASHION CAMPAIGNS FOR BEYONCÉ, LAVERNE COX IS POSSIBLY THE MOST IN-DEMAND TRANS WOMAN IN THE WORLD. SHE’S ALSO A BEACON OF LIGHT FOR A COMMUNITY STILL SUBJECT TO DISCRIMINATION AND VIOLENCE — SOMETHING SHE KNOWS ALL ABOUT

SUPPORTED BY

WORDS: CLIFF JOANNOU

Laverne wear dress by Hérve Léger at Net-a-porter

PHOTOGRAPHS: JEFF VESPA // FASHION: JOSEPH KOCHARIAN LOCATION: THE JEREMY WEST HOLLYWOOD HOTEL

Laverne Cox is in a happy place, and this radiates from her. She arrives for her shoot at the slick Jeremy West Hollywood Hotel on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, dressed in denim shorts and white t-shirt with FEMINIST emblazoned across, like Beyoncé in the Crazy in Love video. Queen Bey would smile; she already gave the actress her seal of approval when the Ivy Park campaign dropped everywhere in September.

“Ivy Park is about tapping into our own personal strength beyond measure,” Laverne explains as we recline on the hotel bed for our interview. It’s my first fashion campaign. It came via the queen herself. Thank you, B,”

But this wasn’t Laverne’s first encounter with her idol; Beyoncé sent flowers after Laverne nailed a performance of Destiny’s Child’s Lose My Breath on Lip Sync Battle. Laverne was in her trailer while filming legal drama Doubt when her PA brought in the card from Beyoncé. “I was literally screaming. I lost my shit.” Even celebrities have their fan girl moments.

The glamour of Hollywood is now a part of life for Laverne, who was up late at the Emmys the night before our chat. She still arrives on time for the early-morning shoot, a little tired but raring to go.

During make-up her agent and team discuss her next red-carpet experience. Many others would have a diva moment, but for Laverne every minute is a dream a long time in the making. The second she’s glammed-up and the clothes are picked out, she’s on fire and delivering explosive looks for the camera. In between takes, she’s singing away, delivering pitch-perfect opera runs.

This is a woman in love with life, and from Emmy nominations to meeting her idols, it’s everything she envisioned it would be. “I’ve always imagined it. You have to imagine it first. You have to manifest it to make it happen, absolutely.”

“THE POSITIVITY AND LOVE THAT I GET, THAT’S WHAT IN EED TO GET ME THROUGH, TO SUSTA IN ME”

Grateful for every job that she’s scored, Laverne, 45, is relieved to know that she doesn’t need to worry about work for a few years, with so many projects in the pipeline. She’s currently filming a new show that Attitude knows about — we can’t say anything, but it sounds phenomenal. This month, she’s due back on the set of Orange Is the New Black.

“The show’s been really good to me,” she says of the Netflix hit that brought her to Hollywood’s attention. “It’s only been five years but my whole life has changed, in a good way, and I’ve grown. It’s afforded me opportunities to do other things. It got me here on this shoot for the Attitude Awards.