Michaela Jaé Rodriguez
Michaela Antonia Jaé Rodriguez[1] (born January 7, 1991), known professionally as Michaela Jaé Rodriguez and formerly as Mj Rodriguez,[2] is an American actress and singer. Her career began in 2011. She was born in Newark, New Jersey. She said that she had "prayed to become female" beginning at age 7 and came out to her parents as "bisexual and gay" at the age of 14.[3]
Michaela Jaé Rodriguez | |
|---|---|
 Rodriguez in 2020 | |
| Born | January 7, 1991 Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Education | Berklee College of Music |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 2011–present |
Rodriguez began transitioning from the male to female gender after her career began. She took a break from acting during this process.[4] Afterwards, she began looking for female roles instead of male roles.[4] At first she had small roles in Nurse Jackie, The Carrie Diaries, and Luke Cage.
In 2021, she played Carolyn in the Netflix musical Tick, Tick... Boom!.
In 2017, Rodriguez was cast as one of the lead roles in the FX television series Pose. This made her part of the largest cast of transgender actresses to be starring as series regulars in a scripted series.[5] She played Blanca Evangelista.
In 2021, she became the first transgender woman to earn an Emmy Award nomination in a major acting category for her role as Blanca.[6] In 2022, she won a Golden Globe Award becoming the first transgender actor to win the award.[7]
On June 4, 2021, Rodriguez released her debut single "Something to Say".[8][9]
References
- ↑ Mj Rodriguez [MjRodriguez7] (September 26, 2018). "Michaela Antonia Jaé Rodriguez lol long as hell lol but I shorten it to my initials to Mj cause it much easier lol" (Tweet).
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ↑ Romero, Ariana (September 22, 2021). "Mj Rodriguez is Ready for Her Next Act as Michaela Jaé". Refinery29. https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2021/09/10641163/mj-rodriguez-michaela-jae-name. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
- ↑ MJ Rodriguez – The Importance of Being Seen. October 7, 2017. http://thedrbroadway.com/2017/10/07/mj-rodriguez/. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Gioia, Michael (June 7, 2016). MJ Rodriguez Talks Her Transition and Hamilton Audition. Playbill.com. http://www.playbill.com/article/mj-rodriguez-talks-her-transition-and-hamilton-audition. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
- ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (2017-10-25). "FX's 'Pose': Ryan Murphy Sets Largest Transgender Cast Ever For Scripted Series". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
- ↑ Turchiano, Danielle (2021-07-13). "Mj Rodriguez Becomes First Trans Woman Up for Major Acting Emmy". Variety. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
- ↑ Hanson, Kait (2022-01-10). "Mj Rodriguez becomes 1st transgender actor to win a Golden Globe". NBC News. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- ↑ Rude, Meg (2021-11-09). "Why 'Pose' Star Michaela Jaé Rodriguez Is Our Person of the Year". Advocate. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
- ↑ Gardner, Chris (2021-11-17). "Why Mj Rodriguez Now Goes by Full Name Michaela Jae Rodriguez". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
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