Laverne Cox and “Baby Reindeer” star Nava Mau shared a touching moment on the 2024 Emmys red carpet on Sunday night.
Cox, who served as E! News anchor for the carpet event, fought back tears when Mau approached her for an interview before the ceremony.
“I have to keep my composure. I’m the host,” said the “Orange is the New Black” actor. “I’m so proud of you. I’m so proud of you.” (Watch the video here.)
Cox then recalled how she became the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an Emmy for Best Actress ten years ago.
At this year’s Emmys, Mau made history by becoming the first transgender person to be nominated in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Anthology Series or a Movie category for her performance in the Netflix thriller “Baby Reindeer.”
“Ten years later, I won’t be the last,” Cox said, noting that Mau is now the fourth transgender person to receive an Emmy nomination.
“I think we have fought as a community to be able to tell stories that come from the heart. And that are based on a human foundation,” Mau said. “Because that’s who we are as transgender people – we are human.”
The “Baby Reindeer” actress said she was “very proud” of the show.
“Ultimately, I hope we can continue to be all that we are as transgender people on screen,” she continued.
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Mau, who plays a transgender woman in “Baby Reindeer,” told The Hollywood Reporter in July that the role helped her reflect on her own experiences as a trans woman.
“I had no idea that I was carrying so much anger inside me and suppressing it,” she said at the time. “As a trans woman, as a Latina, I had to do that to survive. … It was kind of my responsibility to pay attention to other people’s feelings.”
Acting in “Baby Reindeer” gave me “a lot of strength to be in harmony with my body again,” she added.
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