Laverne Cox On When She Feels the Sexiest (Hint: It Involves Beyonce)

Once upon a time, Laverne Cox was the first trans woman of color to have a leading role on a major TV show, with Orange Is the New Black (Season 5 premieres sometime this year). Now make that two, thanks to her co-starring role in the CBS legal drama Doubt, premiering Feb. 15.

On the show, she’s savvy and smart and sexy and sexual, with a real love interest. “So often it’s a guy pursuing a woman not knowing that we’re trans and there’s a reveal and it’s turned into a joke,” she says. “In Doubt he pursues me knowing that I’m trans. I’ve never seen it before. It’s barely happened in film. It’s really dope. It’s really groundbreaking.”

Like the rest of us, Cox loves Beyoncé. And she feels most confident when she’s dancing. To Beyoncé. “I feel like such a broken record with this Beyoncé stuff,” she says. “Congratulations, Beyoncé. I was dancing to Beyoncé to ‘Rocket’ in the bathroom. When I’m dancing, I feel like I own my femininity. And sometimes when I’m with the right man. My sexiness is my energy. Really being in my body. In terms of style, it’s never about what I’m wearing. It’s about how I feel inside. My weight fluctuates. It’s not about that. At my heaviest I can feel sexy. It’s about dancing and the energy that comes inside. I studied ballet and was a dancer growing up.”

On Doubt, plays Cameron Wirth, a trans Ivy League-educated lawyer who has a man totally hot for her. And yes, Cameron mirrors Cox in many ways.

“There were so many moments where I was like, ‘Wow,'” she says. “I’m a huge flirt. I’m not subtle. It was weird flirting with this dude in the way that Laverne flirts. That was kind of weird and cool and awesome. I’d never had a love scene with a dude. It was really scary. It was uncharted territory for me on camera. So much of what goes on with Cameron, I’ve lived. The writers wanted to know about my dating experiences. A lot of that ended up in the script. It felt honest and truthful.”

Fair warning: Don’t whine to Cox, as this writer did, about how hard it is out there for single ladies. Cox has been there, done that, about a hundred times over. “I think I’m a good dater. I’ve learned that you can’t make someone like you or be available. It’s a numbers game. You have to do just do it,” she says, urging the use of dating apps like Tinder and Bumble.

Her rules: No dinner on the first date — just coffee. No sexting, period. “The first date is not a date. It’s a screening. Do they look like their pictures? You keep going, you keep meeting people. Don’t ever lower your standards. Be present, be open. I’ve had great dates with guys. Sometimes they call back, sometimes they don’t.”

In life, she follows the tenets laid out in The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom. “Be honest. Always do your best. Never assume. Don’t take anything personally,” she says.

When you see her on the red carpet, in slinky gowns by Marc Bouwer or Calvin Klein, Cox glows. But, she cautions, much of that is a fa?ade. She doesn’t think she’s overly confident.

“It’s knowing who you are. And trying to not be apologetic about that. I have so many moments where I don’t feel like I’m enough. I’m hard on myself with my work. I’m really insecure, but everyone is. But some things become unacceptable in terms of loving yourself. I struggle with that. I’ve always seemed confident on the outside, but I have deep layers of insecurity. I’ve never felt safe in my life. Why would a trans woman feel safe in this world? The fame thing adds another layer of me asking, ‘What are people’s intentions?’ I armor up to feel more safe. I’m in a place of trying to evolve spiritually.”

She’s an LGBT advocate, a position she takes seriously. “I have a responsibility and a platform,” she says. “I’m responsible for the energy I put out in the world. It’s imperfect and often messy, but I’m doing the best I can today. And everyone is.”

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