Michaela Jaé Rodriguez became the first transgender actress to win a Golden Globe Sunday night. She was awarded Best Actress in a TV drama for her role as housemother Blanca on FX’s Pose. Her win also marks the first Golden Globe for Pose. The 2022 Golden Globes didn’t involve its usual celebration, due to a combination of COVID-19 safety protocols and celebrity boycotts. Though there was a small in-person event, there wasn’t a televised ceremony, nor were there any celebrity presenters. However, Rodriguez still celebrated her win on social media.
“This is the door that is going to open the door for many more young talented individuals,” Rodriguez wrote on Instagram. “They will see that it is more than possible. They will see that a young Black Latina girl from Newark New Jersey who had a dream, to change the minds others would WITH LOVE. LOVE WINS. To my young LGBTQAI babies WE ARE HERE the door is now open now reach the stars!!!!!” The actress also acknowledged her fellow nominees in the category — Uzo Aduba, Jennifer Aniston, Christine Baranski and Elisabeth Moss — writing, “I’m so happy to share space with you! Each and every last one of you women are phenomenal.”
Rodriguez made history last year when she became the first trans actress nominated for an Emmy in a lead acting category. Though she lost to Olivia Colman, the nomination alone felt like a win. “For a long time, I didn’t feel like I was deserving of these things. There’s so much stacked against us when we identify as trans. I had all these insecurities,” she told Entertainment Weekly at the time. “It feels like I have finally stepped into a place where people can understand me as a human being.” Her win at the 2022 Golden Globes was a small step toward the long-overdue recognition she and the trans community as a whole very much deserve.