Pose’s Mj Rodriguez: 5 Things to Know About the Emmy-Nominated Actress

Credit: Frank Micelotta/FX/PictureGroup/Shutterstock

Pose’s Mj Rodriguez: 5 Things to Know About the Emmy-Nominated Actress

At long last. After years of notoriety, Mj Rodriguez made history on Tuesday, July 13, when she became the first trans woman to receive an outstanding lead actress Emmy nomination. In the award show’s 73 years, no trans actor had been nominated in the four lead actor categories. "I’m still on cloud nine… I truly can’t believe it!” the Pose actress, 30, wrote via Instagram to share the happy news. “Thank you @televisionacad I’m still gagging. I didn’t get on cam am that much cause I looked a mess!! Lord Jesus I’m #EmmyNominated.” Later, she discussed her historic nomination in an interview with the Associated Press. “My mom and my godmother were sitting at the dining table [when the news came]. And the moment my name was announced, I just screamed and I broke. … I just remember falling into my boyfriend’s arms and just crying. Tears of joy, tears of happiness,” Rodriguez noted. “I felt represented and I felt seen. And ... more accepted than I have felt in a long time. I felt like my colleagues now see me, my acting colleagues see me, and the people who are surrounded by the arts see me, and how much I want to give the world the love to my craft and my art.” On Pose, which recently ended with its third and final season, the New Jersey native (full name Michaela Antonia Jaé Rodriguez) played Blanca. The FX series was set in the ‘80s and ‘90s and focused on ballroom culture in New York City. It also featured the highest number of series regular roles for trans actors. The show’s creator, Ryan Murphy, spoke to Us Weekly exclusively in June 2018 about how he hopes the series brings a permanent change to Hollywood. “When I was coming up in the industry, it was all white guys over 40 who had power. I’m interested in using my juice to promote other people,” the Glee creator, 55, said. “I think the days of casting a straight guy who puts on a wig and is a transgender person … those days are over. I feel like that’s not fair and that’s not real. There is so much talent in this community. We cast this show for six months and we read anybody who wanted to audition and I feel like you can feel it. It’s an authentic show about an authentic group of people.” This year, Pose was nominated for nine Emmys, including a nod for Outstanding Drama Series. Prior to her breakthrough role on the TV show, Rodriguez was featured in many other series and stage productions. She also recently launched her debut single, “Something to Say,” under the name Michaela Jaé. Next up, the actress will star alongside Maya Rudolph in an Apple TV+ comedy currently titled Loot. “I feel like there’s so much more opportunity out there. The world — it’s opened, and I can’t even express how happy I am to know that I’ll be able to be a part of more amazing pieces of work,” she told AP. “I know that’s what the future looks like.” Scroll to learn more about the iconic actress: [podcast_block]

Credit: Frank Micelotta/FX/PictureGroup/Shutterstock

Pose’s Mj Rodriguez: 5 Things to Know About the Emmy-Nominated Actress

At long last. After years of notoriety, Mj Rodriguez made history on Tuesday, July 13, when she became the first trans woman to receive an outstanding lead actress Emmy nomination. In the award show’s 73 years, no trans actor had been nominated in the four lead actor categories. "I’m still on cloud nine… I truly can’t believe it!” the Pose actress, 30, wrote via Instagram to share the happy news. “Thank you @televisionacad I’m still gagging. I didn’t get on cam am that much cause I looked a mess!! Lord Jesus I’m #EmmyNominated.” Later, she discussed her historic nomination in an interview with the Associated Press. “My mom and my godmother were sitting at the dining table [when the news came]. And the moment my name was announced, I just screamed and I broke. … I just remember falling into my boyfriend’s arms and just crying. Tears of joy, tears of happiness,” Rodriguez noted. “I felt represented and I felt seen. And ... more accepted than I have felt in a long time. I felt like my colleagues now see me, my acting colleagues see me, and the people who are surrounded by the arts see me, and how much I want to give the world the love to my craft and my art.” On Pose, which recently ended with its third and final season, the New Jersey native (full name Michaela Antonia Jaé Rodriguez) played Blanca. The FX series was set in the ‘80s and ‘90s and focused on ballroom culture in New York City. It also featured the highest number of series regular roles for trans actors. The show’s creator, Ryan Murphy, spoke to Us Weekly exclusively in June 2018 about how he hopes the series brings a permanent change to Hollywood. “When I was coming up in the industry, it was all white guys over 40 who had power. I’m interested in using my juice to promote other people,” the Glee creator, 55, said. “I think the days of casting a straight guy who puts on a wig and is a transgender person … those days are over. I feel like that’s not fair and that’s not real. There is so much talent in this community. We cast this show for six months and we read anybody who wanted to audition and I feel like you can feel it. It’s an authentic show about an authentic group of people.” This year, Pose was nominated for nine Emmys, including a nod for Outstanding Drama Series. Prior to her breakthrough role on the TV show, Rodriguez was featured in many other series and stage productions. She also recently launched her debut single, “Something to Say,” under the name Michaela Jaé. Next up, the actress will star alongside Maya Rudolph in an Apple TV+ comedy currently titled Loot. “I feel like there’s so much more opportunity out there. The world — it’s opened, and I can’t even express how happy I am to know that I’ll be able to be a part of more amazing pieces of work,” she told AP. “I know that’s what the future looks like.” Scroll to learn more about the iconic actress: [podcast_block]

Credit: Kristin Callahan/Ace/Shutterstock

1. She Started on Stage

Rodriguez attended multiple performing arts schools as a child before being recognized for her work in an off-Broadway production of Rent. She won the 2011 Clive Barnes Award — which recognizes promising young performers — for the role.

Credit: Gregory Pace/Shutterstock

2. She Loves Comic Books

The singer’s stage name was inspired in part by her love for Spiderman’s Mary Jane.

“I’m a comic guru. I love Marvel,” she told Broadway.com in July 2016. “I saw her and then I saw the movie … and I was like ‘I want that name. Let’s see if I can find those initials in my name.’ I found them, and they’re mine now.”

Almost five years later, she revealed during an appearance on the Late Show With Stephen Colbert that she’s working on her own comic book.

“I’m, like, 26 pages in, almost done with the second draft,” the actress said. “I’m really happy with it!” 

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3. She’s Happy to be a Role Model

After receiving her Emmy nod, Rodriguez told AP that she immediately thought of young trans kids.

“[They] can look to us and see that we are human and that we have so much to offer and that we can be looked up to and that there are dreams that are obtainable, because we can make them happen,” she said.

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4. She Knows She Deserves Recognition

"I'm huge on representation and deserved notoriety, and this season I'm fighting for that. I think it's time," she told Entertainment Weekly in May 2021. While Pose was previously nominated for 11 Emmy awards, no actors received individual nods for their work on the series.

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5. She's Not Afraid to Call Out Issues

In her conversation with EW, Rodriguez commented on how awards voters often don’t recognize trans stars.

"This can be on the record because I want them to know this. I know exactly what they're thinking right now. I know they don't see me as a woman. I know that," she said. "They don't have to tell me. They've made it very apparent, but my job is to show them how much of a woman I am through the work that I'm doing."