Laverne Cox First-Ever Trans Emmy Nominee, Tops Queer-Inclusive List, Continues World Takeover

The 2014 Emmy Award nominations are out and this year there are so many LGBT-inclusive nominations! Orange is the New Black racked up 12 nominations, with one of them going to Laverne Cox and making her the first transgender person to be nominated for an acting category. You go, Laverne! This year’s nominations include many out actors and LGBT characters and storylines. Let’s take a look at who you’ll be rooting for on August 25 when the Emmys air on NBC.

OITNB1

In its first season to be eligible for the awards, Orange is the New Black earned some top nominations including Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actress (Taylor Schilling), Outstanding Supporting Actress (Kate Mulgrew), and Outstanding Guest Actress (Uzo Aduba, Laverne Cox and Natasha Lyonne). OITNB writers Liz Friedman and Jenji Kohan and second-time OITNB director Jodie Foster were nominated for Writing for a Comedy Series and Directing a Comedy Series, respectively.

Kate-mckinnon-big-gay-sketch-show

SNL’S first out lesbian Kate McKinnon snagged her first nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on SNL.

sarah paulson

American Horror Story‘s lesbian Sarah Paulson received a nomination for Outstanding Actress in a TV Movie or Mini-Series for her work in Coven, which received a whopping 17 nominations.

One glaring omission from the Lead Actress in a Drama category is Orphan Black‘s Tatiana Maslany because, um, hello she plays eight thousand clones.

1960s-moms-mabley

Funny gay lady Jane Lynch was nominated for the Host For A Reality Or Reality-Competition Program category and for Outstanding Narrator for her work in Penguins: Waddle All The Way. Whoopi Goldberg was also nominated in the Outstanding Narrator category for her work on her documentary about out lesbian comedian Moms Mabley.

The Normal Heart, a TV drama about the rise of HIV/AIDS awareness in New York in the 80s, earned 16 nominations including three nominations (Matt Bomer, Joe Mantello and Jim Parsons) for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a TV Movie or Mini-Series.

Modern Family, a consistent Emmy nominee and winner since 2010, is on the list again with nominations going out to Jesse Tyler Ferguson for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and Nathan Lane for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

Join AF+!

Yvonne

Yvonne S. Marquez is a lesbian journalist and former Autostraddle senior editor living in Dallas, TX. She writes about social justice, politics, activism and other things dear to her queer Latina heart. Yvonne was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley. Follow her on Instagram or Twitter. Read more of her work at yvonnesmarquez.com.

Yvonne has written 205 articles for us.

9 Comments

  1. I’m so happy that OINTB got so much love, and I’m also really excited about The Normal Heart racking up a ton of nominations as well! It’s such an amazing play, and the movie was excellent, if you haven’t watched it yet.

    Story time…I saw The Normal Heart on Broadway on June 24th, 2011. It was one of the most incredible experience I’ve ever had in a theatre – everything about the production was perfect. It was also the night that the Same Sex Marriage bill was passed in New York State. The vote happened during the performance so no one knew. Immediately after the actors had taken their bows one of the show’s producers came out on to the stage and announced that it had passed, and the whole place just erupted with so much joy and love and a woman sitting down in the orchestra proposed to her girlfriend right then and there. It’s something that I’ll never forget.

    • That is the best story I have heard in a long time.

      (I was at a bar in Chelsea that night, which was really cool. But this is WAY cooler.)

  2. I cannot believe Modern Family is STILL earning nominations and Tatiana Maslany was snubbed again. Who is making these decisions!

  3. Tatiana was snubbed???? WHAT. This just doesn’t…ugh.

    At least there are other women to cheer on but just. Sigh. I give up.

  4. This makes me want to watch the Emmy’s but the internet tells me it starts at 5pm on a Monday in California. WTF Emmy’s, that is a terrible time for a show.

    • Yeah, I’m confused about that too. Aren’t the major awards ceremonies always on a Sunday?

  5. Isn’t Sarah Paulson bi though? That’s what I thought she ID’d as, but maybe you were referring to her character, but then she was only (canonically) queer in the second season so who knows, maybe I’m confused.

    I mean, “Broad City” didn’t get any noms so clearly we live in a backwards world.

  6. Not to be all picky or anything – but as a couple of trans sites are reporting, Laverne Cox is the first *openly* trans *actress* to be nominated for an Emmy.

    A number of trans folks have won emmys for off-screen behind the scenes work, and as Laverne herself points out, she knows of at least one trans actress who has been nominated who was not out as a trans person.

    Obviously Cox is a tremendous actress and has done so much for trans visibility and she deserves the nomination, so her nomination is wonderful.

    But it’s nice that we can also spotlight some other talented trans folks who work in the business too.

Comments are closed.