Laverne Cox

“Everyone is insecure. I think, really, it comes from, like, a desire to want to be in control of how you're represented.”

“When people find out you're an actress, they Google you.”

“I was an actress long before I was a reality TV person.”

“I wanted to be famous; I wanted to perform. Those things I really, really wanted more than anything else.”

“My mother was a teacher. She was grooming my brother and me to be successful, accomplished people.”

“I never knew my father. He was never married to my mother; he was never a part of my life. It was just my mom, my brother and me.”

“I don't have children, and I don't want children.”

“I just have to be myself. I'm not perfect, and I'm going to make mistakes; I might say the wrong thing. I have to be responsible to my community, and I feel like I am, but then I have to not be so hard on myself.”

“What took time for my mom was getting the pronouns right and calling me by a different name. Laverne was my middle name before I transitioned.”

“I was really creative. I started to dance very young. I loved to dance. I begged my mother to put me into dance classes, and finally, in third grade, she did. Tap and jazz, but not ballet.”