The standing ovation made me feel seen

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez was the first trans woman to win a Golden Globe, now she’s fronting a major new beauty campaign. Joe Bromley meets her

- Joe Bromley

SPEAKING to Michaela Jaé Rodriguez is surreal. Anyone who has seen Pose, the Ryan Murphy-directed drama which boasts the largest cast of trans gender actors in a series, will have fallen for her character Blanca Evangelista.

The role earned Rodriguez the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Series in 2022, making her the first trans person to receive one. And the viral acceptance speech? Didn’t happen. The event was not televised last year due to a diversity boycott (Hollywood stars refused to attend after it was revealed the Golden Globes committee had no black members). At the 2023 ceremony this January, director Murphy rectified this. He opened his monologue to collect the Carol Burnett TV Achievement award by asking Rodriguez to stand and receive the room’s belated applause.

“When you finally get the ovation that you have really wanted, it makes you feel more seen,” she says over Zoom, speaking fast with a New Jersey twang. “I felt happy for myself as an individual, but also being a trans woman of colour, it’s automatically going to be for everyone else.”