Laverne Cox to get first trans Madame Tussauds waxwork

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Laverne Cox is to become the first transgender person to have a waxwork made of her by Madame Tussauds.

The Orange is the New Black actress and trans activist has had an extremely high profile over the past year – even featuring on the cover of TIME Magazine.

Ms Cox, who last year was the first trans person to be nominated for an Emmy award, is now set to receive a rare honour – her own waxwork in Madame Tussauds.

The figure will be unveiled at the San Francisco branch of the famous wax museum on June 26, to celebrate Pride month and Cox’s work.

It is thought to be the first figure of a transgender person ever displayed at a Madame Tussauds.

Laverne Cox said: “I am so deeply honoured to have been asked to be part of the Madame Tussauds legacy.

“I hope that this will be a source of inspiration for everyone who encounters it to believe that their dreams matter and are possible.”

Gay icons including Freddie Mercury and Elton John have previously received their own Tussauds waxwork.

Cox stirred controversy recently when she said that gender is a spectrum and everyone is transgender.

She said: “Everybody’s trans… none of us falls neatly into the gender binary model.

“Most of us have a little bit of masculinity, a little bit of femininity.”