Laverne Cox, breakout star of the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black, is about to take the literary world by storm. The actress and LGBT activist has been tapped by publisher Harlequin to write a memoir based on her experiences growing from Alabama schoolboy to the most visible transgender celebrity in Hollywood.
Cox said in a statement, “By sharing my full, unvarnished story, including details of my life and family history I have never before revealed, I hope to provide a voice and safe place for those who have suffered because of their race, class, gender, abuse, violence and trauma.”

The publisher says that Cox’s story will begin with her difficult childhood in Alabama, where she was raised as a boy with her twin brother by a single mother.

“The editors at Harlequin Nonfiction aggressively pursued Cox to write a book. They met with her and were awed by her story, her writing and her devotion to the LGBT community," says publicity director Shara Alexander, adding that the publisher won the rights in a "heated auction" that netted Cox a "six-figure deal."
In addition to stealing scenes as hairdresser inmate Sophia in Orange Is the New Black, Cox has been a vocal advocate for the LGBT community. She recently appeared on Katie Couric's talk show, Katie, where she cleared up some of the host's questions about life as a transgender woman and shed light on the violence transgender individuals face. She deftly avoided answering Couric's probing questions about the nature of her genitalia, however, telling Couric that focusing on body parts objectifies transgender individuals and takes attention away from more pressing matters.
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 (Photo: Rommel Demano/Getty Images)