Laverne Cox to be honored at GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles – Ellen Page to present to OITNB star

Congratulations to Orange is the New Black star Laverne Cox who has been named as the recipient of the Stephen F. Kolzak Award to be presented at the GLAAD Media Awards on April 12 in Beverly Hills.

The actress, producer, and writer will be given the honor by actress Ellen Page who named Cox as one of her inspirations when she came out last month.

GLAAD’s Stephen F. Kolzak Award is presented to an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equality. The award is named after a successful casting director, who devoted the last part of his life to raising awareness in the entertainment industry about the discrimination faced by LGBT and HIV-positive people.

Previous Stephen F. Kolzak honorees include Wanda Sykes, Rufus Wainwright, Melissa Etheridge, Bill Condon, Todd Haynes, Alan Ball, Ellen DeGeneres, and Sir Ian McKellen.

Laverne plays Sophia Burset, an incarcerated African American transgender woman on the hit Netflix original series Orange is the New Black, returning for its second season on June 6. She is the first trans woman of color to have a leading role on a mainstream scripted television show.