American actress Michaela Jaé Rodriguez was BOTD in 1991. Born in Newark, New Jersey to an African-American mother and a Puerto-Rican father, she was assigned male at birth, identifying as female from early childhood. She showed an early interest in acting and music, attending the Newark Arts High School and the Berklee College of Music. After coming out to her parents as “bisexual/gay” aged 14, she left the family home and moved to New York City, where she became involved in the Harlem ballroom scene, living with a “house father” in a community of queer and trans performers. In 2011, she appeared in an off-Broadway production of Jonathan Larson’s musical Rent, becoming one of the first openly trans performers to play the the role of drag queen Angel Dumott Schunard. In 2012, she began gender reassignment treatment, appearing as an extra in TV series Nurse Jackie, The Carrie Diaries and Luke Cage, and co-starred in the 2016 trans-themed independent film Saturday Church. She is best known for her role as trans “house mother” Blanca Evangelista in Pose, Ryan Murphy‘s 2017 TV drama series chronicling the Black and Latinx voguing scene in 1980s New York City against the backdrop of the HIV/AIDS crisis, co-starring Billy Porter, Angelica Ross and Dominique Jackson. Rodriguez’ performance was highly praised, making her the first trans actress to be nominated for an Emmy and winning a Golden Globe Award for best actress. Her post-Pose work includes playing Audrey in a stage revival of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman‘s musical Little Shop of Horrors, the 2021 Larson biopic Tick, Tick… Boom! and Murphy’s TV series American Horror Story: Delicate. She also appeared in the 2020 documentary Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen, and has released several music singles, and a 2024 album, titled 33. Rodriguez lives in New York City, and is in a relationship with screenwriter Stephen Gimigliano.