Laverne Cox: 'Being Trans Is Beautiful'

Laverne Cox is known for playing trans prison inmate Sophia Burset on the Netflix series "Orange Is the New Black," but the trans actress sees her fame as much more than just a perk of the job. She uses her place in the public eye to spread a message of diversity and tolerance.

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"I believe that we should all have access to the American dream, and so many trans people of color don't have that access," Laverne says. "So I feel that it's important that I have a public platform to bring attention to those issues."

The actress is no stranger to struggle, and she's in the process of writing her memoir, which will be released in 2015. "We're getting into a lot of intense stuff in my life," she says. "It was really, really messy."

During her personal transition, Laverne says she was insecure about her looks, especially when people didn't think she was feminine enough. "When I heard that I would be like, OK, what am I doing wrong?' 'I'm failing,' or 'What's going on that someone is looking at me and not seeing the woman that I am?'" Laverne says. "Now, what I've realized is, being trans is beautiful."

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So when can we catch Laverne in the new season of "Orange Is the New Black?" Apparently Netflix doesn't even tell the actors when the show will premiere. "I think they purposely don't tell us so we don't leak it to anyone!"

To find out Laverne's favorite "OITNB" character and see some of her Beyoncé-inspired red carpet styles, check out this episode of "Daily Shot."