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Mya Taylor Becomes the First Transgender Actress to Win a Gotham Award

The Tangerine star recognized for her breakthrough performance.

Congratulations are in order for Mya Taylor, who made history on Monday night as the first transgender woman to win a Gotham Award for acting.
Taylor was given the Breakthrough Performance prize for her work in Tangerine, the critically lauded indie comedy about two trans prostitutes in search of a no-good pimp. She was up against her castmate Kitana Kiki Rodriguez for the award, who also shined in her role. 
Tangerine is already earning Oscar buzz, and with the Gotham Awards widely regarded as the kickoff to Oscar season, perhaps we'll be seeing Taylor and her co-stars on more and more red carpets and podiums over the next couple of months.
Either way, this is a big moment for the transgender community, which has made huge strides in public acceptance over the last couple of years. Watch our interview with Laverne Cox, in which she gets emotional about her own groundbreaking cover of Time magazine, below:

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(Photo: John Sciulli/Getty Images for Los Angeles LGBT Center)

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