She’s an acclaimed actress, an LGBTQ+ trailblazer in Hollywood, and now, as the new brand ambassador of leading haircare brandMatrix Total Results,Laverne Coxis ready to take on the beauty industry.
Speaking with PEOPLE after announcing the partnership, the Emmy Award-winning actress gets candid about everything from maintaining her natural curls and experimenting with wigs, to feeling confident and content at age 47.
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“I love Matrix’s ‘Live Your Color’ campaign so this is really exciting,” Cox (who’s attendingMatrix Destination 2020, a three-day educational event for haircare professionals in Orlando, Florida, next month) tells PEOPLE. “For me, the idea of living your color is about embracing every single aspect of who I am.”
“Every shade and every color of Laverne is acceptable. It’s been such a journey for me to not orphan parts of myself, but to embrace every single color of the rainbow that is Laverne and I like to encourage everybody to do that, to bring all of you to the table,” theRocky Horror Picture Showstar says. “Live your color.”
The Alabama native emerged as a champion for the LGBTQ+ community shortly after landing the role of Litchfield Prison inmate, Sofia Burset, on Netflix’sOrange Is the New Blackin 2013.
In 2014, she graced the cover ofTime’snow iconic “The Transgender Tipping Point” issue, and wasthe first trans woman to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy.Then one year later, she became the first trans woman to win a Daytime Emmy as executive producer forLaverne Cox Presents: The T Word.
“When someone partners with Laverne Cox, they are alining themselves with a message of diversity, inclusion and welcoming everyone to the table,” theDear White Peoplestar tells PEOPLE. “There is something for everyone in theMatrix Total Resultsline. I wouldn’t be aligned with the brand if there wasn’t. In 2019, we have to have beauty products that work for every hair type and every skin type.”
“I stopped relaxing my hair in 2011 becuause I had so much damage. Now, I’m committing to oiling my scalp everyday and it actually lengthens and hydrates my hair,” says Cox, who also attributes her healthy natural hair to wearing protective styles like cornrows, loose braids and braided extensions under her wig.
As an actress, Cox says she “loves having the ability to transform myself, my look, and my character with hair.”
“I’ve been playing with color a lot more and encouraging people to play with color for fun. You have too because life is short,” says Cox, whosplit from her boyfriend of two years Kyle Draperin June. “I’m 47 years old, I probably look better than I ever have in my life. I’m single, my career is in an amazing place, I’m living my dream and that it’s so beautiful…Live your color!”
source: people.com
