Laverne Cox Just Made History (Again) as the First Transgender Emmy Nominee

This is a big year for openly gay actors at the Emmys, but Lavence Cox is making LGBT history

This year's Emmys is going to be GAAAAAAAY. And we couldn't be happier.

Gay stories are being honored, including The Normal Heart and Modern Family (polar opposite depictions of gayhood). Straight actors who played gay have been nominated, such as Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Andre Braugher and Mark Ruffalo. And arguably most importantly of all, openly gay actors like Matt Bomer, Jim Parsons, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Saturday Night Live's Kate McKinnon (KATE McKINNON!!!), were celebrated, for playing both gay and straight characters.

Brief Kate McKinnon dance party:

Which covers the L, G, and B of the LGBT community. In the past, cisgender actors have been nominated for playing trans roles, but a transgender actor has never been nominated in an acting category. Never. Ever.

Until now. 

Laverne Cox has made history (again), as the Emmy Award's first "openly transgender" acting nominee, according to the TV Academy. This morning, Laverne was nominated in the "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series" category for her portrayal of inmate Sophia Burset on Orange Is the New Black.

(Sidebar: OITNB, which celebrates the entire spectrum of sexuality, earned a whopping 12 nominations, for Best Comedy Series, acting, directing, writing, and multiple other technical categories. The most for any comedy this year.)

Do we even need to tell you how big of a deal this is?

"I'm on cloud nine. I'm through the roof," Laverne told The Hollywood Reporter. "What a wonderful, wonderful day for Orange and for black trans-women...Would you ever have thought a show about a women's prison would have this moment? It's unbelievable!"

Her costars have some equally lovely adoration to pay Laverne: Kate Mulgrew, a fellow OITNB nominee in the Best Supporting Actress category, says Cox is "doing a Herculean job of bringing transgenderism to the forefront of American politics and culture." Uzo Aduba (Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren) simply says, "I love Laverne and she has done just an amazing thing for the trans community period, end of story."

Laverne concludes, "We're definitely part of a movement."

Cross your fingers she'll make history (again again) as the first transgender Emmy winner.

All in a day's work.

(Not to be a total buzzkill, but here's hoping Laverne wins this year...because she might not get nominated again next year, seeing as Sophia basically wasn't even in OITNB season two. So, Netflix and the powers that be, you're going to give us more Emmy-nominated Laverne Cox in season there, right?)