Pose star Michaela Jaé Rodriguez will be honored with the Stephen F. Kolzak Award at the 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards, set for April 2 at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. Named for the famed casting director, the annual award honors an LGBTQ+ media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting LGBTQ+ acceptance.
Rodriguez is best known for her Golden Globe-winning performance as Blanca Evangelista in FX's Pose. She is the first trans woman to win a Golden Globe, and to be nominated for an Emmy in a lead or supporting acting category. Before Pose, Rodriguez spent her career on the stage, most notably in the 2011 Off-Broadway revival of Rent. Rodriguez returned to the stage in 2019, playing Audrey in Pasadena Playhouse's Little Shop of Horrors opposite Be More Chill star George Salazar as Seymour. Most recently, Rodriguez appeared as Carolyn in Netflix's film adaptation of Jonathan Larson's tick, tick...BOOM!
Past Kolzak honorees include Laverne Cox, Jim Parsons, Wanda Sykes, Troye Sivan, Ruby Rose, Chaz Bono, Stephen Warren, Melissa Etheridge, and Ian McKellen.
Broadway's Chicken & Biscuits, Company, and Thoughts of a Colored Man will all compete for Outstanding Broadway Production at the 33rd annual ceremony, and tick, tick...BOOM! and West Side Story are up for Outstanding Motion Picture (Wide Release). Read more about this year's GLAAD nominations here.