Attention, "Orange is the New Black" fans: Emmy-nominated actress Laverne Cox, otherwise known as Sophia, is coming to Connecticut.
The transgender advocate will speak at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts in Storrs on April 22.
Cox is best known for her role as transgender inmate Sophia Burset in the HBO series "Orange is the New Black," based on the life of a woman who spent a year at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury.
Cox is the first transgender woman to earn an Emmy nomination, produce and star in her own television show and appear on the cover of TIME Magazine, according to a news release from the university.
"Laverne Cox has an empowering message for all LGBTQIA people and allies to live authentically," said Fluerette King, executive director of the UConn Rainbow Center, in a statement Monday.
The Rainbow Center is one of several organizations sponsoring Cox's trip to UConn, along with the Student Union Board of Governors, UConn Student Activities, the Jorgensen Center, Puerto Rican and Latin American Cultural Center, the Women's Center, the Asian American Cultural Center and the African American Cultural Center.
Tickets are free for undergraduate students and cost $25 each for members of the general public. Learn more and buy tickets online.
