MJ RODRIGUEZ

When I was little, all I could think about was just being on some kind of stage, whether it be on a live stage, whether it be on a set stage.

For people who have been ostracized, who have been all the way at the bottom, there's only one way that we can go - and that's up.

There's a lot of hope and comfort and nurturing in the ballroom scene.

I would never try to measure fame; I'm really just a regular chick from New Jersey.

My mom is my biggest cheerleader.

Whenever I go onstage or in front of a camera, I always want to pour my soul out because I know I have a lot to offer.

Every day, I walk the streets with my head held high, but deep down inside, sometimes I'm like, 'I just hope I can get through the day.'

I was always scared about my voice.

'Paris Is Burning' was only just a glimpse into what was happening within the ballroom scene. The difference is that 'Pose' is opening the lens a little bit more, and it's diving into the personal lives of these women who fought for their kids - who raised their kids to be strong individuals so that they can move on and have a legacy, too.

'Rent' was one of the main defining moments, and it was like the precipice of my transition.

It's a blessing that I have my family in my life and they were supportive, but there were times when I needed to find an outlet for me to understand my people and my own journey, and I found that through my chosen family, which was the ballroom community.

I'm obviously fighting for my community simply because I'm trans, and I have to do that, and I do it because that's my existence. I wake up in the morning, and that is my activism.

The one thing I thought I would never be able to do was sing on television.

When it comes to my career, I'm an actress before I'm trans. I think people should see the talent first.

I'm ready to get a Marvel role, honey.

I hear from a lot of young kids. One said to me, 'You remind me of my house mother that passed away,' and another said, 'You remind me of the mother that I didn't have.'... It's beautiful that I can instill that in people.

Sometimes I feel like my life is at risk. It doesn't matter if I'm famous or not. My life is as much at risk as other women.

The ball scene was never really only gay people. I think people have this notion that if there's a man hanging around a gay man, he must be gay, but that's just stigma. Back in the day, it was the same; there were lots of different people there: gay, straight, whatever. They did not care what they were called because they knew who they were.

It all started when I was 11 months old, singing a song by Jodeci in the back seat of the car. My mother turned around and said, 'Who is that?' When she saw it was me, she said, 'I think we have a singer on our hands.'

I have so many ways I can explain the ballroom scene. But the essence of the ballroom scene would be elegance, extravagance, and fabulousness to its 100 per cent. It's a place where you can be whoever you want to be inside of already being who you are.

I always believe that the experiences that you go through are what make you stronger and what help you push forward through life.

Hopefully I can play a role where I'm not stigmatized to just being a trans woman.

I do like to think of myself as a star: because there's room for many stars up in the sky - and we all have the chance to shine bright.

I never thought in a million years that people would be able to take me seriously as an actress, and now, being a part of the Golden Globes, that's just a stamp of approval that people are seeing me as the actress I am.

Me, as a woman of the trans experience, I'm not able to have children biologically. And I have always been someone who was very, very... I wanted to have a traditional family, as a young kid. The wife and the kids and, you know... as I grew older, times changed, and my mindset changed.