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Laverne Cox poses as her idols, Beyonce, Tina Turner and Tracy Africa

By Will Stroude

Her star’s burning bright thanks to continual stand-out performances in Orange Is The New Black – and with her upcoming role as Dr Frank N Furter in a reboot of The Rocky Horror Picture Show guaranteed to have tongues wagging, the future looks golden for Laverne Cox.

Now, she’s teamed up with Cosmopolitan magazine to pay homage to some of the black women who have paved the way for her success , with some fabulous cosplay – three of which the actress shared on Instagram.

Laverne’s all-encompassing obsession with Beyonce is no secret. The many videos of her dancing at Bey concerts that float around the internet are infectiously joyful, and she even posted an Instagram happy birthday note to the Formation songstress on her birthday last week (September 4). Cox embodies Sasha Fierce in this incredible shoot, channeling the iconic Single Ladies music video as she pays homage to the legend herself. In the caption, Laverne wrote that Beyonce “represents excellence”.  Fair assessment.

It looks as though Beyonce and Laverne have a role model in common –  Tina Turner. Describing her as a “rock & roll legend”, Laverne noted her “ferocity on stage” and “incredible voice”. And the wig is so perfect we can barely cope.

The final icon she shared on Instagram was Tracy Africa. Perhaps lesser known than the first two (but just as important), Ms Africa is a trans model, who fronted beauty campaigns with the likes of Clairol in the 70s – before her career went into decline after being outed as trans.

However, Tracy recently received long-overdue justice, and has returned to Clairol after around 40 years.

Paying tribute, Cox said: “People think, ‘Oh, this trans revolution is just start­ing,’ but we’ve been around for a very long time. It’s important to know that there’s been a path blazed for me.”

So excited to pay tribute to some of my super heroines in the latest issue of @Cosmopolitan on stands now. I don’t look like her at all but I am so honored that #TraceyAfrica @therealtraceyafrica is one of the women. “She was a black trans woman who modeled in the ’70s and had cosmetics deals and a hair con­tract with Clairol—it was a big deal. People think, ‘Oh, this trans revolution is just start­ing,’ but we’ve been around for a very long time. It’s important to know that there’s been a path blazed for me.” We made the decision to include Tracey back in January not knowing that she would once again at the age of 62 become the face of Clairol hair color. Brava Tracey. Thank you for blazing a trail for all of us.

A photo posted by laverne cox (@lavernecox) on