Laverne Cox is opening up about one of the most painful experiences of her childhood, revealing that she and her twin brother were left in an orphanage for roughly a month after being abandoned by their parents during adolescence.
The actress and LGBTQ+ advocate shares the deeply personal story in her upcoming memoir Transcendent, which arrives June 9. According to Cox, the experience left a lasting emotional scar that still affects her decades later. “I felt abandoned, unlovable, and discarded,” she said to People while discussing the book. “But I think that’s the reason to tell any of these stories — hopefully someone will read them and feel less alone.”
Cox, who turns 54 this week, explained that she and her twin brother, artist M Lamar, grew up in Mobile, Alabama, with their single mother, Gloria, who worked multiple jobs to support the family. Tensions inside the home were often volatile, and Cox writes that their mother frequently threatened to throw them out.
Eventually, the situation escalated when the twins were dropped off at their father’s home — a meeting Cox describes as traumatic and short-lived.
After what Cox says was their only interaction with their father, the twins ended up at a police station before being placed in an orphanage. While their mother reportedly told them the stay would only last a week, Cox says the reality was much different.
“My mom’s version of things isn’t correct,” she explained. “It’s nice to have a twin brother I can check with and be like, ‘It was a month, right?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, it was definitely a month.’”
Revisiting those memories while writing Transcendent proved emotionally exhausting for the Orange Is the New Black star. “To actually tell that orphanage story was triggering. It was re-traumatizing,” she said, describing how recounting the experience forced her back into that emotional space.
The revelations arrive just weeks after Cox spoke candidly about another side of her life that often goes unseen: the loneliness that can come with fame. While promoting Jonah Hill’s Apple TV+ dark comedy Outcome, Cox admitted that life in the spotlight can feel isolating and “debilitating,” especially under constant public scrutiny.
She described fame as a “sacrifice for the work,” adding that acting remains the one place where she feels fully connected and present.
That tension between pain and purpose appears to sit at the center of Cox’s memoir. Alongside stories of bullying, isolation, and identity struggles, she says the book is also about survival, healing, and finding joy after years of trauma.
“I hope my joy is something that can become infectious and people can partake in,” Cox said.
Transcendent is available for preorder now ahead of its June 9 release.
