Mya Taylor

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Mya Taylor (born March 28, 1991 in Houston ) is an American actress and singer . She was best known for the lead role Alexandra in the independent production Tangerine LA , which received several prestigious awards. Both of the leading actresses in the film drama were the first transgender actresses to be featured in an Oscar campaign.

Life

Taylor grew up with her grandparents in Houston, Texas . Since these were religious according to Taylor, she hid her homosexuality from them after she had come out in school. When she revealed her sexual orientation to them in 2009, it fell out, so she moved to California to live with other relatives. Because of her gender identity, she was expelled from the house and forced to live on the street.

Since she could not get a job as a minor, Taylor decided to make a living through prostitution in Hollywood . After a few months of homelessness, she befriended trans woman and aspiring actress Kitana Kiki Rodriguez , with whom she was eventually able to live as a roommate. In 2014, Taylor began a gender reassignment measure and from that point on lived publicly as a woman after presenting herself as a man at night for fear of assault. According to Taylor, she has since reconciled with her birth mother, who accepts her gender identity and now calls her Mya.

Taylor has lived in Jamestown since Tangerine finished filming , originally moving with her significant other, from whom she is now separated. Taylor used her fee to fund her gender reassignment program, which she had undergone a month before filming. In addition to her work as an actress, Taylor has been working as a nurse in a local hospital since 2016 .

Career

After working as a prostitute for five years and being arrested four times during that time, Taylor was approached by director Sean Baker and screenwriter Chris Bergoch at the age of 23 while standing in the courtyard of the Los Angeles LGBT center. The former eventually cast her and Rodriguez in his film Tangerine LA , although neither of them had ever acted before. Baker and Bergoch also processed personal experiences of the two women in their script.

The production, filmed with three IPhone 5s , which premiered on January 23, 2015 at the Sundance Film Festival and was released on July 10 of the same year, received positive reviews from both audiences and critics. Because of this, the producers of the film started Oscar campaigns for the two leading actresses . This was the first campaign for two transgender actresses in the history of the Academy Awards, which received a lot of media coverage, although neither Taylor nor Rodriguez were ultimately nominated.

Taylor won a Gotham Award for becoming the first transgender actress , and she received the award in the Breakthrough Actor category . She also received an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress , which was also the first time a transgender actress won the award. After Tangerine LA , Taylor played the short film Happy Birthday, Marsha! the LGBT -Aktivistin Marsha P. Johnson , which play an important role in Stonewall held -Aufstand. That same year, Taylor also starred in Diane from the Moon , another short film, a pagan priestess who is stalked after a breakup . In December 2017, it was announced that Taylor would be cast in the recurring supporting role Barbara in AMC - Dramedy Dietland , which premiered on June 4, 2018.

In 2016 Taylor was signed by the talent agency ICM Partners , which represents her in the film and television business and supports her in the production of her own projects.

Filmography (selection)

  • 2015: Tangerine LA ( Tangerine )
  • 2016: Happy Birthday, Marsha! (Short film)
  • 2016: Diane from the Moon (short film)
  • 2019: Myra (short film)
  • 2018: Dietland (TV series, three episodes)
  • 2020: Stage Mother (short film)

Awards (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jordan Zakarin: Meet the Breakout Star of 'Tangerine,' the Sundance Sensation. In: Yahoo . July 8, 2015, accessed March 1, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Brendan Francis Newnam, 'Tangerine' Star Mya Taylor Talks Hollywood Realness. In: The Dinner Party Download. February 26, 2016, accessed March 1, 2020 .
  3. ^ Taylor Hess, "I Can't Try to Be an Activist If People Don't Know My Real Story": Tangerine's Mya Taylor. In: Filmmaker Magazine. October 29, 2015, accessed on August 23, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Kevin O'Keeffe: Meet Mya Taylor, the Trans Actress Set to Take Hollywood by Storm. In: Mic. July 8, 2015, accessed on August 23, 2020 .
  5. ↑ a b Michelle Ruiz: Mya Taylor and the Trans Actress's Dream of Going to the Oscars. In: Cosmopolitan . February 26, 2016, accessed March 1, 2020 .
  6. ^ Soraya McDonald: Mya Taylor is the face of this year's most improbable Oscar campaign. In: The Washington Post . November 30, 2015, accessed March 1, 2020 .
  7. ↑ a b John Walker: 'Tangerine' star Mya Taylor is determined not to be 'that person Hollywood forgets'. In: Splinter. October 23, 2015, accessed March 1, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Casey Newton: How one of the best films at Sundance was shot using an iPhone 5S. In: The Verge . January 28, 2015, accessed March 1, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Nigel M. Smith: Tangerine is a big deal, not just because it was shot on an iPhone. In: The Guardian . July 10, 2015, accessed March 1, 2020 .
  10. ^ Nigel M Smith: Mya Taylor: the transgender actor who could make Hollywood history. In: The Guardian . December 21, 2015, accessed March 1, 2020 .
  11. ^ Bryan White: 'Tangerine' Star Mya Taylor Is Fighting for the Next Chapter in Her Career. In: The Hollywood Reporter . July 19, 2018, accessed March 1, 2020 .
  12. ↑ Meena Jang: Spirit Awards: 'Tangerine' Star Mya Taylor Makes History as First Transgender Winner. In: The Hollywood Reporter. February 27, 2016, accessed March 1, 2020 .
  13. ^ Lesley Goldberg: AMC's 'Dietland' Enlists 'Tangerine' Breakout Mya Taylor. In: The Hollywood Reporter. December 7, 2017, accessed March 1, 2020 .
  14. ↑ Erik Pedersen: 'Dietland': AMC Sets Premiere Date For Timely Revenge-Fantasy Series Starring Joy Nash & Julianna Margulies. In: Deadline.com . March 8, 2018, accessed March 1, 2020 .
  15. ↑ Dave McNary: 'Tangerine' Star Mya Taylor Signs with ICM. In: Variety . January 6, 2016, accessed March 1, 2020 .
  16. ^ Richard Whittaker: Austin Critics Announce Award Nominees. In: The Austin Chronicle. December 16, 2015, accessed March 1, 2020 .
  17. ↑ Black Reel Awards '16 | Winners & Nominees. In: Black Reel Awards. February 20, 2016, accessed March 1, 2020 .
  18. ↑ Erik Anderson: 2015 New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) Winners: Carol Wins Best Pic, Director. In: Awards Watch. December 2, 2015, accessed March 1, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Taylor, Mya
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actress and singer
DATE OF BIRTH March 28, 1991
PLACE OF BIRTH Houston