‘Orange is the New Black’ leaves legacy for women of color
NEW YORK – From corrupt, brutal overseers to the fraught world of inmate hierarchy to unlikely friendships and romances, “Orange is the New Black” told deeply rich and complex stories about life for women behind bars that resonated far beyond prison walls.
While it was originally centered around the privileged white character of Piper Chapman (played by Taylor Schilling), the supporting characters – some quirky, some volatile, some comic, some tragic – became the show’s breakout stars.
The award-winning Netflix series also became a showcase for actresses of color, thanks to nuanced story lines with depth that have often proved elusive.
Uzo Aduba won the dramedy’s only acting Emmys, while Emmy-nominee Laverne Cox, Danielle Brooks, Samira Wiley and Dascha Polanco all gave masterful performances that lifted their careers far beyond life in Litchfield federal penitentiary.
As the hit dramedy winds down with the seventh and final season on July 26, those actresses take a look back at the profound impact the series had on their lives.
Aduba (Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren)
A not-so-funny thing happened to Uzoamaka Nwanneka Aduba on her way to audition for a different part on the show: She was late.
She thought maybe the faux pas was the universe trying to tell her that acting wasn’t her destiny. Aduba, 38, had been trying professionally for about 10 years, with small victories, but she quit after her tardiness, thinking maybe a law career was the way to go as her parents, of Nigerian descent, preferred.
That’s when the life-changing phone call came. There was bad news: She didn’t get the part of track star-inmate Janae Watson. But there was also good: She was offered Crazy Eyes instead, though only for a couple of guest appearances.
Aduba’s role was extended and she won two Emmys, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Golden Globe.
What’s Next: Upcoming projects include the film “Beats” and the FX series “Mrs. America.”
Cox (Sophia Burset)
The LGBTQ activist didn’t quit her day job at the drag spot Lucky Cheng’s in Manhattan until after the first season of “Orange” wrapped. But it wasn’t long until she made history as the first trans person on the cover of Time magazine.
The magazine’s story accompanying the cover on the transgender tipping point had her describing her childhood in Mobile, Alabama, growing up bullied and harassed for presenting as feminine.
She came out as trans years later while working in New York City, where she took up acting.
Thanks to OINTB, where her character rode out cycles of acceptance, hatred and violence, Cox has used her star platform to educate the world and push for just treatment of LGBTQ people everywhere.
Cox was the first openly trans person to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category and the first to be nominated for any Emmy since composer Angela Morley in 1990.
What’s Next: She has several projects pending, including the film “Promise Young Woman.”
Brooks (Tasha “Taystee” Jefferson)
As the brash Taystee, Brooks showed the way not just for other actors of color, but for women of size.
“Cornbread fed, baby, cornbread fed,” she laughed.
The Augusta, Georgia-born Brooks was well on her way doing theater when “Orange” happened after she graduated with a bachelor’s from the Juilliard School.
Brooks is also a singer, earning a Tony nomination for Sofia (Oprah’s film part) in the 2015 Broadway production of “The Color Purple.” She dropped a music video in February for Black History Month featuring herself all glammed up and wet in a bathtub singing “Black Woman.”
What’s Next: She appears in the film “Clemency” and is working on an EP. She is also expecting her first child.
Wiley (Poussey Washington)
Wiley was a bartender for two and a half years after she, too, graduated Julliard when she auditioned for “Orange.” There were no promises that lesbian character Poussey would be a recurring role. After she got the job, she stayed at Fred’s Restaurant in Manhattan for the first couple of seasons.
“I didn’t want to be stupid about it and quit my job and then end up nowhere,” she told the AP.
Like her character, Wiley is gay. Raised in Washington, D.C., Wiley’s sexuality was embraced by her liberal pastor parents, which she considers key to her success. She’s now an advocate for LGBTQ, immigration and prison reform causes.
Wiley won three Screen Actors Guild Awards for Poussey. She went on to receive an Emmy nomination in 2017 for her portrayal of Moira in the Hulu series “The Handmaid’s Tale” and won an Emmy for that part the following year.
What’s Next: Wiley appears in the film “BIOS” and is working in a comedy, “Breaking News in Yuba County.”
Polanco (Dayanara “Daya” Diaz)
She had dreamed of becoming an actor as a child but thought her weight might hold her back, so she put herself through Hunter College instead, going to school as a teen mother raising a young daughter.
The Dominican Republic-born Polanco went on to earn a bachelor’s in psychology and worked in a hospital as she studied to be a nurse (and eventually had a second child, a son). But over time, she decided to pursue acting.
After minor roles in two TV series, she was cast in OITNB in 2012.
What’s Next: She plays Cuca in the film version of the stage musical “In the Heights” and worked in the film “iGilbert.”