The Laverne Cox doll depicts her as herself at 50 years old.  Cox is an American actress, producer, and LBGTQ+ advocate.  The Black Label Barbie doll was released by Mattel on May 25, 2022 as part of their Tribute series and was designed by Carlyle Nuera. The Laverne Cox Barbie is Mattel’s first transgender Barbie doll. The doll retailed for $40.00 when released.

Cox was the first transgender actor to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy for her role as Sophia Burset on the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black in 2014.  She also won the first transgender Daytime Emmy for Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word in 2015.  She has gone on to appear as a regular character the CBS show Doubt and many guest roles and specials.

From the box:

“It’s important with all messages that you might tell you otherwise that you have it within yourself to say that I am smart, I am beautiful. I’m Amazing. I’m enough! – Laverne Cox

Laverne Cox

Actress and Activist

Laverne Cox is an award-winning actress, producer, writer and advocate.
Studying ballet at an early age is Alabama, Laverne went on to attend college in
New York where she earned BFA in Dance and discovered a passion for
acting. During that time, Laverne began outwardly matching her gender
expression with her identity, initially identifying as gender non-conforming and
later affirming her identity as female. With hard work and dedication, Laverne
booked her first appearance on a network drama in 2008, inspired by the
achievements of trans women who came before her. In 2012, she landed a
breakout role on a mainstream TV series, catapulting her to stardom and leading
to he becoming a four-time Emmy nominated actress and Emmy winning
producer. As the first transgender woman of color to have a leading role on a
scripted TV show, Laverne Cox uses her voice to amplify the message of moving
beyond societal expectations to live more authentically. Wearing an original
creation, Laverne’s ensemble is a triple treat with a deep red tulle gown
gracefully draped over a dazzling, silver metallic bodysuit. Her hair is side swept
into a glamorous Hollywood waves while dramatic makeup completes her look.

The Tribute Collection(TM) celebrates visionaries whose incredible
contributions have helped shape and impact culture.

The Cox doll’s outfit is a layered three piece ensemble that can be arranged into four different looks. When removing the doll the tulle skirt is tacked to box at bottom and sides sides and center with matching thread. The hair is sewn to a plastic insert and the head is attached with three plastic tag fasteners.

The top layer is a faux oxblood red leather bustier that Velcros in the back and is tack-stitched at the bottom which must be taken out to remove.

Underneath is a dark red tulle one sleeve, full, floor length, under dress/skirt.  The bottom layer is a shiny, sparkly, light silver Lycra catsuit with shoes attached. It Velcros in the back for easy removal. The top is held up with clear plastic straps. The bottom of the catsuit is glued to the clear plastic shoe sides with only the clear heel and sole showing.

The hair is two toned waist length blond with brunette highlights. It is styled long with a large product stiff curl from front hair on the doll’s right and a section pulled back on the doll’s left side and tied with small poly band under hair. The earrings have circular plastic protectors behind them.

The face has brown painted eyes with natural pink lips and silver painted nail manicure.  The silver plastic rounded square earrings give a jewel appearance with light reflections.

Articulation: Neck turns 360 up/down and tilt about 45 degrees, shoulders 360 joint but arms are short of 90 degrees out for top and bottom movement, so doll’s arms can’t be posed straight out. Elbow about 170 degrees so hand can be brought to face, hips joints allow splits in both directions but catsuit restricts extreme position.  Knee joints are about 160 degrees so leg kicks back almost all the way.  No ankle articulation and Barbie standard heeled foot.

To get the current prices of the Laverne Cox Barbie doll use these links.  The museum gets a small commission for qualified purchase using the following links. The doll is also still (June 4, 2022) available on the Mattel website for $40.00.