Dominique Jackson | |
---|---|
Born | |
Other names | Tyra Allure Ross |
Occupations |
|
Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) [1] |
Spouse | Al Jackson (m. 2016;div. 2018) |
Dominique Brebnor (born March 20, 1975), [2] known professionally as Dominique Jackson and Tyra Allure Ross, is a Tobagonian-American actress, author, model, and reality television personality. As an actress, she is best known for her leading role of Elektra Abundance on the FX television series Pose . As a model, she has appeared in Vogue España .
Dominique Jackson was born on March 20, 1975, in Scarborough, Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago. Jackson grew up with her grandmother. She experienced a traumatic upbringing that included bullying and sexual abuse. [3] Her family and community in Tobago did not accept her as transgender, and she was regularly reprimanded for displaying her natural feminine characteristics. At age 15, she moved to the United States and lived with her mother. [4] [5] [6] [7]
During her time in the United States, Jackson experienced homelessness and turned to sex work and living off credit cards for survival. [8] [9] It was in 1993, while living in Baltimore, Maryland, that Jackson was introduced to the ballroom scene. She then lived in various houses, including Revlon and Allure, before settling in the House of Sinclair in New York City. [10]
So that she could develop the right opportunities, Jackson did most of her early modeling work for free. In 2009, she became a resident model for fashion designer Adrian Alicea and walked for the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. [8] She has also modeled for Vogue España. She walked for the 2021 Mugler show, along with another trans model, Hunter Schafer. [11]
Jackson has appeared in My TRUTH, My STORY, a Caribbean LGBTQ oral history and storytelling documentary series produced by the Caribbean Equality Project, [12] the documentary Visible: The LGBTQ Caribbean Diaspora and the Oxygen reality television series Strut (2016). [13] Her work on Strut earned her a GLAAD Media Award nomination. [14]
In 2018, Jackson began appearing in the leading role of Elektra Abundance on the FX series Pose , set in the ballroom subculture scene in late-1980s New York City. The series premiered on June 3, 2018, and attracted critical acclaim. [15] [16] The first season boasted the largest cast of transgender actors for a scripted network series, [17] with over 50 transgender characters/actors. [18] She continued her role as Elektra Wintour in Pose's second and third seasons. [19]
In 2021, Jackson starred alongside Dionne Warwick and others in the short film Passage, created by Solange Knowles. [20]
Jackson has been open about her mental health struggles. After a thirteen-year writing process, she released her autobiography The Transsexual from Tobago. [22] [23] She has worked for several nonprofit organizations, such as Destination Tomorrow in the Bronx, that provide outreach and services to the LGBTQ+ community. [3]
In 2020, Jackson appeared in a series of public service announcements created by the Human Rights Campaign in cooperation with WarnerMedia, to support trans and non-binary communities. [24]
Jackson grew up very religious and was an active member of the church from a young age. When she was a child her family moved to New York, but she remained living with her grandmother in Trinidad and Tobago. Jackson revealed that around 11 years old she was sexually abused by a member of her church. [25]
At 15 years old, she moved to Baltimore with her mother. During that time, she came in contact with the trans community for the first time.
She obtained her green card in 2015, and also underwent gender-affirming surgery the same year. [9]
She married Al Jackson at a courthouse in 2016 after dating for about 18 years. The wedding ceremony was held during an episode of Strut . [23]
In 2018, while vacationing at a resort in Aruba, Jackson reported to the authorities that a man attempted to rape her. [26]
In 2020, Jackson revealed on her social media that she had separated from her husband in late 2018. [27]
On an episode of House Hunters that aired on June 1, 2021, it was presented that Jackson was engaged to her personal manager, Edwin Torres. [28]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2009 | Christopher Street: The Series | Health Specialist | Film debut, TV movie |
2015 | MY TRUTH, MY STORY: A Caribbean LGBTQ+ Oral History Project | Herself | Documentary |
2020 | Chick Fight | Noami | |
TBR | Visible: The LGBTQ Caribbean Diaspora | Herself | Documentary |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | Call Me | Nicolette | Episode: "Pilot" |
2016 | Strut | Herself | 6 episodes |
2018–21 | Pose | Elektra | 25 episodes |
2020 | Legendary | Herself | Episode: "Circus Bezerkus" |
2021 | American Gods | Ms. World | 3 episodes |
2022 | Legendary | Herself | Episode: "Slayground Playground Ball" |
2022 | American Horror Stories | Bloody Mary | Episode: "Bloody Mary" |
Dorian Corey was an American drag performer and fashion designer. She appeared in Wigstock and was featured in Jennie Livingston's 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning.
Founded in 1982, the House of Xtravaganza is one of the most publicly recognized "houses" to emerge from the New York City underground ballroom scene and among the longest continuously active. House of Xtravaganza members and the collective group is recognized for their cultural influence in the areas of dance, music, visual arts, nightlife, fashion, and community activism. House of Xtravaganza members continue to be featured in popular media and travel the world as ambassadors of voguing and the ballroom scene.
Our Lady J is a screenwriter, producer and director, best-known for her work on Pose, Transparent, and American Horror Story. She is the first out trans woman to perform at Carnegie Hall, as well as the first out trans writer to be hired in a television writers room.
Jazz Jennings is an American YouTube personality, spokesmodel, television personality, and LGBT rights activist. Jennings is one of the youngest publicly documented people to be identified as transgender. Jennings received national attention in 2007 when an interview with Barbara Walters aired on 20/20, which led to other high-profile interviews and appearances. Christine Connelly, a member of the board of directors for the Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth, stated, "She was the first young person who picked up the national spotlight, went on TV and was able to articulate her perspective and point of view with such innocence." Her parents noted that Jennings was clear on being female as soon as she could speak.
Madison Hinton, known professionally as Ts Madison, is an American reality television personality and actress. With the reality show The Ts Madison Experience, she became the first Black transgender woman to star in and act as executive producer of her own reality series. She has appeared in a variety of smaller films and some major television programs.
Angelica Ross is an American actress, businesswoman, and transgender rights advocate. A self-taught computer programmer, she went on to become founder and CEO of TransTech Social Enterprises, a firm that helps employ transgender people in the tech industry.
Leiomy Maldonado, known as the "Wonder Woman of Vogue", is a transgender Puerto Rican dancer, instructor, model, activist, and ballroom dancer. She is the founder of the House of Amazon and best known for her voguing. Maldonado introduced a new style of voguing which is more athletic and dramatic when she entered into the scene in early 2000s New York.
Trace Lysette is an American actress whose most notable roles include Shea in the television series Transparent (2014–2019) and Tracey in the feature film Hustlers (2019). As a trans actress, she also featured in the Netflix documentary Disclosure as herself.
Pose is an American drama television series about New York City's ball culture, an LGBTQ subculture in the African-American and Latino communities, throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Featured characters are dancers and models, who compete for trophies and recognition in this underground culture and who support one another in a network of chosen families known as Houses.
Leyna Bloom is an American actress, model, dancer, and activist. She has attracted press as a trailblazer for transgender performers in the entertainment and fashion industries.
Crystal LaBeija was an American drag queen and trans woman who co-founded the House of LaBeija in 1968. The House is often credited as starting the house system in ball culture. She became a mother figure for homeless LGBTQ youth.
Ariadne Getty is an American philanthropist, businesswoman, and film producer.
"Pilot" is the first episode of the American drama television series Pose, which aired on FX on June 3, 2018. The 77-minute episode was written by series creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Steven Canals, and directed by Murphy.
Michaela Antonia Jaé Rodriguez, formerly known as Mj Rodriguez, is an American actress and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, Rodriguez attended several performing arts schools in her youth before being cast in a theater production of Rent as Angel Dumott Schunard, winning the 2011 Clive Barnes Award for her performance.
Indya Adrianna Moore is an American actor and model. They are known for playing the role of Angel Evangelista in the FX television series Pose. Time named them one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2019. Moore is transgender and non-binary, and uses they/them and she/her pronouns.
Hailie Sahar is an American actress. She is known for her performance as Lulu Abundance, and later as a co-founder of the House of Ferocity, in the TV series Pose.
Angel Bismark Curiel is an American actor from Liberty City, Miami. He has appeared in America Adrift (2016), Louie's Brother Peter (2017), Night Comes On (2018), Monsters and Men (2018) and Ashes (2018). He came to national attention in 2018 for his portrayal as Lil Papi Evangelista on FX's popular television drama series Pose. In fall of 2019 his latest film, Critical Thinking, was released.
Laith Ashley De La Cruz is an American model, actor, activist, singer-songwriter and entertainer of Dominican descent.
Fola Francis was a Nigerian transgender model, LGBTQIA+ activist and entrepreneur. In 2022, she became the first trans model to walk the Lagos Fashion Week runway for Cute-Saint and Fruché. Her debut on the runway had ripple effects, with the Lagos Fashion Week's team deciding not to post any of her pictures.