Laverne Cox: Beyonce taught me hard work

Laverne Cox says Beyonce taught her the importance of working hard.

The ‘Orange Is The New Black’ star looks up to the ‘Run The World’ hitmaker and has praised her amazing work ethic.

She said: "Beyonce represents excellence. Her work ethic is like nobody else I’ve ever seen.

"There were so many moments when I was shooting ‘Rocky Horror’ and I’d be exhausted. My body would be hurting and I’d be like, ‘Beyonce. Beyonce does this.’ You have to just put in the work."

And the 32-year-old actress also revealed she is a huge fan of Tina Turner and her songs.

She told America’s Cosmopolitan magazine: "The pain, pleasure, and agony of all she’s been through is in her voice. Her story is the story of so many black women who’ve endured abuse and come out the other side in such a brilliant, beautiful way."

Meanwhile, Laverne previously admitted she still feels as though she has a lot to prove in her life.

She shared: "It’s wild that I’m a black transgender woman who was born in Mobile, Alabama, raised by a single mother, and my life has gotten much bigger than I ever could have imagined. Being able to have a career as an actress, being a black woman and being trans, I have stuff to prove."

And whilst the actress used to keep quiet before, she is now happy to talk about being transgender.

She added: "There is power in accepting and owning my story. For years, I was trying to have an acting career and I thought I needed to not talk about being trans. I needed to try everything I could not to seem trans.

"I fully embraced and accepted being trans and stopped looking at it as a deficit and started looking at it as something that made me special and unique … All of those things that might be flaws, that we think are flaws, I believe our power is there."