Wax figure of popular transgender actress unveiled at San Francisco museum

SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) – Actress Laverne Cox and Madame Tussauds San Francisco made history when they unveiled Cox's wax figure at the Fisherman's Wharf location on Friday.

For a woman at the forefront of transgender awareness and acceptance, Cox marked a milestone with the drop of a curtain. The unveiling marks the first time a transgender wax figure has been on display in the museum's history.

Cox, a star on the Netflix show, "Orange is the New Black," said she still can't wrap her head around the honor.

"I'd like the think about the folks who might be inspired seeing this, the trans folks out there, the people of color out there, the working class people out there who might see this figure and find some inspiration," she said.

The wax figure is standing in the same pose and wearing the same dress Cox wore when she graced the cover of Time Magazine in June 2014.

Aside from the unveiling, Cox said she too is celebrating the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on marriage equality which came down hours before.

"I'm really excited for all of the folks out there who have found love and been able to find love and want to have that honored by the institution of marriage," Cox said. "I also can't help but think about, as a transgender woman of color, how so many of my girlfriends and transgender women have had difficulty finding love."

She said the work for LGBT equality continues. She did offer a message for transgender children who face system barriers in their community.

"You're not what other people are saying about you," she said. "You are who you know you are in your heart to be."

It's a message Cox has told herself many times before. Believing in herself is what has got her this far.

"I'd like to believe if a black, transgender woman from Mobile, Alabama from a working class background can have a wax figure, maybe anything is possible."