Angelica Ross

Entrepreneur, activist and actress Angelica Ross became one of the leading figures of America's transgender community as the founder of TransTech Social Enterprises and the star of Emmy-nominated web series "Our Story" (2016). Born in Racine, WI, Ross joined the U.S. Army in her late teens but received an uncharacterized discharge under the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy just six months later after news of her sexuality emerged. Thrown out of her evangelical Christian parents' house while undergoing her gender transition, Ross moved to Florida where she briefly worked as a model and escort, studied Theater at Florida Atlantic University and founded her own graphic design and web development business. After serving as the employment coordinator at Chicago's Trans Life Center, Ross founded TransTech Social Enterprises, a non-profit organization designed to train and empower transgender women. Ross was subsequently named the inaugural Foot Soldier of the Year by political commentator Melissa Harris-Perry and asked to speak at the White House LGBT Tech and Innovation Summit. A year later she co-created and co-starred in "Her Story" (2016), a web series about two LA transgender women which picked up a nomination for Best Short at the 2016 Emmy Awards. Ross later guested on transgender dramedy "Transparent" (Amazon, 2014-) and short-lived legal drama "Doubt" (CBS, 2017), voiced the Mayor on children's animation "Danger and Eggs" (Amazon, 2017-) and landed the minor role of stripper Relevance on New Orleans crime series "Claws" (TNT, 2017-). After appearing in short films "Missed Connections" (2017) and "The Heart of a Woman" (2017), Ross was cast as Candy, one of five transgendered leads in Ryan Murphy's 1980s-based musical dramedy about New York's underground ball scene, "Pose" (FX, 2018-).