Dominique Jackson

Dominique Jackson was a model and actor, originally from Trinidad and Tobago, who overcame a lifetime of obstacles as a black transgendered woman before becoming the face of fashion spreads, reality TV shows, and finally a prestigious, groundbreaking LGBT-themed series. Born in Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago, Jackson had a rough childhood. Though her family was relatively wealthy and enjoyed top social status on her island nation, she had to endure a lot: in addition to hiding her trans identity, she was bullied for not being masculine enough, and was molested by a local preacher. Jackson tried to come out as trans to her friends and family, but they were unwilling to accept her. When the discrimination became too much, Jackson fled Trinidad and Tobago for America. In 1993, she arrived in Baltimore, and soon made her way to New York City. Sadly, Jackson's new life would come with just as many hardships: while going through her transition, Jackson tried to go to school and support herself by performing and emceeing at gay bars and night clubs around the city, but money was often tight. Jackson went through periods of homelessness, turned to sex work in order to make a living, and at one point found herself saddled with tens of thousands of dollars in credit card debt. On top of all that, she was living in the United States illegally, and under the constant threat of deportation. However, at the dawn of the new millennium, things started looking up for Jackson: she met her future husband, Al, who helped get her citizenship and financial issues straight. She also began booking modeling gigs for the first time, after years of doing free shows. This culminated with her first appearance at New York Fashion Week in 2009, when she walked the runway for Adrian Alicea. In 2014, Jackson released her memoir, The Transsexual from Tobago, to critical acclaim. Soon afterwards, fellow trans model Cecilio Asuncion proposed starting a modeling agency specifically for trans women. Despite some reservations, Jackson signed on, and Slay Inc. was born. Jackson was catapulted to further fame when the agency became the subject of a reality TV series, "Strut" (Oxygen Network, 2016), produced by Whoopi Goldberg. During the filming, she and Al were married, making her the first transgender person to be married on TV in the United States. In 2018, Jackson made TV history again, when she was one of five transgender performers cast in the series "Pose" (FX, 2018), Ryan Murphy's take on the 80s NYC gay ballroom culture. The show set a record for largest LGBT+ cast in the history of American TV.