Janet Mock hosting MSNBC's So Popular!
Photo by Juston Smith - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Janet Mock

Director

POSITION

Director

COUNTRY

USA

AGE

41 years

Website

Janet Mock

SCENE

Social

SOCIAL

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

What makes Janet Mock a Global Shaker?

Janet Mock is a Hawaiian-born, American writer, model, television host, director, producer and transgender rights activist. Mock came out as trans in a Marie Claire article in 2011 and has turned the internet into a safer space for trans women.

She uses her strong social media presence to educate and present an intersectional discussion about race, gender, and class and is responsible for the viral Twitter hashtag #GirlsLikeUs, which she started to empower other transgender women.

Her debut book, the memoir Redefining Realness, became a New York Times bestseller in 2014. She is a contributing editor for Marie Claire and a former staff editor of the website for People magazine.

Mock also hosts the pop culture talk show So Popular!

In 2014, following the conviction of activist and transgender woman of colour Monica Jones, Mock joined a campaign against a Phoenix law that allows police to arrest anyone suspected of “manifesting prostitution,” which Mock says targets transgender women of colour.

In April 2015, Oprah Winfrey invited Mock to be a guest on Super Soul Sunday for a segment titled, “Becoming Your Most Authentic Self,” where she discussed “proudly and unapologetically” claiming her identities. In September 2015, Mock was invited back to join Winfrey’s Super Soul Sessions where Mock discussed, “Embracing The Otherness.” In 2016, Mock was named to Oprah’s SuperSoul 100 list of visionaries and influential leaders.

Mock is a director, producer and writer on FX’s Pose. Set in the 1980s, Pose explores the juxtaposition of several segments of life and society in New York: the ball culture world, the rise of the luxury industry, and the downtown social and literary scene. It has been praised for its inclusion of multiple transgender characters.

In June 2019, it was announced that Mock had signed a landmark deal with Netflix, making her the first out transgender woman to call the creative shots at a major content company.

The series “Hollywood” will highlight communities that have been historically ignored by the film industry.

Tags: entertainment, LGBTQ+, TV

Last updated: March 31, 2020