Broadway BUZZ

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez won the 2022 Golden Globe for Best Actress in a TV Drama for her work as Blanca in Ryan Murphy’s award-winning series Pose on FX. She is the first transgender actress to receive the honor, and she scored an Emmy nomination for her performance. In addition, Michaela Jaé won the 2019 Imagen Award for Best Actress in Television, was nominated for a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series, an MTV Movie + TV Award in the category of Breakthrough Performance as well as two Gold Derby Awards for Drama Actress and Breakthrough Performance.  A Newark, New Jersey native, Michaela Jae’s career began on the stage, where she debuted in the Off-Broadway revival of Rent  as Angel. Michaela Jaé won the Clive Barnes Award for her performance. She starred as Audrey in the acclaimed 2019 Pasadena Playhouse production of Little Shop of Horrors, becoming the first trans woman of color to play the iconic role in a major production. Earlier this year, she joined the producing team of the Off-Broadway show Saturday Church starring J. Harrison Ghee and Joaquina Kalukango, with Michaela Jaé having starred in the original film. Next, she will appear on stage alongside Luke Evans in Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show, directed by Sam Pinkleton (Oh, Mary!) at Studio 54 on Broadway. Most recently, Michaela Jaé can be seen as a lead role in the third season of the Apple TV+ series “Loot,” alongside Maya Rudolph, created by Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard. She can be seen opposite Elizabeth Banks in Austin Peters’ 2024 feature film Skincare and the most recent season of Ryan Murphy's American Horror Story: Delicate with Emma Roberts and Kim Kardashian. She can also be seen opposite Andrew Garfield in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tick, Tick… Boom! for Netflix and Robin Thede's Emmy Award-winning comedy series A Black Lady Sketch Show for HBO. In addition to her acting career, Michaela Jae is a prolific gamer, Twitch streamer, and an accomplished musician. In 2024, Michaela Jaé released her highly anticipated debut album, 33, a ten-track record about a cloned humanoid navigating an alien world. The album received critical praise and standout tracks include “Green Lights” and “All Mine," both produced with longtime collaborator Nick Smith. In June 2025, she released “Two to Tango," a pulsating R&B-pop single co-written with Smith. Exploring the push and pull of desire, it was released with a hypnotic video co-directed by Jon Sams and Michael Ian. Within two weeks, the campaign earned 1.5M+ views, boosted Spotify listeners by 95%, and pushed TikTok followers past 400K. From her debut single "Something to Say" (2021) to the holiday favorite "Snow Globe" (2023) and now the bold vision of 33, Michaela Jaé continues to push boundaries both thematically and sonically. Her music is a celebration of individuality, resilience, and self-discovery, allowing listeners to explore and connect to the deepest parts of themselves. In 2023, Michaela Jaé was selected as the first trans ambassador for the prestigious beauty brand Charlotte Tilbury and was recently named the first-ever celebrity ambassador for the King’s Trust USA.