The actress details her childhood and grappling with the abuse she endured in her memoir, “Transcendent.”

Laverne Cox opens up about twin brother not talking to their mom, star forgiving her for years of abuse

The actress details her childhood and grappling with the abuse she endured in her memoir, "Transcendent."

By Marina Watts

Marina Watts

Marina Watts is a news writer for with seven years experience covering entertainment, pop culture and celebrity news. Her previous work appears in PEOPLE, Bustle and Newsweek.

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June 1, 2026 11:55 a.m. ET

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Laverne Cox in New York in October 2024. Credit:

Sean Zanni/Getty Images for MUGLER Fragrances

- Laverne Cox is opening up about where her twin brother and mother stand ahead of the release of her memoir.

- “A huge reason I couldn’t write the book in 2014 is that I didn’t feel comfortable saying all of the things that my mother did,” Cox admitted.

- *Transcendent *is available for preorder wherever books are sold.

Laverne Cox is getting candid about her twin brother's relationship with their mother after they were both abused as children.

The *Inventing Anna** *actress gave an update on her relationship with her mother, Gloria, ahead of the release of her memoir, *Transcendent**. *Her twin brother, M Lamar, has a strained relationship after they were abused and neglected as children, while Cox had improved theirs over time through "healthy boundaries."

“My brother doesn’t talk to my mother, but I’ve moved to a new place with my mom, where I understand that she did the best she could with what she had,” she told PEOPLE. “My mother isn’t a villain. I love her dearly, but I also understand her limitations. I want her in my life, so I try to set healthy boundaries.”

Cox previously revealed that she and her brother were once left at an orphanage for a month during their childhood. Their mother, Gloria, was working four jobs to support her family, and one night, they were dropped off at their father's home. The twins were taken to a police station by their father's partner and wound up at an orphanage.

M Lamar and Laverne Cox in 2024.

Courtesy Laverne Cox

Cox also shed light on cycles of abuse throughout her family's history. “My grandfather was born on a plantation and was beaten as a child, forced to pick cotton, so, of course, he became abusive to my grandmother and his kids,” she said.

“My mother continued the abuse. I’m not having kids, but I do believe my brother and I have both broken that intergenerational cycle of trauma. We understand that we don’t have to be defined by that violence. That is really the journey of healing from trauma."

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Cox's upcoming memoir had been years in the making, but she wasn't ready to address the difficult truths of her upbringing and her mother's actions. “A huge reason I couldn’t write the book in 2014 is that I didn’t feel comfortable saying all of the things that my mother did,” she admitted.

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“A lot of it was about trying to protect her. And I was pretending it never happened. I had to grapple with what actually happened and how it made me feel.”

Laverne Cox and her mother Gloria Cox in West Hollywood in October 2016.

Tibrina Hobson/Getty

An official description for Cox's memoir reads in part: "Surviving a childhood full of trauma, dealing with depression, and working at a drag restaurant in New York City for seven years, Laverne was turning forty and felt it was time to throw in the towel when it came to being a Hollywood star—then she booked the character of Sophia Burset in Orange is the New Black. Her world changed overnight."

Readers will experience "life in Laverne’s shoes, from her childhood abuse to making her big break, dealing with Hollywood bureaucracy, feeling lonely in a world that is unaccepting, and finding her voice through the chaos of it all. With behind-the-scenes stories and personal reflection, we can heal and fight for equality, right alongside Lavern."

*Transcendent*, out on June 9,* *is available for preorder wherever books are sold.

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