Michaela Jaé Has
Some Things To Say

You know her from Pose and her historic 2021 Emmy nomination. Now, the artist formerly known as Mj Rodriguez is ready for her 2.0 moment.

Welcome to the
Michaela Jaé era.

"I can finally officially say that I am moving from Mj Rodriguez to Michaela Jaé," the actress, singer, multi-hyphenate says fresh off of debuting her first single "Something to Say."

“I wanted people to see that I was more than just this character that I played on a television screen. ... The only way I was going to do that was if I really made a mark through my music and separated myself from the person who Mj was.”

When she's not busy on set or recording new music, Michaela Jaé is a "huge gamer" and a big fan of The Sims. "I know I don't have control over what's happening to me in my life, so I need something to control."

Beyond the avalanche of projects she has already secured, she wants to do a rom-com à la her “beacon” of inspiration, 2000s romance queen Jennifer Lopez.

Michaela jaé

"There are a lot of trans women who need to see trans-positive progressive love on their television screens so that it can be, quote-unquote, normalized.

And I say 'quote-unquote' because what is normal? Normal becomes normal once people, or the group of the world, become comfortable with it.

Once we have more stories like that on the television screen, people will see what love looks like [for] a trans person. ... It'll actually be a regular relationship like anyone else's relationship."

"I'm a light of positivity. Even though I know it's hard and I know it's not realistic to want positivity all over the world, I want to lead my career with love."

Photographed by Josefina Santos @josefinasantos
Styled by Abby Qi @abbyyqi
Prop styled by Marissa Herrmann @onepiecemaurice
Hair by Kyrsten Oriol @kyssheart
Makeup by Camille Thompson @killahcamz
Nails by Ami Vega @amivnails
Video by Kelsey Bennett @kelseybennett333
Story by Melissah Yang @melissahyang & Morgan Baila @morganbaila
Interview by Ariana Romero @_arianaromero