Trace Lysette says trans actors will break 'glass ceiling' in GLAAD Media Awards speech for Monica

After a long awards season, Trace Lysette is finally getting her flowers.

Lysette earned much-deserved Oscar buzz for her riveting performance in Andrew Pallaoro’s family drama Monica this year, and at last night’s GLAAD Awards, she accepted the trophy for Outstanding Film - Limited Theatrical Release.

After thanking writer-director Andrea Pallaoro in her speech, Lysette mentioned that she filmed another movie around the same time that has yet to be released.

“About a month after I shot Monica, I shot another movie called Dope Queens with Alexandra Gray,” Lysette said to applause. “And it is loud, it is messy, it is camp. And it is equally as important. And we deserve to be those things too because we are not one thing. I am not one thing and you are not one thing. There needs to be space for all of us to be all those things.”

“It has been one hell of an awards season,” Lysette continued. There were a lot of expectations placed on this film after the standing ovation in Venice, and I had to kind of watch as people saw unfold what I already knew we were up against. I will say though, I do feel so proud we put another crack in that glass ceiling. We will get there, we will get there.”

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When Monica premiered at the Venice Film Festival, Lysette and the movie got an 11-and-a-half-minute standing ovation, immediately putting the movie into awards contention. However, after a long and difficult season, Lysette says she doesn’t view awards season the same.