The Pose star, 31, became the first trans actress to win a Golden Globe award in its 80-year history and has had breakout roles on Broadway and even a scene-stealing performance opposite Maya Rudolph in Apple TV+’s Loot.

Rodriguez won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Series for her role as house mother and nurse, Blanca, in the FX hit series.

But because of her trans identity, she believed she would never “be seen,” let alone become the next big thing in Hollywood.

“I didn’t expect myself to be here, I thought I was going to be the girl who just blends into the crowd, who saw herself and knew she had talents, but didn’t think that they would be seen, simply because of who she was and how she moved in the world,” she told Newsweek.

Rodriguez feels “very, very proud” of her career achievements but even more so because it has given her an ability to champion the trans community and advocate for their rights.

“I’m so glad that I’m a part of this really big movement and change in time and I don’t ever want to stop, I still want to be one of the girls who is on the frontlines of change and making sure it constantly happens,” she explained.

“I love doing it through creativity and art. It’s one of my strongholds. I mean, I can get down politically as well, but I choose to influence through art because it has even more sense of love and emotion.”

The triple threat says it’s critical to “pay attention to the things that are happening in the world that are affecting people like me” and her rich intersectional identity of a Latina woman of color “who is trans.”

Co-created by Ryan Murphy, Pose helped put trans stories and actors at the forefront.

Rodriguez describes receiving feedback from many people that watching the series helped to educate them about a community they previously had no idea about and made them understand the plight of marginalized communities.

It’s for this reason, the performer continues to work on campaigns and programs to better the lives of trans people.

She teamed up with Citi on its initiative, the Chosen Name Offering, which will allow credit card and debit customers to update the name on their cards without requiring a legal name change.

It will be a significant help for trans and non-binary people who can face harassment or denial of service after showing ID with a name or gender marker that doesn’t match their appearance, according to the U.S. Transgender Survey by the National Center for Transgender Equality.

The same survey showed 68 percent of respondents reported that none of their IDs had their chosen name.

Rodriguez explained fear of discrimination or “long, tumultuous” bureaucratic processes can be huge barriers for trans people when trying to update official documents with the correct name.

“This initiative is a groundbreaking kind of movement that needs to happen. And needs to happen a little bit more with other organizations,” she said.

“It makes it as seamless as possible [because] it can be quite embarrassing, especially if there’s a person who has not told anyone about their transness… it can be quite dangerous for them in those spaces.”

Rodriguez said: “And sometimes there are people who are not the nicest addressing them [trans people] or having a gentle touch when it comes to handling the name change process.”

The actress said this new process will give “confidence to any LGBTQI individual out there who wants to feel comfortable in their identity.”

Having the correct name on your bank card and then being addressed by that name can also offer a great sense of affirmation and have a positive effect on someone’s mental health.

Or as Rodriguez describes, will “give someone that boost of energy and boost of confidence to get them through the day.”

Knowing that she can make a difference for trans people to build a bridge for them and the mainstream world has been a huge motivator for Rodriguez.

She wants to make sure she can use her platform to “open the floor” for communication between trans and cis gendered people—those who identify in the gender assigned at birth—“to be communicative and transparent about who we are, make things better and how we can move forward together.”

“If I weren’t doing this, then I would be doing a disservice to my community. And I would also be doing a disservice to the allies out there,” Rodriguez said.

She is more than just the face of Citi’s new initiative but also someone who has a voice and can speak up for her community.

“We are collectively conversing and making sure that we show the right representation when it comes to identity, how important it is to everyone, and how most importantly, it is for trans individuals and gender non-conforming individuals due to the disproportionate rates of trauma we go through,” Rodriguez said.