Born in Newark, New Jersey , Rodriguez attended several performing arts schools in her youth before being cast in a theater production of Rent as Angel Dumott Schunard , winning the Clive Barnes Award for her performance.
Following her performance in Rent , Rodriguez took a hiatus from performing to transition. In , Rodriguez was cast as one of the lead roles in the FX television series Pose , making her part of the largest cast of transgender actresses to be starring as series regulars in a scripted series.
While attending college, Rodriguez was cast in a theater production of Rent as Angel Dumott Schunard. Rodriguez had wanted to play the role since first seeing the film adaptation. Walker-Browne asked Rodriguez to read for the part of Angel and helped her to land an audition in an upcoming off-Broadway production of Rent. During this period, Rodriguez began to fully explore the transitioning process. Following the conclusion of the off-Broadway revival in , Rodriguez made the decision to go on hiatus to begin transition.
Beginning with hormone replacement therapy in early , [ 4 ] and allowing sufficient time for privacy, Rodriguez reemerged as an actress. Rodriguez then contacted her representation to inform them that she was no longer auditioning for male roles. Following her reemergence, Rodriguez uploaded a video of herself on Facebook singing the number "Satisfied" from the Broadway musical Hamilton.
Rodriguez also landed a supporting role in the independent film Saturday Church as Ebony. The film, which premiered in January , depicted a runaway teenager exploring their gender identity and becoming involved in the contemporary underground ball culture scene. In , Rodriguez was cast in the leading role of Blanca Evangelista in the FX series Pose following a six-month casting search.
