Sometimes, when the mood strikes or the outfit is right, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez’s mother will offer to loan her a very special diamond-encrusted peace sign necklace.
Rodriguez, who stars in the new Broadway revival of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” wore the necklace when she found out she was nominated for an Emmy in 2021 for her role in “Pose.” (Rodriguez was the first openly transgender performer to be nominated for a lead acting category; in 2022, she became the first transgender actress to win a Golden Globe.)
In an interview that has been edited and condensed, Rodriguez dives deeper into the hand-me-down-and-around peace sign and talks about her loved ones who have imbued it with their magic.
Tell me about your necklace.
It’s this peace sign that my mother lends to me. She always wants her pieces back, but she lets me wear them a good amount.
I’m not married yet, but you know that tradition of something old, something new? That’s what I feel when I get it. It just feels like she’s handing over, crazy enough, a legacy and a lineage. The people that gave it to her were people that were really monumental in her life. My Aunt Nita, she was this rambunctious, spirited energy. God bless her, she passed away from cancer, but she still kept her juice. And my uncle, I had such a close relationship with him. He was a Capricorn, which makes it all the better because we’re Capricorns together.
What kind of events might prompt your mom to loan you the necklace?
When I’m going out for a show, or when I’m going for a big event, or when we’re traveling. She usually gives it to me for monumental moments in my life.
Is the necklace always with you, even if you’re not wearing it?
I don’t leave it alone. Usually it’s with me, and I’m always just checking it. Touch, for me, is a big thing. It’s a very spiritual and magical thing for me. Feeling it makes me know that there is some strength there. But if it’s gone, I feel like there’s kind of a separation. The only way I feel better is if it’s in my mom’s hands or if it’s in her possession again, honestly, because I know that it’s in a safe space and that energy is being harnessed in the right way.
Are there other people it’s connected to in your life?
I think my grandmother, more than anything, because my grandmother passed away in Covid, and my mom always wore it in that time. My Aunt Kim because she had it in the time when we were doing “Pose,” and my Aunt Kim passed away. My Aunt Debbie, too, who passed away from cancer.
Those are the people who are imbued in it, latched onto it, or a piece of their spirit.
Do you think about passing the peace sign necklace down someday?
Well, one, I feel like it would have to be a coming-of-age gift. I’d have to watch them grow and say, “You’ve gotten your stripes of growth, you’ve done a great job, and this is a really important piece to a lot of us.” If I had a daughter or a son, I’d probably give it to one of them, and more likely my daughter because, you know: mama, daughter, little baby girl. Or one of my nieces, and I have one in my mind already. I would probably give it to her, and I would just let her know that this is a piece of jewelry that has been handed down by very powerful women, and women who have instilled a lot of strength in me.
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