Transgender actress Candis Cayne will
guest star in a recurring role on ABC's medical drama Grey's
Anatomy.
Cayne, 46, is best known for her
portrayal of transgender mistress Carmelita on the ABC drama Dirty
Sexy Money. The role was groundbreaking in 2007 because it was
the first time a transgender actress appeared as a recurring
transgender character on primetime network television. She's also
appeared on FX's Nip/Tuck, Amazon's Transparent and I
Am Cait, the E! reality series based on the life of Caitlyn
Jenner.
According to The Hollywood Reporter,
Cayne wil play a transgender patient who undergoes “groundbreaking”
vaginoplasty surgery at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.
“[The surgery] revolutionizes the
making of a vagina and we thought that was a really cool story and
Candis is playing a character inspired by something we read,”
showrunner
Krista Vernoff said.
This isn't the only transgender
storyline for the show this season. Intern Dr. Casey Parker (played
by transgender actor Alex Blue Davis) came out as a “proud trans
man” in an episode that aired earlier this month.
Davis said that he cried at the table
read. “I've been waiting for a moment like this on TV my whole
life. I am so honored I got to say that line on TV because it's a
long time coming,” he
said.