Backstage.com – By P. Ryan Baber
Although long known to the gay community, breakout star Candis Cayne became a household name this year with her recurring role as the male-to-female transgender character Carmelita on ABC’s
She also made history as the first transgender actress to play a transgender character in primetime, and she even shared an onscreen kiss with William Baldwin. “It just never would have occurred to me to cast a person that wasn’t transgender,” says creator and executive producer Craig Wright. “The minute Candis walked through the door, there wasn’t a single ounce of opposition.”