Overview
- Qween Jean won the Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Musical for Cats: The Jellicle Ball on Sunday, June 7, 2026, becoming the first openly transgender person to win a Tony.
- She earned two nominations this season, also up for Best Costume Design of a Play for Liberation, marking a high-profile Broadway debut after earlier off‑Broadway recognition.
- Jean said she built roughly 500 costumes for Cats that include tributes to trans revolutionaries such as Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera and Miss Major Griffin‑Gracy.
- During her acceptance speech she declared “Pride is a protest” and urged a serious investigation into the treatment and detentions at the Newark Delaney Facility.
- Coverage notes she designed her own Tonys gown and Whitney White’s dress, and one outlet’s single-source claim that she is the first Black woman to win this category remains limited in sourcing.