When Bailey Anne Kennedy takes the national stage in Los Angeles this weekend at the Miss USA pageant, the Marylander will make history attempting to be the first transgender title winner in addition to being the first Asian and oldest contestant.

Previously, women over the age of 28 were ineligible; trans women have been allowed to compete for the past decade.

Kennedy has said she hopes her win will “open up some doors, open up some hearts” in how people view the LGBTQIA+ community.

But she’s not the first gender and sexual minority from Maryland to break barriers.

Here are other local trailblazers:

Isis King

In 2008, the Prince George’s county native became the first transgender woman cast on the powerhouse reality show “America’s Next Top Model.” She finished in 10th place. Three years later, she returned on cycle 17, an all-star themed season.

After being cast in the reality series “Strut,” she has also appeared on shows such as “Shameless,” “Good Trouble,” “The L Word: Generation Q,” and a breakthrough role on Netflix’s Emmy-winning limited series “When They See Us” by director Ava DuVernay.

In 2021, she landed the biggest role of her career when she was named to the main cast of the Amazon Prime ensemble series “With Love.” The show was renewed in 2022 for a six-episode second season.

King credits her Maryland upbringing and approach to the business with her success.

“I think that it has to do with perseverance. And remembering where I came from. And know that you have to spread our wings. You have to take those experiences and go and thrive. It’s about pushing through and keep going. Ninety-five percent of the industry is rejection. From the outside it seems like an easy, breezy job. It’s not,” she said.

Dominique Jackson

The trans actress attended high school in Baltimore County and has become a recognized figure in reality television on the 2016 transgender modeling show “Strut” and the Emmy Award-winning drama “Pose,” where Jackson portrayed the scene-stealing character Elektra Abundance. The revolutionary FX show centered on a trans cast — the first from a major studio production.

Jackson was active in Maryland’s ballroom scene before ascending in the entertainment industry.

She recently appeared at the Baltimore Trans Pride parade in June.

Telfar Clemens

The award-winning designer, known for their gender-neutral designs and status symbol handbags, moved to Gaithersburg with their family from New York City in 1993.

In 2017, Clemens was the recipient of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award and named the Accessories Designer of the Year at the 2020 CFDA Awards.

Most recently, the Liberian-American earned sartorial praise at the Paris Olympics by designing the opening ceremony uniforms for Liberia.

The sleek, black tunic-like garb with stark white trim bore the designer’s iconic “T” emblem, as well as the name of the country.

The outfits immediately caught the eyes of tastemakers worldwide.

Dazed Magazine also shouted out the uniforms — mentioning them in a roundup of the best opening ceremony looks, along with Ariana Grande, Celine Dion and Lady Gaga.

Tia Hopkins

In 2022, the Baltimore native made history by becoming the state’s first openly nonbinary candidate elected to the Democratic Central Committee, along with Antonio Bowens.

Hopkins will represent the state at the Democratic National Convention later this month in Chicago where they say they will vote in support of Kamala Harris to become the Democratic candidate for president.

“I don’t think I ever fit what people thought of as a woman. People would say, ‘You’re a tomboy.’ And at some point I said, ‘I don’t really fit in a box at all. I have always felt that way.’ I just never put it in writing or words other than a year and a half ago,” said Hopkins, who changed their gender to nonbinary on their license in 2021. “That was the first step. I said, ‘It’s on my license, it’s real.’”