Laverne Cox Dresses as Her New Barbie Doll at New York 50th Birthday Bash

Laverne Cox is ringing in her next decade in style!

The actress, 49, celebrated her upcoming milestone birthday on Thursday night dressed as her newly released Barbie doll.

Cox arrived at her birthday celebration at the Moxy Hotel rooftop in New York City and walked the pink carpet with her Barbie doll in hand. Both the Inventing Anna actress and her Barbie counterpart were wearing an oxblood dress featuring a tulle skirt and corset top.

At one point in the evening, as seen on social media, the star took off the corset top unveiling (just like her Barbie) a complete silver bodysuit underneath the tulle skirt.

Cox, who officially turns 50 on Sunday, told PEOPLE ahead of the big day that inspiring a doll in Mattel's legendary lineup feels "surreal."

"I can't believe it. I love her outfit," Cox said with a laugh. "What excites me most about her being out in the world is that trans young people can see her and maybe get to purchase her and play with her, and know that there's a Barbie made by Mattel, for the first time, in the likeness of a trans person."

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She added that she was "very involved" in every step of the design process as Mattel brought her Barbie to life.

"I was like, 'Can we make her look more like me? And more African American?'" Cox recalled of feedback she gave to the creative team. "And we had a conversation about highlights and lowlights because I'm blonde most of the time now, but I'm a Black girl, so I need a dark root. And we had a whole conversation about how they can't do that, but they could do dark low lights."

Cox — who made history as the first transgender woman of color to have a leading role in a scripted TV show in Orange Is the New Black — said given the current political climate surrounding transgender rights, the doll represents more than just a toy.

"I think in an environment where trans children have been used as a political football, when over 250 pieces of anti-trans legislation have been introduced in state legislatures all over the country in 2022 alone, and access to gender-affirming healthcare has been denied by policies signed into law in my home state of Alabama, in Arkansas and other states... That in this environment where trans kids are being attacked, that this can also be a celebration of transness, and also a space for them to dream, understand and be reminded that trans is beautiful," she said. "That there's hope and possibility for them to be themselves."

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Lisa McKnight, Executive Vice President and Global Head of Barbie and Dolls at Mattel, said the brand "couldn't be more excited" to partner with the four-time Emmy nominated actress and Emmy-winning producer.