Laverne Cox thinks she's ''too young to be an icon''.

The 31-year-old transgender actress, who's best known for her portrayal of Sophia Burset on the Netflix series 'Orange Is the New Black', has been applauded for breaking ground for the transgender community - but Laverne isn't keen to embrace her new-found status.

She said: ''I'm too young to be an icon.''

Despite this, the actress is proud to represent the transgender community.

She told the New York Post newspaper: ''It's not about me. That's the only way I can wrap my head around it.

''It's about God's will for me. It's about me trying to let God speak through me and through the work I do and lifting up the voices of other trans folks.''

Earlier this month, Laverne revealed she lives in a constant state of fear and has done since she was a child.

She said: ''As a black transgender woman, I've always felt unsafe. I grew up in lots of violence. I call it bullying, but it's really violence. I've been kicked on the street before.

''I took the subway for the first time in a while the other day, and there's just something about being in New York that makes me very ... I'm just programmed as a New Yorker to always be looking around, so I've never felt safe.''