Let's Celebrate These 25 Openly Gay Celebrities
Gay culture has become more or less accepted in the mainstream thanks to more everyday people coming out with friends and family, greater visibility on TV (thank you “Will & Grace”) and even more political backing.
But that wasn’t always the case, and for many, it sadly still isn’t. The arts have attracted gay and lesbian people almost for the beginning, but it’s only in the past few decades that they could publicly be out of the closet. And many of them have continued to advocate on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community in the hopes that others can feel as comfortable as they have become in their own skins.
Here then are 25 of our favorite gay celebrities who are proud to be themselves.
Harvey Fierstein
Date of birth: June 6, 1954
Year he came out: Unknown
What you know him from: “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “Independence Day,” “Bullets Over Broadway”
Why He’s One of Our Faves
When it comes to coming out, actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein claims he was never in the closet to begin with — he was simply always himself. Fierstein worked his way up through the ranks of Broadway in the 1970s and wrote several plays, including “The Torch Song Trilogy.”
He also has an innate funny bone, as evidenced when he played Robin Williams’ gay brother in “Mrs. Doubtfire,” who helps Williams “become” a woman to get back into his estranged children’s lives. Fierstein also voiced Karl, Homer Simpson’s one-time assistant, on an early episode of “The Simpsons.”
Elliot Page
Date of birth: Feb. 21, 1987
Year he came out: 2014
What you know him from: “Juno,” “Inception,” “Umbrella Academy”
Why He’s One of Our Faves
Actor Elliot Page (formerly known as Ellen Page) came out in 2014 at a Time to Thrive conference in Las Vegas, and more recently came out as trans and queer in a letter to fans on Twitter in December 2020.
"I love that I am trans. And I love that I am queer. And the more I hold myself close and fully embrace who I am, the more I dream, the more my heart grows and the more I thrive," he wrote.
Jodie Foster
Date of birth: Nov. 19, 1962
Year she came out: 2007
What you know her from: “The Silence of the Lambs,” “Contact,” “The Accused”
Why She’s One of Our Faves
Jodie Foster “quietly” came out as a lesbian at a press event in 2007 when she thanked her longtime partner for always being supportive. However, she took to an even bigger stage to share her preference at the 2013 Golden Globe Awards, where she was recognized with a lifetime achievement award.
The two-time Oscar winner smiled and whispered from the stage that she had something major to share: “I’m single,” she said, to much applause.
Ellen DeGeneres
Date of birth: Jan. 26, 1958
Year she came out: 1997
What you know her from: “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” “Ellen,” “Mr. Wrong”
Why She’s One of Our Faves
When Ellen DeGeneres — both the actress and the character she played on the sitcom “Ellen” — came out in 1997, the backlash was swift. ABC, owned by Disney, soon canceled her show amid pressure from religious groups, and DeGeneres later claimed she didn’t get much showbiz work for several years thereafter.
Fast-forward two decades, and DeGeneres’s daytime talk show is a staple of the airwaves. Despite the controversy around her show in 2020, she’s helped shed light on several LGBTQ+ topics as well as issues on race and gender equality.
Elton John
Date of birth: March 25, 1947
Year he came out: 1988
What you know him from: “Rocket Man,” “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” “Crocodile Rock”
Why He’s One of Our Faves
Born Reginald Kenneth Dwight, the artist known around the world as Elton John was a hit-making machine in the early-’70s, but booze almost derailed his musical ambitions. In 1976, the “Danel” songsmith claimed he was bisexual, but in 1988, he revised that self-description to say he liked men exclusively.
Sir Elton — he was knighted in 1998 — got sober for good in 1990 and has been married to longtime partner David Furnish since 2014.
Tig Notaro
Date of birth: March 24, 1971
Year she came out: Unknown
What you know her from: “Star Trek: Discovery,” “Transparent,” “The Sarah Silverman Program”
Why She’s One of Our Faves
Tig Notaro famously fought — and beat — a rather serious bout with cancer nearly a decade ago, but not before undergoing a double mastectomy and many rounds of subsequent treatment.
Since that time she’s become one of the most recognized comic performers out there, known as much for her amazing humor as for her deadpan delivery and straight-faced visage. Notaro and her wife Stephanie are proud parents of twins born via a surrogate.
Ian McKellen
Date of birth: May 25, 1939
Year he came out: 1988
What you know him from: “X-Men,” “Lord of the Rings,” “Gods and Monsters”
Why He’s One of Our Faves
Ian McKellen announced he was gay during a BBC radio interview when the respected stage and film actor spoke out against the controversial Section 28, which aimed to prohibit “promoting” homosexuality in public. (The rule was only repealed in the United Kingdom in 2003.)
McKellen has said he’s never met anyone who regretted coming out, and he’s continued to press for social acceptance for LGBTQ+ persons. Interestingly, McKellen is best buddies with his “X-Men” foe Patrick Stewart from way back in their drama school days — and he even officiated at Stewart’s wedding to Sunny Ozell.
Rupert Everett
Date of birth: May 29, 1959
Year he came out: 1989
What you know him from: “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” “Shakespeare in Love,” “The Importance of Being Earnest”
Why He’s One of Our Faves
After mastering the acting craft on England’s stages, Rupert Everett started getting film and TV work as well. He came out in 1989, at which point he claimed he lost any chance of getting acting jobs in Hollywood.
But Julia Roberts knew talent when she saw it, and her scenes with Everett as her gay bestie in 1997’s “My Best Friend’s Wedding” basically stole the movie. Even with people raving about his brilliant comedic turn with Roberts, Everett never successfully got a foothold on this side of the Atlantic, but he’s worked steadily in England ever since.
George Takei
Date of birth: April 20, 1937
Year he came out: 2005
What you know him from: “Star Trek,” “Heroes,” “The Simpsons”
Why He’s One of Our Faves
It’s never too late to come out. Just ask Sulu himself, George Takei, who announced in 2005 — at the age of 68 — that he was not only gay but had been in a committed relationship with partner Brad Altman for nearly two decades.
According to the Washington Post, this coincided with then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoing a bill that would have legalized same-sex marriage in California. Takei and Altman finally married in 2008, with none other than Takei’s Trekmate Walter Koenig (Chekov) by his side as best man.
Lil Nas X
Date of birth: April 9, 1999
Year he came out: 2019
What you know him from: “Old Town Road,” “Haters Are Sad,” “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”
Why He’s One of Our Faves
The musician Lil Nas X scored an absolute knockout with his song “Old Town Road.” It broke barriers between country and hip-hop music, and audiences dug it so much it became the longest-running song atop the Billboard Hot 100 — staying there for an impressive 19 straight weeks before Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy” knocked it out of the top spot in August 2019.
While riding that extremely impressive ride during the summer of 2019, Lil Nas X, then just 20 years old, announced, on the very last day of Pride Month, that he was gay.
Lance Bass
Date of birth: May 4, 1979
Year he came out: 2006
What you know him from: NSYNC
Why He’s One of Our Faves
That insidious boy band NSYNC gave us far too many earworms at the turn of the millennium, including “Bye Bye Bye” and “Tearin’ Up My Heart.” Girls swooned wherever the fellas went, but little did they know that member Lance Bass was closeted, largely due to his strict Southern Baptist upbringing.
NSYNC didn’t last long into the 21st century, and Bass let his big secret out to the public in 2006. His former bandmates, including Justin Timberlake, were incredibly supportive — only wishing he had told them when NSYNC was still together.
Rob Halford
Date of birth: Aug. 25, 1951
Year he came out: 1998
What you know him from: Judas Priest, Skid Row, Halford
Why He’s One of Our Faves
Thankfully pejorative terms like “sissy” have largely exited polite conversation when it comes to referring to gay people, and we double-dog dare you to call Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford that word to his face!
The British rocker has been “breakin’ the law” and “living after midnight” for a half-century, and he came out publicly in 1998 following years of rumors. Halford broke down in an interview, in which he shared, “It’s a wonderful moment when you walk out of the closet. Now, I’ve done that … I’ve freed myself.”
Jim Parsons
Date of birth: March 24, 1973
Year he came out: 2012
What you know him from: “The Big Bang Theory,” “Hollywood,” “Young Sheldon”
Why He’s One of Our Faves
For 12 seasons, actor Jim Parsons played the ultimate nerd, Dr. Sheldon Cooper, on TV’s “The Big Bang Theory.” Whether he was looking down his nose at the less educated or fawning over high-wattage guest stars like Leonard Nimoy, Parsons made being super-smart look pretty cool.
Parsons announced he was gay in a 2012 interview with The New York Times, in which he also shared he had been in a relationship with a man for a decade.
Melissa Etheridge
Date of birth: May 29, 1961
Year she came out: 1993
What you know her from: “Come to My Window,” “Bring Me Some Water”
Why She’s One of Our Faves
What better time than the change of a presidential administration to come out to the world? That’s precisely what singer/songwriter Melissa Etheridge did at the Triangle Ball, an LGBTQ+-friendly event held on Jan. 20, 1993, the same day Bill Clinton was sworn in for his first term in the White House.
Etheridge said she had been inspired by fellow singer k.d. lang, who came out as a lesbian the year before.
Scott Thompson
Date of birth: June 12, 1959
Year he came out: Unknown
What you know him from: “The Kids in the Hall”
Why He’s One of Our Faves
If you’ve never seen the Canadian sketch series “The Kids in the Hall,” do yourself a favor, and seek it out on a streaming service pronto. “Saturday Night Live” producer Lorne Michaels brought the series south of the St. Lawrence for American audiences, introducing the world to Mark McKinney (later an SNL cast member), Dave Foley and, of course, the always-hilarious Scott Thompson.
Thompson’s most famous character on the sketch show was the gay barfly “Buddy Cole,” whom Thompson has revived over the years to comment on all manners of cultural issues.
Neil Patrick Harris
Date of birth: June 15, 1973
Year he came out: 2006
What you know him from: “How I Met Your Mother,” “Doogie Howser, M.D.,” “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”
Why He’s One of Our Faves
Neil Patrick Harris can act, and he certainly can sing, as his many turns on Broadway and in the web series “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” prove. Harris came out in 2006, partly as his relationship with partner David Burtka was flowering, and thus they would soon be seen together publicly.
Harris and Burtka have two children, and they married legally in 2014. Need more evidence that he’s a great actor? Harris played the hetero horndog Barney for nine seasons on “How I Met Your Mother.”
Anderson Cooper
Date of birth: June 3, 1967
Year he came out: 2012
What you know him from: CNN, “60 Minutes,” “The Mole”
Why He’s One of Our Faves
After years of rumors, silver-haired news anchor Anderson Cooper publicly acknowledged his true self in 2012, saying he was “comfortable with myself and proud” upon sharing with the world his proclivities.
The newsman had been rather cagey about his personal life previous to that, but he said part of the reason he came out was “the tide of history only advances when people make themselves fully visible.”
John Waters
Date of birth: April 22, 1946
Year he came out: Unknown
What you know him from: “Pink Flamingos,” “Hairspray,” “Serial Mom”
Why He’s One of Our Faves
The most unusual of filmmakers came from Baltimore, Maryland, of all places. Waters has been directing movies his own way since the early-’70s. His transgressive approach to film-making has earned his films, including “Hairspray” and “Pink Flamingos,” cult-like followings.
But he’s also taken time to act in other people’s work, too. His most hilarious job-for-hire: voicing a kitsch-shop owner named John (duh) on a “Simpsons” episode, whom Homer takes a shine to as a buddy … until he realizes John, well, likes men. The episode, “Homer’s Phobia,” is not only hilarious but shows how illogical the fear of gay people really is.
Andy Cohen
Date of birth: June 2, 1968
Year he came out: 2009
What you know him from: “The Real Housewives,” “Project Runway,” “Below Deck”
Why He’s One of Our Faves
Andy Cohen has hosted many, many iterations of the “Real Housewives” franchise, and he’s got it down pat when it comes to getting those backstabbing ladies to dish the dirt on one another. Yep, he loves gossip — so it was little surprise to fans when he announced in 2009, during a “Real Housewives of New Jersey” reunion show, that he was gay.
But he’d been out to close friends for many years, including CNN’s Anderson Cooper! The two TV mainstays have been BFFs for nearly a quarter-century, but both insist they’ve never taken things beyond friendship.
RuPaul
Date of birth: Nov. 17, 1960
Year he came out: Unknown
What you know him from: “RuPaul’s Drag Race”
Why He’s One of Our Faves
Perhaps no other personality occupies such a unique place in popular culture as RuPaul. The entertainer, singer and TV host has been a mainstay on stage and screen for decades, but his success was never a foregone conclusion.
After working on and refining his drag act in the South, RuPaul moved to New York and was soon seen on “The Gong Show.” Acting work followed, as did hosting various shows, but it was the Emmy-winning “RuPaul’s Drag Race” that made him recognizable to suburban moms devoted to the show.
Megan Rapinoe
Date of birth: July 5, 1985
Year she came out: 2012
What you know her from: FIFA World Cup USA Women’s Team
Why She’s One of Our Faves
Megan Rapinoe kicks some serious soccer ball on the football pitch, and she decided to come out largely because several of her teammates were out already — and thus she felt “like I was part of something bigger than myself.”
Discussing her own decision to come out, the athlete maintains she didn’t lose her Nike sponsorship and got many plaudits from her soccer teammates — even ones who still weren’t out publicly.
Wanda Sykes
Date of birth: March 7, 1964
Year she came out: 2008
What you know her from: “Black-ish,” “Wanda at Large,” “Wanda Sykes: Bustin’ Loose”
Why She’s One of Our Faves
Few people on the planet are as hilarious as Wanda Sykes, who has made a career of inducing laughter to TV and stage audiences discussing the misunderstandings that crop up between her and her French wife.
Because Sykes’s longtime union with Alex Niedbalski, and the couple having children together, have been staples of her standup routine for so long, it may shock you to know that Sykes didn’t share her preference for women until 2008 when she was 44. Since then, Sykes has used her platform to advocate for LGBTQ+ visibility and acceptance.
Jane Lynch
Date of birth: July 14, 1960
Year they came out: Unknown
What you know them from: “Glee,” “The Weakest Link,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”
Why She’s One of Our Faves
Jane Lynch has had quite a run in the acting game, often portraying characters who could at best be described as queens of mean, particularly the snarky coach Sue Sylvester on “Glee.”
Lynch claims she never had a public “moment” coming out as a lesbian and personally didn’t feel a need to make a big show of sharing her sexual preference. She’s still killing it on TV, taking up the reins from surly retired hostess Anne Robinson in wishing contestants a curt “goodbye!” on “The Weakest Link.”
Billie Jean King
Date of birth: Nov. 22, 1943
Year she came out: 1981
What you know her from: Tennis’s “Battle of the Sexes” with Bobby Riggs
Why She’s One of Our Faves
Bobby Riggs was nothing if not boastful about his talents and claimed he could beat any man, or woman, on the tennis court. Billie Jean King accepted his challenge, and in 1973, the two met in the “Battle of the Sexes,” which King won.
In 1981, a news report outed her as a lesbian, and rather than issue denials, King publicly admitted to being gay. Although acceptance of homosexuality in the early-’80s wasn’t nearly as mainstream as today, King nonetheless pressed on, saying in 2017 that, in retrospect, she would have come out sooner.
Michael Sam
Date of birth: Jan. 7, 1990
Year he came out: 2014
What you know him from: NFL
Why He’s One of Our Faves
The University of Missouri football star Michael Sam was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year while still an undergrad, so hopes for his going pro on the gridiron were high. In 2014, Sam announced he was gay, making him the first openly gay player to ever be considered for the NFL draft.
Sam was picked by the St. Louis Rams in the seventh round of that year’s draft and famously kissed his boyfriend on the lips upon receiving the news. However, he never made the starting lineup with either the Rams or the Dallas Cowboys, and after a try in the Canadian Football League didn’t pan out either, Sam retired, citing mental health needs. He now travels the speaking circuit, sharing his experiences.