Words like lesbian, gay, queer, Sapphic or homophile, to name a few, defines someone’s orientation when they are not ‘straight’ and instead take the ‘peculiar path’ called homosexuality. It might be an uncommon thing way long back, but now, things have changed and so have the mindsets of people. The LGBTQ community is now readily accepted by one and all, because of which many people have come out of the closet. Hollywood celebrities are no exception to it and a lot of them have acknowledged their orientation. Here are some unexpected “queer” celebrities you didn’t know about.
Sarah Paulson
It was an accident or rather, a sudden gush of happiness for Sarah in 2005 that she kissed her then girlfriend, Cherry Jones after winning a tony award. According to Sarah, she did not intend to push out her joy on Jones like that, but it just happened in the spur of the moment. Something that anybody would naturally do after winning an award for their efforts- kissing the one they love!
Natalie Morales
The former Parks And Recreation star came out in open and confessed about her homosexual orientation on Twitter in June 2019 during pride month. Morales said that her life is a whole lot less complicated now since she decided to come out and she feels that she has now found freedom and has a lot appreciation for life now. Natalie also placed a link to a longer article in which she discussed her reasons for coming out in open at this point of time.
Aaron Carter
Aaron Carter declared that he is bisexual during a Hollywood Life podcast, however, his remarks were somewhat confusing since he later took a back seat and said that the remarks he made were misconstrued. Aaron has said that he doesn’t see himself with a man anytime soon and that he would like to have a wife and children one day, just like any other normal couple. Whatever the case may be now, he was brave enough to come out and share his bisexual status on a public platform, even though we can call this temporary.
Wentworth Miller
Wentworth Miller is well known for his ability to make many hearts go ‘ba-dump’ with his charisma. But ladies, Wentworth, however, proudly claims himself to be a gay. He announced his sexual orientation in an open letter that he wrote to GLAAD in September 2013. Initially, Wentworth denied his sexuality but later he took a stand by declining to attend the St. Petersburg film festival due to personal concerns regarding the way that the Russian authorities treat LGBT people. It was indeed a very brave thing to do and him taking a stand against the conventional was commendable.
Reid Ewing
Reid Ewing, better known as Dylan from Modern Family, confirmed his homosexuality one fine day in a totally nonchalant way on his twitter account. When a fan asked Reid if he is ‘coming out of the closet’ on Twitter, he simply responded that he was never in the closet, to begin with. This is a simple yet, an effective way to announce, kudos to you Reid! Reid also followed this tweet up with another one, to avoid any sort of confusion! Short, sweet and to the point it was!
Shannon Purser
Shannon Purser’s road to understanding her sexuality has been a difficult journey, for she wasn’t sure whether she likes dandies or miladies. According to Purser, she only recently came out as bisexual to her family and friends. In response to countless tweets from Riverdale fans who were upset about a lesbian kiss scene in the show, the star confirmed her sexuality without any hesitation. Shannon has since then openly confirmed the fact that she is bisexual and she is now living her life on her own terms and conditions.
Haaz Sleiman
Haaz came out in a ‘daring way’ when he announced that he is a gay, Muslim and a Lebanese man. The Lebanese actor also announced that he will ‘destroy’ anyone who dares to attack him simply because he is gay. This stern ‘warning’ came after several acts of violence were perpetrated against gay men in his native Lebanon. The statement given by him, though threatening was a right thing to say, especially when people like him have been attacked in his nation. Now Haaz definitely deserves applause for that from our side!
Jim Parsons
Jim Parsons, just like any other human, was a bit nervous about confessing his homosexuality, but according to him, his hesitation vanished when he found his husband. He says that he knew in an instant that he had to be open about this fact in order to live an unleashed life, and so he did. He confirmed that he was cent percent gay in an offhand-piece in the New-York Times. In a way that’s favorable to Sheldon Cooper, Jim simply gave a reality check and moved on to live his life completely open and true to himself.
Daniel Newman
It seems like Twitter is a way too popular ‘virtual means’ for celebrities to come out in the open about their same-sex inclination, Daniel Newman also used this social media platform to tell the world that he is an open book and feels proud about how he is. The Walking Dead star says that he was never really hiding behind the curtain but rather just preferred to keep his private life private. According to Daniel, he grew up in a very conservative Georgia household in which announcing your sexual identity to the world was out of question.
Jodie Foster
Foster confirmed her sexual orientation in an astonishing revelation made by her during her acceptance speech at the 2013 Golden Globes awards ceremony. The actress announced to the public that she had come out “about a thousand years ago during the Stone Age” and that she wasn’t aware that it was necessary to hold a press conference about the matter. While the remarks may have been shocking at the time, Jodie lives an openly gay life today and she has not looked back since then.
Ricky Martin
Ricky Martin is a very renowned personality and is loved by everyone for his unforgettable hits that include songs like “Livin la Vida Loca” and “She Bangs”. Ricky Martin officially came out as gay in an open letter that he had written and then published on his website and in Rolling Stone magazine. He and his husband have twin boys and Martin felt that he owes it to them to live an open and honest life, especially where his sexuality is concerned.
Jason Collins
When Jason bravely came out as gay in an open letter that was published in Sports Illustrated, he also became the first American male professional athlete to do so. Many of Collins’ fans and his corporate sponsors praised him for his bravery and intimated everyone that they would support him in his predicament to draw attention to the fact that LGBT people are just the same as other people. It was surely a brave thing to do, especially in the world of professional athletes who are generally not perceived to be homo.
Thomas Dekker
Thomas Dekker is a well-known personality for his work on television shows like “Heroes” and “The Sarah Connor Chronicles”, the actor is also gay and married to a man. He was so influenced during an award ceremony by the acceptance speech made by another prominent gay actor–this led Dekker too to publicly declare that he is indeed gay and married, ending the speculation regarding his sexuality once and for all.
Ellen Page
Ellen Page has always been a tough girl on many occasions but even she admits that keeping her sexuality a secret caused her great pain and that she feels very relieved that she can be herself without hiding anything. Today Ellen is happily married and her wife supports her various LGBT awareness campaigns. It seems like Ellen’s journey to being out and open has made her a mentally stronger person and her bravery to take such a ‘not-so-easy-to-do’ initiative is commendable!
Colton Haynes
According to Haynes, he had known that he was gay ever since the first grade of his school but he did not come out until the age of 27 fearing, that it might negatively impact his acting career. In response to a tweet from a fan, Haynes confirmed his sexuality and declared himself to be homo to the public. He later went on to reveal more personal details about himself, such as the fact that his father committed suicide because Colton is gay.
Anderson Cooper
Anderson Cooper’s name requires no stamp on any paper on being America’s “most famous” openly gay journalist but it wasn’t always jolly ride for him to live his life openly as a homo. The famous journalist kept pin-drop silence on his personal life for many years before finally blowing the horn by telling Andrew Sullivan, a blogger, to post excerpts from a private e-mail in which he declared that he is openly gay and happy.
Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart is best known for the role of Bella in the Twilight saga franchise that led to the rumors of her relationship with Robert Pattinson. She was clapped back at the American president, Donald Trump when tweeted about their relationship. Kristen replied to Trump’s tweet with a straight forward reply “I’m so gay dude” and effectively opened up about herself in the process. She later gave clarifications for the same, that she is, in fact, bisexual and that she believes that sexuality should be rather flexible than rigid and fixed.
Bella Thorne
When Bella broke out of her shell as gay; she did so by replying “yes” to a fan’s twitter message! Just a few days after splitting with her then boyfriend, Bella could be seen kissing a girl and when a fan presented his set of questions for her whether she was bisexual, she replied with a simple and honest yes. Thorne says that she was initially met by a wave of acceptance, and this “acceptance” soon led to her losing roles. So much that for every human being it’s really important to accept each other for who we are.
Clay Aiken
Clay Aiken, the former American Idol runner-up, announced headlong to the world that he is gay by appearing on the front page of People magazine while holding his infant son. The words “yes, I’m gay” were used to let the world get aware about his sexual preference. Aiken says that he could no longer keep his sexuality a secret due to his son, as he had felt that he owed his son honesty and so decided to come out. It was indeed a very brave thing to do, for he set an example for his son by being honest.
Matt Bomer
Bomer is well known for his role in the big-shot television series “American Horror Story” and “White Collar”. But what was hidden behind the closet was the fact, that Matt is also gay. The tables turned when Matt came out as gay during his acceptance speech at the Chase Humanitarian Awards Ceremony. In his speech he thanked his family for their support and highlighted that they are his proudest accomplishment. Matt is married and he and his husband have four children.
Taylor Bennet
Taylor Bennet is the younger sibling of Chance the Rapper, and he too is a rapper. Not long ago, Taylor welcomed his first newborn baby into the world by sharing a picture of the pink foot on twitter. Surprised fans couldn’t help themselves but wonder about how Taylor became a father since he had come out as bisexual just before he posted the picture. According to Taylor, the most difficult part about being bisexual is that people don’t understand the concept at all and are anti to it.
Ryan Beatty
Ryan Beatty is an applauded teen pop star and has set a benchmark after coming out of the closet in a big way. When Ryan turned 20, he took to social media to announce his sexual identity by saying that he is proud to let the world know that he is a “raging homosexual”. Ryan also thanked his fans and family for all the support that they had shown and understood his feelings after he decided to publicly come out. According to Ryan, he was suffocating in the closet and can now finally breathe.
Brandon Flynn
Brandon Flynn who stars in the show 13 Reasons why says that he never really got the chance to open up and that the media did it for him instead. Brandon’s relationship with the famous and world renowned singer, Sam Smith, was the subject of controversies that the media was looking out for and as a result, most of his fans now know that he is cent percent gay.
Matt Dalas
Matt Dallas, the lead actor of Kyle XY, did not make people frown when he decided to come out as gay. The actor announced on the same day not only that he was gay, but also that he was engaged! Although there had been controversies about the actor’s sexual orientation for a couple of years as he did not come out as gay publicly for most of his acting career. Matt shares the approach that many celebrities took and says that he simply never was in the closet but he also did not feel the need to publicly out himself until now.
Frank Ocean
The hip-hop singer Frank Ocean grabbed many eyeballs his side when he decided to come out as gay in an open letter that he published on his own website. In the letter Frank speaks about the lovey-dovey feelings he had when he was 19 years old. The letter evoked a lot of emotional responses from the public and his fans and Frank is thought to be the first out and robust homo hip-hop singer.
Billy Gilman
Gilman, a popular country singer decided to present himself in a different way other than the tradition of coming out publicly on a tweet or a caption and did so instead with a YouTube video. The star put an end to all the rumours that he decided to come out in an effort to boost his record sales by simply putting that he came out because he was inspired to do so by another star–Ty Henderson. Henderson had come out just before Gilman and thus he decided to follow the leader and live free and honestly.
Maria Bello
Maria Bello revealed that she was associated with the LGBT community in a New York Times article and in the article, she describes that the most challenging thing for her was to reveal to her 12-year-old son that she was in a lesbian relationship. However, Bello’s son gave a green signal and that he accepted his mother's sexuality because love always feels right. This is very mature for a 12-year-old to do. Intelligent indeed!
Diora Baird
Diora Baird made a very shocking revelation that paved the way towards her relationship with another woman. In a candid interview that Baird did with a publication called The Advocate, she disclosed some facts about her personal life and that she only recently came to understand her true self. Diora also says that she was tired of “doing what was expected” of her but always felt that there was a part of life’s puzzle missing somewhere to make it complete and that when she finally reached the point of not hiding anymore, she felt free.
Ryan O’Callaghan
Ryan O’Callaghan was erstwhile a NFL star who recently declared himself a gay. O’Callaghan, who, since his retirement from the NFL says that life, is much easier now after he accepted who and what he truly is. He is not trying to be a “a straight, yet an unhappy guy” anymore and has since then started a charity to help young people manage stress and anxiety associated with coming out in the public as homo. This is indeed a great initiative and we laud Ryan for coming out and helping others who are also struggling with mental pressure.
Sir Ian McKellen
Sir Ian McKellen is a well-known figure especially for his role as Magneto in the highly successful X-Men film franchise but not many people know that this X-men star is also a gay. Sir Ian announced his “gay status” 30 years ago during a vexed radio interview in which he publicly advocated for LGBT rights. He often says that, “I don’t know a single person who regretted coming out as gay”
Rutina Wesley
Although Rutina has never used the words “gay” or “lesbian” to describe her sexuality; she has come out in a somewhat unique way. Rutina has publicly posted pictures of her fiancé, Chef Shonda, on Instagram and Facebook. Wesley is known very well for her belief that everybody should be free to be who or what they truly are. Thumbs up for Rutina from our side on this and we congratulate her for her engagement!
David Hyde Pierce
David Hyde Pierce, better known as Niles Crane from Frasier, has declared himself a gay with the help from his publisher. The revelation ended all the born controversies about Hyde’s sexual orientation, and he married his partner when same-sex marriage became legal in California. David works for important causes that help people who face the struggle of coming out and he is also working on a film based on this theme with his partner.
Jonathan Knight
Jonathan Knight, one of the leading actors who starred in the sitcom New Kids On the Block, opened up during a live broadcast of Watch What Happens Next. His co-star Tiffany accidentally outed him and Johnathan has since confirmed that he was indeed “out and proud”! Little do we know about Jonathan’s private life, and hence we are clueless about who his love interest might be, but we are glad that he is living his life out and proud!
Mara Wilson
Mara Wilson, who is famous for her portrayal of Matilda, didn’t have her stars in her favour when she decided to come out as bisexual. Mara opened up on a tweet on the same day on which the tragic mass shooting at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando and she received quite demeaning comments as a result. Many people felt that she was misusing the tragedy to promote herself, while Mara has denied this countless times, but this did not seem to work in her favor.
T.R Knight
T.R Knight who starred as George O’Malley in Grey’s Anatomy recently celebrated the anniversary of he opening about his true self to the world, although it does seem that the date is somewhat twisted for him from many angles. T.R Knight opened up in an unconventional way after an “incident” with a co-star on the set of Grey’s Anatomy. This eventually led to Knight exiting the show quite early but it also allowed him to meet his future husband.
Sam Smith
Sam Smith is a name, a weirdly amazing singing sensation known to us all, thanks to his brilliant voice and heart-touching lyrics. Although Sam has never been in the closet (he has been openly gay since his high school days) but he publicly declared himself as gay in May 2014 during the Grammy awards ceremony. When Sam won a Grammy for his song titled “Stay with me” he gave heartfelt thanks to the man who the song was about from the stage. Kudos to Sam for living his life on his terms!
Cody Alan
Cody Alan, a world-famous country singer had to cross quite a many hurdles when he decided to come out as gay. Alan was married to a woman and had children when he decided to disclose his true sexual orientation to his wife. As they sat down on a sofa, Alan told his wife but she stayed calm and asked him how she could help him. It was indeed a courageous act for the couple to accept Alan’s sexual orientation and welcoming the inevitable changes with open arms.
Cynthia Nixon
Cynthia Nixon, who is undoubtedly famous for her role in sex and the city and her inner feelings about being gay, came out publicly in 2012 for the first time after dating a man for 15 years. Cynthia says that she never discussed the issue publicly since she felt that she hadn’t changed at all and is comfortable with any gender. According to her, she feels that she is the same person whether she chooses to share her life with a male or female better half.
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow only opened up in 2017 at the age of 73 about his same-sex inclination. When Time magazine asked him why he had waited for more than 50 years to come out, Barry replied that coming out in the ’60s and ’70s would have immediately brought his career to rock bottom. While it may be true that Barry coming out of the closet wasn’t exactly a shock to many, but he surely deserves applause for the courage he had to make this revelation.
Raven Symone
Raven made this big announcement of her being gay during an interview on the television show “The View” but she quickly added that she does not believe in baptizing people as “normal” or “gay”. Raven, who has been an actress as a child artist and until now says that she regrets waiting for so long to come out but now she enjoys living her life freely, because now she is out and proud. The actress hopes that her journey can inspire others who struggle with the same issues to cope up and eventually come out.
Ty Herndon
Ty Herndon is a renowned Nashville-based country singer who declared himself as gay in 2014. While being gay is generally not accepted with open arms in the country music world, but Ty’s fans broke this “unnecessary norm” and readily acknowledged his new identity. During the pride month, Ty rewrote his famous song–What mattered most–to include male pronouns. The original version of the song was released in a time when it was not acceptable for celebrities to openly express their sexual orientation and the new version shows how life has taken a 360 degree turn in these modern days.
Gordon Thomson
Gordon Thomson who was casted in the original production of “Dynasty” came out as gay during an interview with The Daily Beast. At the age of 72, to everyone’s surprise, the actor chose to acknowledge his sexuality and according to him, being gay on the set of Dynasty in those days was impossible. Thankfully, times have changed and LGBTQ people can enjoy the same freedom as everyone else on the same level.
George Michael
George Michael, the world famous singer, opened up as gay publicly in a totally unplanned way. Michael’s sexual orientation came under everyone’s knowledge after he was arrested for public lewdness in 1988. Although Michael has had many female lovers flocking around him, but with time, he came to realize that he was, in fact, gay. The late singer was in the closet until he was exposed by the police when he was arrested.
Ellen DeGeneres
This famous acclaimed personality hardly needs any introduction as Ellen is known worldwide as an out and proud lesbian but it wasn’t always this way. Ellen became came out in 1997 during an episode of her show, titled the Ellen show, and her revelation sparked huge media interest which led to Ellen becoming depressed and experiencing stunted personal growth. However, Ellen overcame these obstacles and continued to become a highly successful television personality. Ellen has since married Portia de Rossi and lives happily and openly gay.
George Takei
George Takei, who is known for his role in the Star Trek franchise, was never hiding behind the bush to begin with. In fact, it is said that he was an open book and the cast members of Trek knew that he was gay. However, George publicly admitted the fact a little later that he has been in a same-sex relationship for the past 18 years in an interview with Frontiers Magazine. He also actively supports LGBT-related causes and can be often spotted in the annual pride parade.
Nathan Lane
Even though there is nothing concealed about the fact that Nathan is an out and a proud gay, but the story of his mother’s reaction when he told her about his sexual orientation at the age of 21 is not known to many. After he had told his mother that he is gay she replied, “I would rather want you to be dead” to which Lane replied by writing, “I knew you’d understand.” This remark summarizes the struggle that many hidden people like him experience.
Wanda Sykes
Sykes might be funny on the screen and on the stage but she is way too serious as far as the issues of the LGBT+ community are concerned. Sykes came out as gay publicly during a 2008 same-sex marriage rally. In the beginning, her mother and father had difficulty accepting their daughter's decision but after a brief period of “opinion-war”, acceptance won the war! Today Sykes is happily married to another woman and living her life to the fullest!
Victor Garber
Victor Garber, is well-known for his roles in big budget films like Titanic, is a very reserved person and rarely reveals details about his personal life. Because of this, many of his fans first noticed that he was gay only after he married his partner of 15 years in a low-profile ceremony held in Canada. Garber says that he just prefers to keep his private life private and that he lives an openly gay life.
Holland Taylor
Taylor has been a television star for quite a while now and is a well-known actress for her role as Evelyn Harper on the sitcom Two and a Half Men. The actress also happens to be gay and came out publicly during an interview on WNYC. Holland, now in her 70s, has always led a reserved, but openly gay life and coming out on television and that too “live” was nothing less than a milestone achieved, according to Holland.
Kevin Spacy
Kevin Spacey has been the target of rumours regarding his sexuality for decades, but recently, he was compelled to publicly announce that he was indeed gay. The declaration by him came after sexual assault charges levied against him during the production of House Of Cards. Spacey tweeted that he has had relationships with men throughout his life, until now.
Robin Roberts
Robin Roberts carefully announced herself as gay via a Facebook post in 2014. The news reporter had been battling the pocking of ill health and took to social media to thank her supporters, family and long-time girlfriend for their support and wishes. Robin has since recovered and is continuing her role as a newscaster with enthusiasm. The announcement came with little a hesitation but with a lot of style. All is well that ends well, and the same was in Robin’s case.
Sean Hayes
Sean came out as gay publicly not long ago, but he says that he feels he had kept this from the world for too long. The star, famous for his role as Jack McFarland in the sitcom- Will and Grace, says that he waited for quite long to come out of the closet because he feared the responsibility of representing the LGBT community on a public platform. Well, things done later are better than no things done at all!
Richard Chamberlain
Richard Chamberlain announced to the whole wide world in his memoir back in 2003. Until that time, he often used to played very masculine roles as a “hidden gay actor” and has since advised others who were closeted like him to come out. Richard advises that coming out gives you the personal freedom to be true to yourself and on that account, we give him a thumbs up.
Meredith Baxter
Meredith Baxter came out as being a gay after she was spotted with her girlfriend aboard in a lesbian cruise ship. According to Baxter, she then decided to tell her fans that she is indeed in a “homo relationship” before the paparazzi could turn the story into something concocted and twisted. While Meredith may have waited until recently to share her secret, her courage to do the same is indeed appreciable!
