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(#1) Ellen Page
- 31
In 2014, Ellen Page announced that she was gay during her speech at the Human Rights Campaign's Time to Thrive conference. "I'm here today because I am gay," she said. "And because maybe I can make a difference, to help others have an easier and more hopeful time. Regardless, for me, I feel a personal obligation and a social responsibility."
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(#2) Cara Delevingne
- 26
Model and actress Cara Delevingne hasn't made an official coming out announcement, but she did make this post on National Coming Out Day in 2014: "I'm late for National Coming Out Day but better late then never. Don't be scared to be who you are." She has been in a relationship with Annie Clark – the musician also known as St. Vincent – since 2015.
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(#3) Sarah Paulson
- 44
Sarah Paulson said that she was accidentally outed at the 2005 Tony Awards when her then-girlfriend, Cherry Jones, went up on stage to accept an award. "She won a Tony Award, I kissed her, and all of a sudden I was outed," she said. "I didn’t really think about it in that way at the time — I was just doing what one would do when a person they love has just won a big fat acting prize. What am I gonna do, pat her on the back and say ‘good job, dude?’ It didn’t occur to me to do anything but what I did.”
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(#4) Jodie Foster
- 56
Jodie Foster came out publicly during a speech at the 2013 Golden Globe Awards. "I have a sudden urge to say something that I've never been able to air in public," she said before cracking jokes and explaining that she had already come out years ago to "trusted friends and family."
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(#5) Rosie O'Donnell
- 56
Rosie O'Donnell announced that she was gay during a stand-up performance at Caroline's on Broadway in 2002. She has been married twice, to Kelli Carpenter (2004) and Michelle Rounds (2012-2015).
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(#6) Kate McKinnon
- 35
Kate McKinnon said that she first came out to her mother after watching TV. “I figured it out by watching the X-Files and noticing my physiological reaction to it,” Kate said in a 2016 interview. “I thought it was a product of David Duchovny’s face but it was Gillian Anderson who still is the queen of my heart. So I knew then. I told some of my friends, eventually I found my mother. She found me crying and said ‘what’s wrong?’ And I said ‘I think I’m gay’ … and she said ‘fine. Love it. Whatever you want to be.'”
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(#7) Portia de Rossi
- 46
"When I really, truly came out was at the Golden Globes, when Arrested Development was nominated," said Portia de Rossi during an interview on Inside the Actors Studio."Ellen and I had been together for a month, and I was very, very nervous going to that because I knew that I was going to meet up with her after the show and that there was press. That was the first time that we actually stepped out together as a couple, but for me, it was the first time that I'd stepped out as a gay woman, really."The couple has been married since 2008. -
(#8) Raven-Symoné
- 33
In 2013, after the Supreme Court ruled that the ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, Raven-Symoné tweeted, "I can finally get married! Yay government! So proud of you." In 2014, she clarified her thoughts during an interview with Oprah Winfrey, saying, "That was my way of saying I'm proud of the country. But, I will say that I'm in an amazing, happy relationship with my partner. A woman."
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(#9) Jane Lynch
- 58
Jane Lynch never made a big coming out speech, but she has spoken openly about her sexuality on many occasions. "I’m an actor and when people started taking an interest in me, where they wanted to write about me, I didn’t say I wasn’t gay, so — I never had that," she said in 2015.
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(#10) Wanda Sykes
- 54
In 2008, Wanda Sykes came out as gay at a rally for gay rights. She also announced that she had recently married her wife, Alex. Sykes was previously been married to Dave Hall for seven years.
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(#11) Ellen DeGeneres
- 61
Ellen DeGeneres came out as gay in Time magazine in 1997 and has been married to fellow actress Portia de Rossi since 2008. "It made me feel ashamed that I couldn’t feel honest and really be who I am, and I just didn’t want to pretend to be somebody else anymore so that people would like me," she said of coming out publicly.
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(#12) Amandla Stenberg
- 20
Amandla Stenberg has been a staunch advocate in the LGBTQ community since they shot to fame with their role in The Hunger Games. Stenberg has previously announced they identify as non-binary, bisexual, and pansexual in interviews past, but on June 17, 2018, they announced via an Instagram that they are "OUT & PROUD. So happy to say the words Yep, I'm Gay in official print." Stenberg is referring to their interview in Wonderland, where they talk about their sexuality.
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(#13) Lily Tomlin
- 79
“I wasn’t totally forthcoming," said Lily Tomlin about her sexuality in a 2015 interview. "Everybody in the business knew I was gay, and certainly everybody I worked with and everything like that. I just never had a press conference to announce it."
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(#15) Kelly McGillis
- 61
In 2009, Kelly McGillis came out as a lesbian in an interview. "Life is a journey and it's about growing and changing and coming to terms with who and what you are and loving who and what you are," she said.
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(#16) Cherry Jones
- 62
Cherry Jones has been open about her sexuality for many years. "I’ve never needed to get married. Marriage, to me, is a religious ceremony between people and their individual faiths. As far as my nation and my sexuality are concerned, I just want the rights of every civil marriage in this country. I have tremendous appreciation for the leaders of this movement," she said.
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(#17) Cameron Esposito
Actress and comedian Cameron Esposito is married to Rhea Butcher. Together, they star in the Seeso series Take My Wife.
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(#18) Sandra Bernhard
- 63
"I've never really come out," Bernhard said in a 2013 interview. "That's never been my thing. I never made a definite statement about my sexuality. Obviously, I'm the torchbearer for people just to be comfortable in their own skin, and that's what my whole philosophy has always been. I never needed to come out, because I came out as a person with many different facets to her personality since the beginning of my career. And that's what I stand for."
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(#19) Meredith Baxter
- 71
Meredith Baxter came out as gay in 2009. Four years later she married her longtime girlfriend, Nancy Locke. Baxter was married to men, three times previously.
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(#20) Linda Hunt
- 73
Linda Hunt has been married to her partner, Karen Klein, since 2008. She famously won an Oscar in 1982 for playing photographer Billy Kwan in The Year of Living Dangerously.
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(#21) Moms Mabley
- Dec. at 81 (1894-1975)
"Moms was clearly out and about and didn’t give a s***, and no one else did either. That was the thing that knocked me out," said Whoopi Goldberg of Moms Mabley.
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(#22) Heather Matarazzo
- 36
In 2004, Heather Matarazzo said in an interview, "I met the person I’m so madly crazy in love with. She’s not famous yet. She will be. She wants to do musical theater and stage, which is not as demoralizing as the movie business is.”
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(#23) Lea DeLaria
- 60
Orange Is the New Black actress Lea DeLaria came out many years ago. "As a butch dyke, I’ve spent my whole life looking like this and being this person, and I’ve experienced everything that’s in there," she said. "The reality is that butches have a shared experience, in the same way that I believe transgender women do. If you’re different in any way, and belong to a social group, you’re going to have a shared life experience."
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(#24) Felicia Pearson
- 38
Chi-Raq and The Wire actress Felicia Pearson has been very open about her sexuality for many years.
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(#25) Patricia Velásquez
- 48
Model and actress Patricia Velásquez came out as gay in her 2015 memoir, Straight Walk. She discussed her relationship with Sandra Bernhard in detail in the book.
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(#26) Sara Gilbert
- 44
Sara Gilbert came out as gay at a Television Critics Association press conference in 2010. "I don't think [being out] will be a problem...I don't ever really think of things as being out or in...I just think I am who I am, and when topics come up that are appropriate, I'll talk about them and share when it seems right," she said.
She has been married to musician Linda Perry since 2014.
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(#27) Jill Bennett
- 43
Jill Bennett was in a relationship with Cathy DeBouno from 2008-2013. She said, "I fell in love with her humanity."
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(#28) Leisha Hailey
- 47
The L Word actress Leisha Hailey came out as a lesbian as a teenager. She was the inspiration for k.d. lang's album Invincible Summer.
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(#29) Nancy Kulp
- Dec. at 70 (1921-1991)
Nancy Kulp came out as gay when she was 67 years old. She was best known for her role as Miss Jane Hathaway on The Beverly Hillbillies.
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(#30) Kirsten Vangsness
- 46
Kirsten Vangsness said that she came out in real time as she fell in love with a woman named Melanie at first sight. "I re-come out as I discover it myself, as I fall in love or I have a particularly enthusiastic make out session with a person - and then I will obsess and talk to my friends about it over brunch or walks or very verbose text exchanges," she said. "Where I live on the Kinsey scale much like most of me is something I am still learning about and it comes out as I do."
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(#31) Clea DuVall
- 41
Openly gay actress Clea DuVall has played a number of lesbian characters over the years, but in 2016 she finally portrayed a gay character that she really identifies with. She said of her role in The Intervention, "I’ve played a lot of gay characters, but I haven’t really played a gay character that is gay in a way that is the gay that I feel like I am, if that makes sense."
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(#32) Tammy Lynn Michaels
- 44
Tammy Lynn Michaels was outed by her then-girlfriend Melissa Etheridge in 2002. Michaels said that she was often encouraged to keep her sexuality private by her publicists.
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(#33) Hannah Hart
- 32
"This is my life. It’s my one shot and I have to be true to who I am," said Hannah Hart in a 2011 interview. "I wanted to come out before I ever decided to do something creative because I never wanted to the world to meet me as someone I wasn’t."
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(#34) Candy Palmater
Candy Palmater describes herself as "a gay native recovered lawyer turned feminist comic, who was raised by bikers in the wilds of northern New Brunswick."
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(#35) Kristy McNichol
- 56
Kristy McNichol came out as a lesbian in 2012 in a hope that her announcement would help kids who were bullied. She has been in a relationship with her partner Martie Allen for over 20 years.
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(#36) Jenny Shimizu
- 51
Jenny Shimizu has spoken openly about her relationships with famous women including Angelina Jolie and Madonna. "I was her secret ‘booty call’ available any time of the day or night for secret sex sessions," she said of her relationship with the "Material Girl" singer.
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(#37) Sophie Ward
- 54
Sophie Ward said that she struggled with homophobic bullying before she came out. "I had done all the things I could to give my children a good start, but what I didn’t factor in was that in 1996 I fell in love with a woman," she said. She joined her partner, Rena Brannan, in civic union in 2013.
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(#38) Jasika Nicole
- 39
Jasika Nicole has stated her objection to the idea that gay actors and actresses can only play gay characters. "I feel like people get really stuck on that. They see you as one way, but at the same time I get the import with gay characters in the media, gay characters in novels and in television shows and in movies. But it really doesn’t matter who’s playing them. It just matters what their story is," she said.
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(#39) Amanda Bearse
- 60
Married...with Children actress Amanda Bearse has been open about her sexuality for many years. She works with a variety of organizations in conjunction with World AIDS Day.
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(#40) Jane Wagner
- 84
In 2013, actress Jane Wagner was finally able to marry her longtime love, Lily Tomlin, after a 42-year relationship.
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(#41) Guinevere Turner
- 50
Guinevere Turner never had a big, public coming out event. "I didn´t even think twice – I never even thought about being out or not being out. I was just gay and I made this movie," she said.
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(#42) Michelle Bonilla
Michelle Bonilla wrote, produced, and starred in Slip Away, which was inspired by her own life experiences. "Slip Away is based on true events, which happened at a very pivotal point in my life. It was my first 'real' relationship, so to speak, and it was also my first time being in a gay relationship," she said. "And, when you add, on top of that, being in a relationship with an addict/alcoholic — well, let me just say, its very stressful, chaotic, and life-changing. So much so that I needed to start writing about it."
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(#43) Heather Peace
- 43
Heather Peace came out to family and friends when she was 19, but she was outed publicly by the press when she was appearing in London's Burning. "And I remember standing there in tears, and thinking, You know what? I’m not giving them an interview. I’m not giving them an exclusive. They can just say what they want," she said of that experience.
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(#45) Michelle Wolff
Michelle Wolff spoke about the changes in the entertainment industry when it comes to LGBTQ issues in a 2007 interview. "I love the fact that gay characters and gay stories keep popping up more and more on television in general," she said. "To me, the more the better. Let’s just keep that going, because it takes a lot of that silly stigma off of being an out actor."
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(#46) Maureen Garrett
- 70
Maureen Garrett came out publicly in 2012. At that time, she revealed that she had been in a relationship with her partner, Janet Morgan, for over 20 years and they have three sons together.
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(#47) Jean Acker
- Dec. at 85 (1893-1978)
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(#48) Elena Anaya
- 43
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(#49) Diora Baird
- 35
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(#50) Nikki Blonsky
- 30
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About This Tool
The entertainment industry has not always been a strong advocate of diversity and inclusion. But in the past few years, actresses from all over the world have spoken out for the LGBTQ+ community and publicly supported the affirmative movement. Some famous actresses have already proudly admitted their sexual orientation. They are committed to creating a safe space for the world and paving the way for everyone else.
Do you know any famous lesbian actresses? The random tool has collected 55 influential and proud lesbian and bisexual actresses of all time who were facing a greater challenge.
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