Online Encyclopedia
List of famous gay, lesbian or bisexual people
This is a partial list of confirmed and debated famous lesbian, bisexual, or gay people. The historical concept and definition of sexual orientation has changed greatly over time— the word "gay" wasn't used to describe sexual orientation until the mid 20th century. See homosexuality and bisexuality for more about the primary (and by far the most controversial) distinguishing criterion of "lesbigay" people.
Some historical figures on this list wouldn't be considered "lesbigay" by today's standards, but they are included here because they were known to have had same-sex relationships. But even by today's standards, a relationship or two doesn't necessarily mean one is bisexual. Many people who identify as gay or lesbian have had different-gender relationships in their youth, and many who identify as heterosexual have experimented with same-sex relationships. Due to social norms that have remained consistent throughout history, little information about such matters when discussing historical figures is available; therefore, only educated guesses can be made, based on limited evidence.
Controversy
It is important to note that the sexual orientation of famous individuals is often fodder for tabloid press. As such, it is often subject to rumor simply because of a tabloid article. Some stars, especially those about whom rumors most often circulate, wish to maintain a public image of heterosexuality—perhaps believing that assertions to the contrary would negatively affect their profitability—and are vigorous in their legal pursuit of those who would question their heterosexuality. An excellent example of this is actor Tom Cruise, who has been involved in at least three such lawsuits. In 1998, he successfully sued a British tabloid that alleged that his marriage to Nicole Kidman was a sham designed to cover up his homosexuality. He obtained a default judgment against a gay porn actor (Chad Slater , aka "Kyle Bradford") who had given an interview to a tabloid newspaper in which he claimed he had a sexual relationship with Tom Cruise, and he sued Michael Davis , a magazine publisher, who alleged that he had photographs that would prove Tom Cruise was homosexual: this suit was dropped in exchange for a public statement by Davis that Tom Cruise was heterosexual. Because of the threat of litigation, it is considered prudent not to assert the homosexuality or bisexuality of a celebrity unless the celebrity has personally publicly asserted it. Some homosexual groups (e.g., Outrage!), have followed a policy of outing public figures regularly for political purposes, usually only if that person is publicly anti-gay. However, such a policy is generally condemned within the lesbian and gay community as an infringement on a person's right to privacy, because of concerns about their family, their right to cope with their own sexuality on their own terms, or the risk of discrimination or loss of reputation.
Note that several of the people on this list were prosecuted for their behaviour under existing "sodomy laws".
Wikipedians: Edit this list with caution, because misidentifying the sexual identity of living individuals can lead to a charge of libel. It has not been tested whether Wikipedia's sponsor, Bomis, is liable for libel in the Wikipedia. Furthermore, categorization of historical figures no longer alive to define their own sexual orientation often leads to pointless debate. Recognize that just as adding non-gay people to this list would be wrong, removing gay people from this list is also wrong. You should justify additions or removals on the list's talk page: providing written sources would be best. The most convincing evidence about living persons would be a self-description by that individual.
Persons of debated lesbian, gay, or bisexual orientation
Persons of confirmed homosexual or bisexual orientation
The following list includes those people who have confirmed their homosexual or bisexual orientation or whose homosexual or bisexual orientation is not debated.
A
- Louise Abbéma , French painter, relationship with Sarah Bernhardt
- Berenice Abbott, U.S. photographer
- Roberta Achtenberg, US Politician
- Valentine Ackland , British writer
- Mercedes de Acosta, American poet, playwright and costume designer
- Jane Addams, American social reformer
- Edward Albee, American Playwright (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?)
- Alexander the Great, Macedonian King and conquerer of Eurasia, bisexual
- Fernando Allende, actor
- Néstor Almendros , Spanish Academy Award-winning cinematographer
- Pedro Almodóvar Spanish director, Oscar winner
- Chad Allen, American actor
- Peter Allen, Australian entertainer, Aldrich, Robert and Wotherspoon, Gary (Eds.) (2001).
- Ted Allen, food and wine guru on Queer Eye
- Marc Almond, British singer
- Scott Amedure, victim in the "Jenny Jones murder"
- Alejandro Amenábar, Spanish filmmaker
- Enza Anderson, Canadian drag queen and political gadfly
- Jerzy Andrzejewski, Polish writer
- Kenneth Anger, American filmaker
- Steve Antin, American actor
- Antinous, Lover of powerful Roman military commander and emperor Hadrian
- Gloria E. Anzaldua, Famous Chicana Lesbian Writer
- Louis Aragon, French poet, bisexual - documented in Ruth Brandon's "Surreal Lives"
- Gregg Araki, director of Doom Generation and The Living End
- Denys Arcand, director of "The Barbarian Invasions" (Les invasions barbares)
- Reinaldo Arenas, Cuban poet, author of "Before Night Falls" (Antes que anochezca)
- Aristomenes , Ancient Greek military commander
- Joan Armatrading, singer-songwriter
- Billie Joe Armstrong, songwriter, frontman of the American band Green Day, admitted to being bisexual in an interview in The Advocate, January 24, 1995.
- John Ashbery, American poet
- Othniel Askew, American assassin
- Sir Frederick Ashton, British choreographer
- Asophicus , Lover of Epaminondas
- W. H. Auden, British poet
- Kevin Aviance, dance music singer
B
- Francis Bacon, British painter
- Francis Bacon, British philosopher and scientist
- Joan Baez, American singer, bisexual
- Paul Bailey, british author
- Josephine Baker, Singer, actress, French resistance member during WWII, bisexual
- James Baldwin, American author
- Tammy Baldwin - member of the U.S. House of Representatives (D - Wisconsin)
- Alan Ball, writer (American Beauty, "Six Feet Under")
- Tallulah Bankhead, Actress
- Samuel Barber, U.S. composer
- Jillian Barberie, tv hostess, actress, bisexual
- Clive Barker, Author, director, artist, known primarily for his work in the horror genre
- Djuna Barnes, Novelist, bisexual
- Fred Barnes (Frederick Jester Barnes), Musical Hall singer.
- Tim Barnett, New Zealand member of parliament
- Jean Barraqué, French composer
- José Luis Barry , Cuban pianist and singer famous on Puerto Rican television and newspapers; came out as gay on one of his El Vocero columns
- Michael Barrymore, British comedian
- Drew Barrymore, actress, bisexual
- Roland Barthes, French literary theorist
- Paul Bartel , American filmaker
- Katharine Lee Bates, writer of "America the Beautiful" [1]
- Terry Baum, American playwright and congressional candidate
- Billy Bean, former major league baseball player
- Amanda Bearse, American actor ("Married...with Children"), director
- Cecil Beaton, British photographer, Tony Award-winning set designer and Academy Award-winning costume designer
- Maria Beatty, American filmmaker
- Simone de Beauvoir, French philosopher and novelist
- Alison Bechdel, American cartoonist (Dykes to Watch Out For)
- Andy Bell, British singer
- Chester Bennington, songwriter, singer in the American band Linkin Park, bisexual.
- Gladys Bentley , American blues singer
- Christopher Bernau, stage actor known for his Shakespeare roles, as well as roles on soap operas (Alan Spaulding on The Guiding Light)
- Sandra Bernhard, American comedian, singer, author and actor, bisexual
- Sarah Bernhardt, French actress
- Leonard Bernstein, U.S. composer and conductor, bisexual, Aldrich, Robert and Wotherspoon, Gary (Eds.) (2001).
- Ole von Beust, mayor of Hamburg
- James Bidgood, US photographer and filmmaker (Pink Narcissus)
- Thom Bierdz , soap opera actor most famous for his role on The Young and the Restless
- Elizabeth Birch, former head of Human Rights Campaign, longtime partner of Hillary Rosen (see below)
- Marie-Claire Blais, Quebec novelist
- Ross Bleckner, American artist
- Marc Blitzstein, American theater composer
- Anthony Blunt, British art-historian and traitor
- Sir Dirk Bogarde, British actor
- Chastity Bono, American activist, lesbian, daughter of Cher and Sonny Bono
- Josep Borrell Fontelles, Europarlamentary from the PSOE (an Spanish marxist party)
- Michel Marc Bouchard, Canadian playwright (Les feluettes)
- Jane Bowles, American author, married to Paul Bowles
- Paul Bowles, American expatriate author and once composer, married to Jane Bowles, Aldrich, Robert and Wotherspoon, Gary (Eds.) (2001).
- Karin Boye, Swedish poet and novelist
- E. E. Bradford, Uranian poet
- Ben Bradshaw, British politician
- Marlon Brando, American actor, bisexual
- Scott Brison, Canadian member of Parliament and Minister of Public Works and Government Services
- Benjamin Britten, British composer, Aldrich, Robert and Wotherspoon, Gary (Eds.) (2001).
- David Brock, American journalist and author.
- Nicole Brossard, Quebec poet and novelist
- Bob Brown, Australian senator
- Lady Bunny, drag performer
- Guy Burgess, Spy
- Glenn Burke , American baseball player
- William S. Burroughs, American Beat author (Naked Lunch, Junky)
- Dan Butler, American actor
- Judith Butler
- Wolf Blitzer
C
- John Cage, highly influential American composer of aleatoric music and partner of Merce Cunningham
- Julius Caesar, Roman dictator
- Caligula, Roman emperor
- Andrew Calimach, American author of Romanian extraction
- Jean Jacques Régis de Cambacérčs, French lawyer and statesman, author of the Code Napoléon
- Rhona Cameron , British Comedienne, TV Presenter
- Caphisodorus , Lover of Epaminondas whom died with him in battle
- Truman Capote, American author
- Edward Carpenter, poet
- Chris Carter, New Zealand Minister of Conservation, Minister of Local Government and Minister for Ethnic Affairs
- Giacomo Casanova, seducer
- Roger Casement, Irish patriot
- Michael Cashman, British actor and politician
- Luis Cernuda, Spanish playwright
- Graham Chapman, British comedian
- Tracy Chapman, singer/songwriter
- Richard Chamberlain, American actor
- Mary Cheney, daughter of U.S. vice-president Dick Cheney
- Leslie Cheung, Hong Kong singer/actor
- Margaret Cho, American comedian, bisexual
- Wayson Choy, Canadian novelist
- Ralph Chubb, British poet, artist, printer, and prophet
- Cimon, Ancient Greek military commander, aristocrat, and philanthropist
- James Clark , British ambassador to Luxembourg
- Montgomery Clift, American actor
- Kate Clinton, American comedian
- James Coco, American actor
- Jean Cocteau, French director and artist, lover of Jean Marais
- Roy Cohn, associate of U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy
- Colette French novelist, music hall performer, bisexual
- Cyril Collard , French writer, director (Les Nuits Fauves), bisexual
- Anderson Cooper, journalist, CNN
- Aaron Copland, American composer, documented in Howard Pollack 's biography,
- John Corigliano, American composer
- Noel Coward, British writer
- Henry Cowell, highly influential American composer
- Gavin Crawford, Canadian television comic
- Rene Crevel , French surrealist author
- Quentin Crisp, British actor, author, and wit
- Aleister Crowley, occultist
- Alan Cumming, British actor
- Andrew Cunanan, American spree killer, murdered Gianni Versace
- Merce Cunningham, choreographer and partner of John Cage
- John Curry, British figure skater, 1976 Winter Olympics gold medalist
- Catie Curtis, American singer-songwriter
D
- Jeffrey Dahmer, American serial killer and cannibal
- Dan Dailey, American actor and dancer
- Dave Davies, British rock musician, see http://www.davedavies.com
- Libby Davies, Canadian member of parliament
- Peter Maxwell Davies, British composer
- Jeanine Deckers, Belgian nun and singer-songwriter
- Ellen DeGeneres, writer, comedian and actor
- Divine, actor (in many of John Waters' films)
- Dreuxilla Divine, transvestite
- Bertrand Delanoë, mayor of Paris
- Samuel Delany, science fiction author
- Lea DeLaria, American comedian, jazz singer, author
- Portia de Rossi, actress
- Andy Dick, American actor and comedian, bisexual
- Marlene Dietrich, actress, bisexual
- Ani DiFranco, American folk singer, bisexual
- Elio Di Rupo, Belgian politician
- Roman Dmowski, Polish politician, black mailed by the Okhranka, Imperial Russia's secret police
- Candas Dorsey, Canadian science fiction author
- Joseph Doucé, psychologist and Baptist minister, founder of the International Lesbian and Gay Association
- Brian Dowling , 2001 British Big Brother winner
- Alfred Douglas, son of John Sholto Douglas and partner of Oscar Wilde
- Kyan Douglas, grooming guru on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
- Diane Duane, author, bisexual
- Marcel Duchamp, artist, inventor of the found object
E
- Hilton Edwards, actor, co-founder of Dublin's Gate Theatre, partner of Micheál MacLiammoir
- Denholm Elliott, actor, bisexual
- Ruth Ellis , lesbian matriarch and only known African-American centenarian lesbian
- Epaminondas, Thebian military commander and statesmen
- Brian Epstein, British, manager of The Beatles
- Melissa Etheridge, American singer, lesbian, musician, composer
- Uzi Even , first openly gay member of the Israeli Knesset
- Kenny Everett, British DJ and comic
- Rupert Everett, British actor, gay
F
- Richard Fairbrass , British singer, "Right Said Fred", bisexual
- Justin Fashanu, British Footballer
- Rainer Werner Fassbinder, German movie director
- Harvey Fierstein, American actor, playwright (Torch Song Trilogy)
- Thom Filicia, home design guru on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
- Timothy Findley, Canadian novelist and playwright
- E. M. Forster, British author
- Pim Fortuyn, assassinated Dutch politician
- Per-Kristian Foss , Finance Minister of Norway
- Michel Foucault, French scholar, partnered with Daniel Defert from 1963 till his death, Aldrich, Robert and Wotherspoon, Gary (Eds.) (2001). Also dated Jean Barraque.
- Samantha Fox, British model and one time pop singer
- Simon Fowler, British vocalist for rock band Ocean Colour Scene
- Barney Frank (D, MA), US Representative
- Stephen Fry, British actor, comedian, and novelist
G
- John Wayne Gacy, American serial killer, convicted of the rape and murder of thirty-three men
- Greta Garbo, actress
- Federico García Lorca, Spanish poet and playwright, martyred in the Spanish Civil War
- Jonas Gardell , Swedish artist and "riksbög".
- Stephen Gately, Irish singer and ex member of the boyband Boyzone
- David Geffen, music producer and record executive, gay
- Jean Genet, French writer
- Kitty Genovese, crime victim [2]
- Chrissy Gephardt, daughter of US Congressman and 2004 presidential candidate Richard A. "Dick" Gephardt
- Boy George, British musician
- David Gerrold, science fiction writer, inventor of Tribbles
- André Gide, French novelist and Nobel Laureate
- Sir John Gielgud OM CH, Theatre and film actor
- Uzma Gillani , Pakistani actress
- Candace Gingrich, activist, half-sister of former U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich
- Allen Ginsberg, Beat poet ("Howl")
- Chyna Girl, drag performer and model (BACARDI's Tom, Dick and Harry ad campaign)
- Neil Giuliano , Tempe, Arizona mayor, declared himself homosexual in public
- Brian Greig, Australian senator
- Sir Alec Guinness, bisexual actor who was arrested while cottaging in 1948
- Gorgidas, Theban military leader of the Sacred band of elite troops of paired gay lovers.
- Juan Goytisolo, Spanish writer
- Judy Grahn, American poet
- Gustaf Gründgens, German actor and stage director
H
- Hadrian, Powerful Roman military commander and emperor
- Han Aidi (BC27-BC1), Chinese Emperor in Han Dynasty.
- Leisha Hailey, American musician and actress
- William Haines, American actor
- Rob Halford, British singer (Judas Priest)
- Radclyffe Hall, British lesbian, author of "The Well of Loneliness"
- Marc Hall, Canadian student and activist
- Vincent Hanley , Irish radio DJ who died of an AIDS-related illness
- George Frideric Handel, German-British composer
- G. H. Hardy, British mathematician
- Lou Harrison, American composer
- Randy Harrison, American actor (Queer As Folk)
- Deborah Harry, aka Blondie, bisexual American singer
- Richard Hatch, Survivor winner
- Sophie B. Hawkins, musician, bisexual
- Nigel Hawthorne, British actor
- George Hartree, British actor, who took the name of Charles Hawtrey, (not to be confused with Sir Charles Hawtrey, the victorian actor)
- Harry Hay, American gay rights activist, founder of the Mattachine Society
- Bruce Hayes , American gold medalist uring the 1984 Summer Olympics in swimming
- Todd Haynes, director
- Michael Hendricks, Canadian gay rights activist, half of first couple to legally marry in Quebec
- Sighsten Herrgĺrd, designer, trendsetter. Became the face of AIDS in Sweden.
- Alan Hollinghurst , British author (The Swimming Pool Library)
- John Holmes, American porn actor, bisexual
- A. E. Housman, British poet
- Frankie Howerd, British actor
- Rock Hudson, American actor
- Michael Huffington, American politician, bisexual
- Jerry Hunt, American composer from Texas
I
- Janis Ian, American Singer/songwriter
- Witi Ihimaera, New Zealand author, wrote Whale Rider
- Power Infiniti , International circuit party performance artist
- William Inge, American dramatist
- Christopher Isherwood, British novelist
- Küçük İskender , Turkish poet
J
- Tony Jackson, American pianist and composer
- Max Jacob, poet
- Tove Jansson, author of the Moomin books
- Michael Jeter, American actor, "Mr. Noodle's brother Mr. Noodle" of Sesame Street
- Joan Jett, musician
- Edmund John, Uranian poet
- Sir Elton John, British singer, musician, composer
- Jeffrey John, Church of England priest
- Jasper Johns, artist
- Holly Johnson, British lead singer for Frankie Goes to Hollywood
- Philip Johnson, American architect
- Angelina Jolie, American actress, bisexual
- Janis Joplin, American singer
- Mychal F. Judge, Franciscan priest, WTC terrorism victim
K
- Gorden Kaye , British actor
- John Maynard Keynes, British economist
- Billie Jean King, tennis player, bisexual
- Andrew Kinlochan, member of boy band Phixx
- The Hon. Justice Michael Kirby, Justice of the High Court of Australia
- James Kirkwood, American playwright (A Chorus Line)
- Steve Kmetko , U.S. entertainment journalist
- Jim Kolbe, member of the U.S. House of Representatives (R-Arizona)
- David Kopay, American football player, outed self in autobiography
- Ronnie Kray , One half of the Kray twins
- Carson Kressley, style guru on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
- Tony Kushner, playwright (Angels in America)
L
- Elaine Lancaster , American drag performer
- Nathan Lane, American actor and singer
- k.d. lang, Canadian country and blues singer, musician, lesbian
- Laurier L. LaPierre, Canadian broadcaster and Senator
- Charles Laughton, British actor, bisexual
- René Leboeuf, Canadian gay rights activist, half of first couple to legally marry in Quebec
- Mark Leduc, Canadian Olympic medalist/boxing, 1992
- Sook-Yin Lee, Canadian TV personality, former MuchMusic VJ
- Annie Leibowitz, American photographer
- Robert Lepage, Canadian playwright, actor and film director
- Hedda Lettuce, drag performer
- Mark Levengod , Swedish TV host
- José Lezama Lima, Cuban poet
- Liberace, American musician
- Little Richard, American singer and musician, bisexual, has also denounced homosexuality and bisexuality
- Kristanna Loken, actress, model, bisexual
- Audre Lorde, poet, author
- Lance Loud, gay son on reality television show An American Family
- Greg Louganis, U.S Olympic high-diver
- Ernst Ludwig , Grand Duke of Hesse and The Rhine
- Paul Lynde, American actor and comedian
M
- Ann-Marie MacDonald, Canadian author and playwright
- Ashley MacIsaac, Canadian fiddler from Cape Breton
- Mary MacLane, Edwardian-era writer
- Micheál MacLiammoir actor and co-founder of Dublin's Gate Theatre
- Benji Madden, lead guitarist in rock band Good Charlotte, admitted to being bisexual in an interview on Idobi radio.
- Peter Mandelson, Britain's EU commissioner
- Irshad Manji, Canadian journalist, author, and "Muslim Refusenik".
- Thomas Mann, German author
- Robert Mapplethorpe, American artist, photographer
- Jean Marais, French actor, lover of Jean Cocteau
- Josie Maran, US model, bisexual
- Christopher Marlowe, Elizabethan playwright
- David Marsden, Canadian radio broadcaster and music promoter
- Holly Matcalf , gold medal winner in rowing during the 1984 Summer Olympics
- Johnny Mathis, Singer
- Dave Matthews, American singer/songwriter, bisexual
- William Somerset Maugham, British writer and dramatist
- Armistead Maupin, American writer (Tales of the City)
- Amelie Mauresmo, French tennis player, lesbian
- Joseph McCarthy, U.S. politician, see http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/usa/joseph-mccarthy
- Roddy McDowall, U.S. actor and photographer
- James McGreevey, U.S. politician and governor of New Jersey
- Sir Ian McKellen, British actor (X-Men, The Lord of the Rings), gay rights campaigner
- Margaret Mead, anthropologist
- Joe Meek, British record producer
- Meleager (general), Greek military commander
- Réal Ménard, Canadian member of parliament
- Gian Carlo Menotti, U.S. composer
- Kitty Meow , International circuit party Icon
- Rick Mercer, Canadian television comedian
- Freddie Mercury, British musician (Queen)
- Metrobius
- George Michael, British singer (Wham)
- Tammy Lynn Michaels, U.S. actress, partner of Melissa Etheridge
- Michelangelo Buonarroti, Italian Renaissance artist
- Harvey Milk, American politician
- Sal Mineo, American actor
- Frank McGuinness, Irish playwright
- Yukio Mishima, Japanese author
- Isaac Mizrahi, Fashion designer, television show host, gay
- Albert Mol, Dutch actor
- Tyria Moore, love partner of serial killer Aileen Wuornos
- Cherrie Moraga , author on lesbian Hispanic themes
- Richard Morel, singer, music producer
- Jon Moss, British musician
- Megan Mullally, US actress, bisexual
- Murathan Mungan, Turkish author, playwright and poet
- Glen Murray, former mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Boris Moiseev , Russian singer
N
- Kathy Najimy, US actress, bisexual
- John Gambril Nicholson, Uranian poet
- Anaďs Nin, author, bisexual
- Me'shell Ndegeocello, singer and guitarist, bisexual
- Martina Navratilova, tennis champion, lesbian
- Émile Nelligan, Canadian poet
- Rob Newton, British athlete
- Vaslav Nijinsky, ballet dancer
- Simon Niemiec , LGBT activist
- Cynthia Nixon, US actress (bisexual?)
- Klaus Nomi, German singer, probably the first celebrity to die of AIDS (1983)
- David Norris, Irish senator, James Joyce scholar [3]
- Graham Norton, Irish actor, comedian, chat show host
- Rudolf Nureyev, ballet dancer
O
- Conor Oberst, lead of rock group Desaparecidos and emo-indie project Bright Eyes, bisexual.
- Sinéad O'Connor, singer, bisexual
- Daniel O'Donnell, American politician, brother of Rosie O'Donnell
- Rosie O'Donnell, American comedian, lesbian
- Eoin O'Duffy, Irish police commissioner, leader of the 'Blueshirts' and aide to Michael Collins (Irish leader)
- Pauline Oliveros, composer
- Laurence Olivier, British actor, bisexual
- Brian Orser , Canadian silver medalist at both the 1984 Winter Olympics and the 1988 Winter Olympics
- Joe Orton, playwright
P
- Brian Paddick, UK Police Commander and nephew of Hugh Paddick
- Hugh Paddick, British actor
- Paetz , Arcibishop of Poznan
- Camille Paglia, American author and social critic, bisexual
- Peter Paige , American actor ("Queer as Folk")
- David Paisley , British actor
- Pai Hsien-yung, a Taiwanese writer
- Chuck Palahniuk, American writer, notably of Fight Club
- Antonia Pantojas, Puerto Rican educator, lesbian
- Antonio Pantojas, Puerto Rican actor, homosexual
- Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italian director and writer
- Alex Parks, winner of fame academy, British Lesbian
- Matthew Parris, British journalist and former politician
- Harry Partch, American composer and just intonation instrument inventor
- Peter Pears, English singer
- Patrick Pearse, Irish patriot and leader of the 1916 Easter Rising, whose poetry is littered with homoerotic imagery
- Queen Pen, bisexual rap singer
- Anthony Perkins, American actor
- Linda Perry, singer
- Philip II of France
- Philippe, duke of Orléans under Louis XIV
- David Hyde Pierce, American actor
- Pink rap singer, bisexual
- Doug Pinnick American singer and musician ("King's X")
- Danny Pintauro, American actor ("Who's the Boss?")
- Plato
- Carole Pope, Canadian rock singer
- Cole Porter, American Composer and lyricist
- Michael Portillo, former UK Defence Secretary and defeated leadership candidate
- Francis Poulenc, French composer, openly gay from his first serious relationship, that with painter Richard Chanelaire to whom he wrote, "You have changed my life, you are the sunshine of my thirty years, a reason for living and working." He also said, "You know that I am as sincere in my faith, without any messianic screamings, as I am in my Parisian sexuality." (Who's Who, 2001)
- Paula Poundstone, comedian
R
- Robert Rauschenberg, American artist
- Řyvind Rauset , (Who's Who, 2001)
- Charlie Ray , American Entrepenuer, Writer
- Nicholas Ray, American film director, bisexual
- John Rechy, American author
- Robert Reed, actor
- George Reinholt, soap opera actor (Steve Frame on Another World)
- Rio Reiser, German musician ("Ton Steine Scherben"), bisexual
- James Harry Reyos , confessed murderer, admitted to the A&E television channel to being gay
- Richard I the Lion Heart
- Christopher Rice, American author (son of Anne Rice)
- Adrienne Rich, American poet and critic
- Bill Richardson , Canadian writer and radio broadcaster (Richardson's Roundup)
- Herb Ritts, American fashion photographer
- Ian Roberts , Australian Rugby League player
- Gene Robinson, American Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire
- Svend Robinson, former Canadian member of parliament
- Tom Robinson, British rock musician
- Roche-sur-Yon , French prince and King of Poland
- Jai Rodriguez, "culture guru" on Queer Eye
- Ernst Röhm, leader of the Nazi SA
- Cesar Romero, actor
- Ned Rorem, composer, Aldrich, Robert and Wotherspoon, Gary (Eds.) (2001).
- Hilary Rosen, former CEO of the RIAA, longtime partner of Elizabeth Birch (see above)
- Jane Rule , Canadian author
- RuPaul, AKA RuPaul Andre Charles, American drag queen
- Bayard Rustin, civil rights activist, organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, introduced Martin Luther King Jr. to the writings of Mahatma Gandhi and non-violence, fired for being gay
S
- Marquis de Sade, 18th century author and philosopher
- Victor Salva , American writer/director (Jeepers Creepers )
- Ben Sander, a.k.a.. Brini Maxwell, drag performer and television host
- Dick Sargent, American actor, second Darrin on 'Bewitched'
- Dan Savage, American columnist
- David Sedaris, American essayist and radio personality
- Shyam Selvadurai, Canadian novelist (Funny Boy)
- Fred Schneider, lead singer of the B-52s
- Matthew Shepard, hate crime victim, violently murdered in Wyoming, subject of Emmy winning films The Laramie Project and The Matthew Shepard Story
- Michelangelo Signorile, columnist, advocate, and pundit
- Bill Siksay, Canadian member of parliament
- Mario Silva, Canadian member of parliament
- Bryan Singer, American film director
- Sławek Starosta , Polish gay activist
- Bessie Smith, American blues singer
- Chris Smith, UK Politician
- George Smitherman, Canadian politician (Ontario cabinet minister) [4]
- Socrates
- Solon, Greek statesman
- Jimmy Somerville, singer (Bronski Beat, The Communards) (Who's Who, 2001)
- Susan Sontag, American essayist and novelist
- Dusty Springfield, singer
- Gertrude Stein, American expatriate author, partner of Alice B. Toklas
- Michael Stipe, American singer (R.E.M.), film producer
- Jim Stork, US politician
- Billy Strayhorn, jazz composer, lyricist, arranger, and pianist (Duke Ellington Orchestra)
- Sylvester, American singer (Who's Who, 2001)
- Gerry Studds , US politician
- Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Roman dictator
- Andrew Sullivan, conservative journalist
T
- Hordur Torfason , (Who's Who, 2001)
- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer
- Neil Tennant, British musician (Pet Shop Boys)
- Mark Tewksbury, Canadian gold medal winner in the 1992 Summer Olympics
- Scott Thompson, Canadian comedian and actor (Kids in the Hall)
- Virgil Thomson, American theater composer and music critic
- William Tatem (Bill) Tilden II, American tennis champion
- Colm Tóbín , Irish novelist
- Alice B. Toklas, partner of Gertrude Stein, known for her cookbook that contains Brion Gysin's hashish brownies (marijuana)
- Sandi Toksvig, British comedian
- Lily Tomlin, American comedian, actress, lesbian
- Pussy Tourette, drag performer and singer
- Pete Townshend, guitarist of The Who, self-proclaimed bisexual
- Michel Tremblay, Canadian writer
- Esera Tuaolo, former NFL player
- Alan Turing, British mathematician, computer scientist and theorist
- Colin Turnbull, British anthropologist, later American citizen, Buddhist
- Stephen Twigg, UK Politicial, MP, defeated Michael Portillo in 1997 election
U
- Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, German activist, author
V
- Pierre Valličres, writer, member of the terrorist FLQ
- Michele van Gorp , WNBA player for the Minnesota Lynx
- Chavela Vargas , Mexican singer, who came out as lesbian during an interview with Colombian television
- Jim Verraros, singer, actor, American Idol contestant
- Reginald VelJohnson , actor (the dad on Urkel-based Family Matters)
- Maréchal de Vendôme , General under Louis XIV
- Compte de Vermandois , Admiral of France
- Gianni Versace, Italian fashion designer
- Gore Vidal, American writer, bisexual
W
- Tom Waddell, American sports
- Rufus Wainwright, American singer
- Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford
- Wanda, American drag performer
- Andy Warhol, American artist and pop icon
- Tony Warren, British scriptwriter (creator of Coronation Street)
- John Waters, American film director (Pink Flamingos)
- Sumner Welles, U.S. Under Secretary of State 1937-1943
- Guido Westerwelle, Leader of the German liberal party FDP
- James Whale, American film director
- Diane Whipple, victim in the Presa Canario dog mauling trial
- Edmund White , American novelist (A Boy's Own Story )
- Walt Whitman, American poet (Leaves of Grass)
- Tracey Wigginton, Brisbane's "lesbian vampire murderer"
- Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright and bon vivant
- Kenneth Williams, British actor and diarist
- Tennessee Williams, American playwright
- Johann Joachim Winckelmann, German classical archaeologist and art historian
- Paul Winfield, American actor
- Dale Winton, British television presenter
- Virginia Woolf, British author
- Klaus Wowereit, mayor of Berlin
- Aileen Wuornos, serial killer, bisexual
Y
- Will Young, British "UK Pop Idol" winner
- Felix Yusupov, Russian prince
Z
- Pedro Zamora, Cuban-American AIDS activist, The Real World participant
Persons of debated lesbian, gay, or bisexual orientation
The following list includes those who some people believe there is evidence the person was gay, lesbian or bisexual. More information about what is known about each individual's sexuality should be available in the individual's biography.
- Christina Aguilera, US singer, has said she enjoys kissing and looking at women
- Akhenaton, Egyptian pharoah
- Fernando Allende, actor
- Hans Christian Andersen, Danish author
- Louie Anderson, Family Feud show host
- Susan B. Anthony, American feminist and women's suffrage activist
- Prince George, Duke of Kent, British royal (uncle of Queen Elizabeth II)
- Gustav V of Sweden
- Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI, bisexual
- Aristotle, Greek philosopher
- Elizabeth Bathory, Hungarian countess, serial killer
- Lucecita Benítez, Puerto Rican singer
- Miguel Bosé, Spanish singer
- Ian Buchanan, soap opera actor (General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful)
- James Buchanan, 15th President of the United States
- Lord Byron, poet
- Julius Caesar, Roman emperor
- Nellie Cashman, gold prospector
- Cristian Castro, Mexican singer
- Willa Cather, U.S. novelist
- Ernest Chausson, composer
- Kurt Cobain, musician, rumored bisexual
- Steven Cojocaru, fashion expert
- Michael Collins, Irish revolutionary leader and long-rumoured bisexual.
- Chuck Connors, American actor, long-rumored bisexual
- Salvador Dalí, Spanish painter
- F. Holland Day, American photographer and publisher
- James Dean, American actor
- Edgardo Díaz, Menudo creator
- Matt Drudge, Internet gossip publisher
- Guillaume Dufay, composer
- Alejandro Fernández, Mexican singer; according to tabloid, had relationship with Miguel Bosé
- Siegfried Fischbacher, magician
- Edward FitzGerald, poet (informed speculation by at least one authority)
- Susan Flannery, soap opera actress (Days of Our Lives, The Bold and the Beautiful)
- Juan Gabriel, Mexican singer
- Maureen Garrett , soap opera actress (Guiding Light)
- Marvin Gaye, American singer
- Anthony Geary, soap opera actor, most famous for being one-half of the supercouple Luke and Laura on General Hospital.
- Cary Grant, rumored bisexual
- Thomas Gray, English poet
- Richard Bennett Hatfield, Canadian politician (premier of New Brunswick, 1970-1987)
- Hugh Hefner, publicly acknowledged to having gay relationships during the 1970s
- Adolf Hitler, Chancellor of the Third Reich
- J. Edgar Hoover, director of FBI
- Howard Hughes
- Langston Hughes,American poet and dramatist
- Alexander von Humboldt, German naturalist and explorer
- Brian Jones,British guitarist of The Rolling Stones, according to Dave Davies interview in "Uncut"
- Immanuel Kant, German philosopher
- Lena Katina and Yulia Volkova (t.A.T.u.), Russian pop group
- William R. King, United States Senator and Vice President under Franklin Pierce
- Orlando Lasso, composer
- T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia), British soldier
- Adam Lazzara, front man of Taking Back Sunday
- Jean-Baptiste Lully, (1632-1687) composer
- George Leigh Mallory, British mountaineer who perished on Everest and may have beaten Hillary by 20 years
- Katherine Mansfield, New Zealand author
- Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
- W. Somerset Maugham, British author
- Walter Mercado, actor, astrologer
- Steven Morrissey, British singer (The Smiths)
- Modeste Mussorgsky, composer
- Frank Murphy, Mayor of Detroit, Governor of Michigan, and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
- Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher
- Peter North, porn star (primarily heterosexual, but starred in 5 gay porn movies in the early 1980s)
- River Phoenix, U.S. actor, rumored bisexual
- Tyrone Power, actor
- Sun Ra, musician
- Johnny Ray Puerto Rican actor
- Luis Raul Puerto Rican actor and show host
- Camille Saint-Saëns
- Sandro , Argentine singer
- Victor Santiago , mayor in Puerto Rico, accused of sexual harassment by two men
- Sappho, Greek poet: her love poetry to men and women may or may not have autobiographical import.
- David Schine , aide to Sen. Joseph McCarthy
- Franz Schubert, Austrian composer (Solomon, Maynard: "Franz Schubert and the Peacocks of Benvenuto Cellini")
- William Shakespeare, Elizabethan playwright and poet (had a wife and children; his love sonnets to a man may or may not have autobiographical import.)
- Randolph Scott, US actor, long rumored homosexual
- Richard Simmons, America fitness guru
- Paul Anthony Stewart, soap opera actor (Guiding Light)
- Orson Welles, actor and director
- Mauricio Zeilic, Cuban television gossiper
Persons no longer identifying as gay, lesbian, or bisexual
The following list includes people who at one point identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual but no longer do.
- David Bowie, English musician artist and stage/film performer, came out as bisexual later admitted to being "closeted heterosexual", Aldrich, Robert and Wotherspoon, Gary (Eds.) (2001).
- Anne Heche, American actress
- Madonna, came out as bisexual, later denied
- Lou Reed, American musician, came out as bisexual, later denied - see Victor Bockris ' "Transformer"
- t.A.T.u., Russian pop group [5]
See also
- homophobia
- homophobic hate speech
- the closet
- list of transgendered people
- list of bisexuals
- list of people who have denied being gay
- list of famous gay, lesbian or bisexual composers
- list of famous gay, lesbian, or bisexual academics
- list of famous gay, lesbian, or bisexual Jews
- list of gay, lesbian, or bisexual figures in fiction and myth
- list of 'years in gay rights'
External links
- Rob's A-Z of famous gay, lesbian and bisexual people
- FemBio - Notable Women International includes biographies of lesbians and a search function
Sources
- Aldrich, Robert and Wotherspoon, Gary (Eds.) (2001). Who's Who in Contemporary Gay & Lesbian History: From World War II to the Present Day. New York: Routledge. ISBN 041522974X.