LGBTQ stars we’re celebrating this Pride

June 23, 2019

Happy <strong><a href="https://ca.hellomagazine.com/pride">Pride</a></strong>!
<p>Showbiz is full of LGBTQ+ stars, some of whom have been out for decades and are considered trailblazers, and others who have just come out. Whether they're gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, pansexual or don't particularly identify with a label, we're happy they're living their truths!
<p><strong>Click through the gallery to see some of those we're celebrating this Pride!</strong>
<p>Photos: © Getty Images

Ellen DeGeneres

“Yep. I’m gay.”

With those three words, Ellen DeGeneres changed the world. Her visibility opened doors for many LGBTQ+ stars afterward, and gave ordinary LGBTQ+ people worldwide a lot of hope. While she did receive backlash for telling her truth in 1997, she made a return with Finding Nemo and then became an even bigger star after landing a talk show in 2006 that is still one of the most watched shows in the US.

In 2016, Ellen received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from former US President Barack Obama.

“It’s easy to forget now just how much courage was required for Ellen to come out on the most public of stages 20 years ago,” Barack said at the ceremony. “What an incredible burden that was to bear – to risk your career like that – people don’t do that very often. And then, to haves the hopes of millions on your shoulders.”

Through it all, Ellen has remained the same, bubbly person she has always been.

Photo: © Getty Images

<h2>Laverne Cox</h2>
<p>The transgender star rose to fame on <i>Orange is the New Black</i> in 2014, and continues to advocate for the trans community.
<p>“It is revolutionary for any trans person to choose to be seen and visible in a world that tells us we should not exist,” she said that same year.
<p>Photo: © John Lamparski/Getty Images

<h2>Elton John</h2>
<p>Elton says he realized he was gay when he was 23, came out as bisexual mid-career, and only came out as gay in 1992 at age 45, when he told <i>Rolling Stone</i> he was “quite comfortable being gay.”
<p>“Don’t let anybody do you down,” he told <a href="https://variety.com/2019/music/features/elton-john-on-being-gay-1203248152/"><i>Variety</i></a> earlier this year just ahead of the release of the <i>Rocketman</i> biopic when he was asked his advice for LGBTQ+ youth. “I’ve been very privileged because I’m in a business that kind of accepts gay people. There are kids that aren’t privileged. They come from poor backgrounds. Their parents don’t understand; religion gives them a hard time.”
<p>Photo: © Getty Images

<h2>Neil Patrick Harris</h2>
<p>The former <i>How I Met Your Mother</i> star is married to <strong><a href="/tags/0/david-burtka">David Burtka</a></strong> and has been openly gay since 2006, when he came out.
<p>“I am happy to dispel any rumours or misconceptions and am quite proud to say that I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest and feel most fortunate to be working with wonderful people in the business I love,” he said at the time.
<p>Photo: © Getty Images

<h2>Lady Gaga</h2>
<p>The pop superstar has always been open about her bisexuality, since the day she burst onto the scene in 2008.
<p>“It’s not a lie that I am bisexual and I like women, and anyone that wants to twist this into ‘she says she’s bisexual for marketing,’ this is a … lie,” <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/10/31/lady-gaga-bisexuality_n_4182059.html">she said in 2013</a>. “This is who I am and who I have always been.”
<p>Photo: © Getty Images

<h2>Jane Lynch</h2>
<p>The former star of <i>Glee</i> says she never had a coming out moment and says she hopes her being out helps those who are still having difficulty because it isn’t safe for them to be.
<p>“I have to give kudos to people like Melissa Etheridge and k.d. lang and Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O’Donnell, all of those people who came before and at the height of their career, when they had a lot to lose, stood up and said, ‘This is who I am,’” she told SiriusXM Progress in 2015. “And the world kind of went [gasps] and then, nothing happened. That was really great and they kind of cleared a path for me to just stroll down.”
<p>Photo: © Getty Images

Ricky Martin

The pop star and former ‘90s heartthrob’s sexual orientation was the subject of rumours for years, and he came out in 2010, saying having two sons and publishing a memoir made him decide it was time to tell his truth.

“To keep living as I did up until today would be to indirectly diminish the glow that my kids where [sic] born with,” he wrote. “Many people told me, ‘Ricky, it’s not important,’ ‘it’s not worth it,’ ‘all the years you’ve worked and everything you’ve built will collapse,’ ‘ many people in the world are not ready to accept your truth, your reality, your nature.’

“Because all this advice came from people who I love dearly, I decided to move on with my life not sharing with the world my entire truth. Allowing myself to be seduced by fear and insecurity became a self-fulfilling prophecy of sabotage. Today I take full responsibility for my decisions and my actions.”

Photo: © Getty Images

<h2>Ian McKellen</h2>
<p>The <i>Lord of the Rings</i> star has been out since 1988, when he was 49.
<p>“I’ve never met a gay person who who regretted coming out — including myself,” he tweeted in 2018. “Life at last begins to make sense, when you are open and honest.”
<p>Photo: © Getty Images

<h2>Janelle Monáe</h2>
<p>The pop star and <i>Hidden Figures</i> star came out as pansexual in an interview with <i>Rolling Stone</i> in 2018.
<p>“I’m open to learning more about who I am,” she said.
<p>“I want young girls, young boys, non-binary, gay, straight, queer people who are having a hard time dealing with their sexuality, dealing with feeling ostracized or bullied for just being their unique selves, to know that I see you,” she continued.
<p>Photo: © Getty Images

<h2>Indya Moore</h2>
<p>The non-binary star shot shot to fame this year thanks to their role on <i>Pose</i> as part of a cast that includes many other trans and non-binary people.
<p>They told <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/indya-moore-is-the-angel-2018-needed"><i>GQ</i></a> last year that they think the show is helping break down transphobia.
<p>"Everyone that's ever seen Pose who isn't trans or doesn't have any connection to the LGBTQ community has been given the opportunity to create empathetic relationships to the characters that they would not have otherwise been able to," they said. "That's super essential in helping counter homophobia and transphobia."
<p>Photo: © Getty Images

<h2>Ellen Page and Emma Portner</h2>
<p>Ellen secretly married Emma in 2018, four years after she came out during a Human Rights Campaign event in 2014.
<p>"I suffered for years because I was scared to be out. My spirit suffered, my mental health suffered and my relationships suffered," she said. "And I'm standing here today, with all of you, on the other side of all that pain."
<p>Photo: © Getty Images

<h2>Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor</h2>
<p><i>American Horror Story</i> star Sarah has been dating Holland since 2015. They first met almost a decade ago and were reintroduced, and started a relationship.
<p>"[She was] probably the most exquisitely beautiful woman I'd ever seen," Sarah said of re-meeting Holland in 2017.
<p>Holland echoed her statements, saying: "I must say it has to be part of what has to be the most wonderful thing in my life, is the whole embrace of this wonderful relationship which makes everything else makes sense... I can’t talk about my life today and not mention this wonderful love."
<p>Photo: © Getty Images

<h2>Billy Porter</h2>
<p>The Broadway veteran originated the role of Lola in <i>Kinky Boots</i> and has drawn a lot of attention in the last few years for his incredible red carpet fashion.
<p>He's also been outspoken about the need for better representation for black LGBTQ+ people and more roles for them in Hollywood and on Broadway.
<p>He also says his own visibility is important for young people to see.
<p>"I wish more young people could get to the space of I don't need your tolerance, I don't need your acceptance. What I demand is your respect for my humanity," he told <i><a href="https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a27817829/billy-porter-pose-interview-2019/">Esquire</a></i> earlier this month.
<p>Photo: © Getty Images

<h2>Robin Roberts</h2>
<p>The <i>Good Morning America</i> anchor came out in a Facebook post in 2013 in which she thanked partner <strong>Amber Laign</strong> for supporting her during her battle with breast cancer.
<p>“I am grateful for my entire family, my long time girlfriend, Amber, and friends as we prepare to celebrate a glorious new year together,” she wrote.
<p>The post was praised by then US First Lady <strong><a href="/tags/0/michelle-obama">Michelle Obama</a></strong> who said she was happy for the couple and that Robin had made her proud.
<p>Photo; © Getty Images

<h2>RuPaul</h2>
<p>Few other people have contributed as much to current LGBTQ+ pop culture and lexicon as Ru. The <i>Drag Race</i> host and legend has won three Emmy Awards and been called one of the world's most influential people by <i>Time</i>. Yasssss, queen!
<p>Photo: © Getty Images

<h2>Lilly Singh</h2>
<p>In February, the Canadian YouTube star came out with an inspiring tweet about being a bisexual woman of colour that read, "Throughout my life these have proven to be obstacles from time to time. But now I’m fully embracing them as my superpowers. No matter how many “boxes” you check, I encourage you to do the same."
<p>Photo: © Getty Images

<h2>Sam Smith</h2>
<p>The Grammy Award-winning singer came out as non-binary in March, meaning he does not consider himself to be male or female. (Sam has continued to use male pronouns.)
<p>“When I saw the non-binary, genderqueer, and I read into it and I heard these people speaking, I was like, ‘... that is me,’” he told Jameela Jamil in an interview. “I’ve always had a bit of a wall between my mind and my body.”
<p>“That’s how I take it; I’m not male or female, I think I flow somewhere in between. It’s all on the spectrum,” he continued.
<p>Photo: © Getty Images

<h2>Amandla Stenberg</h2>
<p>The <i>Hunger Games</i> star came out as gay last year in an interview after saying she was bisexual in 2016. She says realizing she was gay was a process of self-discovery and reflection.
<p>“I was so overcome with this profound sense of relief when I realized that I’m gay – not bi, not pan, but gay – with a romantic love for women,” she said.
<p>“My sexuality is not a byproduct of my past experiences with men, who I have loved, but rather a part of myself I was born with and love deeply.”
<p>Photo: © Getty Images

<h2>Kristen Stewart</h2>
<p>The actress dated her <i>Twilight</i> co-star <strong><a href=/tags/0/Robert-pattinson>Robert Pattinson</a></strong> for year before dating visual effects producer Alicia Cargile, French singer Soko and musician St. Vincent. She has been dating model <Strong>Stella Maxwell</strong> since May, and described herself as bisexual in an interview with <i>The Guardian</i> in 2017.
<p>“You’re not confused if you’re bisexual,” she said. “It’s not confusing at all. For me, it’s quite the opposite.”
<p>Photo: © Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images

<h2>Tessa Thompson</h2>
<p>The <i>Thor: Ragnarok</i> and <i>Avengers: Endgame</i> star said she grew up in a family where she could date whoever she wanted. But when outlets reported she was bisexual, she had this to say:
<p>"I never said that word, because I don't think in those binaries. I feel like that's important to say, just for me, because that's not the way that I specifically identify... Some people categorized it as coming out or something. And I have never been in, so I don’t know what that means."
<p>Photo: © Getty Images

Jonathan Van Ness

The Queer Eye star came out as non-binary this month in an interview with Out magazine.

“The older I get, the more I think that I’m nonbinary — I’m gender nonconforming,” he said. "Like, some days I feel like a man, but then other days I feel like a woman. I don’t really — I think my energies are really all over the place. Any opportunity I have to break down stereotypes of the binary, I am down for it, I’m here for it. I think that a lot of times gender is used to separate and divide. It’s this social construct that I don’t really feel like I fit into the way I used to. I always used to think 'Oh, I’m like a gay man,' but I think any way I can let little boys and little girls know that they can express themselves and they can like be — like, making iconic partnerships with brands like essie no matter now they present is really important and exciting.”