The LGBTQ+ community is involved in practically every aspect of American society, from fine arts to business to sports. Which LGBTQ+ Americans do you know? As always, this list is by no means exhaustive. I encourage you to do your own research to discover LGBTQ+ individuals making a difference in your local community, city, or country!
Broadway/theater
Billy Porter: Billy Porter is an actor and singer best known for his role as Lola in Kinky Boots for which he won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 2013. He currently acts in the television show “Pose.” Porter is known for his bold, vibrant fashion.
Neil Patrick Harris (NPH): You may know NPH from his role as Barney on the hit show, How I Met Your Mother, but did you also know he’s starred on Broadway? He performed as Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch and won a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical in 2014. NPH has also hosted the Tony Awards four times and was the first openly gay man to host the Academy Awards in 2015. He is married to his husband David Burtka and has two children.
Beth Malone: Beth Melone is an actress and singer with a well-established career in theater. One of her most famous roles was that of Alison Bechdel, a celebrated cartoonist, in the musical Fun Home, which is the first Broadway show with a lesbian lead character.
Singers
Ricky Martin: Remember AH’s post on Latin culture, music, and people in the U.S.? Well, you can add Ricky Martin to that list! He is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor who has made a lasting impact in Latin music. He began singing with Menudo, an all-boy band, but began his solo career in the early 1990s. He has successfully bridged the English and Spanish-speaking markets and has sold tens of millions of albums to date. One of his most well-known songs is “Livin’ la Vida Loca,” released in 1999. He has also collaborated with countless artists, such as on Vente pa’ ca’ w. Maluma. Martin’s coming out made waves in the music industry, particularly the Latinx community, and he is considered a leading voice for gay rights. He married his husband, Jwan Yosef, in 2018 and the couple has four children.
Frank Ocean: Frank Ocean is a singer and songwriter who grew up in Louisiana. His style of music can be described as R&B, pop, and alternative. Channel Orange, his debut album, won Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 2013 Grammy Awards, and his song, Chanel, is also very popular and describes his bisexuality. Ocean came out in 2012 and has spoken out against homophobia on social media.
Janelle Monáe: Janelle Monáe is a singer, songwriter and actress and has been nominated eight times for a Grammy Award. Some of their most well-known songs are Pynk (a commentary on female sexuality) and Make Me Feel. Monáe identifies as non-binary.
Hamed Sinno: Sinno is a Lebanese-American musician who is the lead singer of the band, Mashrou’ Leila. Two of my favorite songs are “Fasateen” and “3 Minutes.” Sinno is openly gay and advocates for LGBTQ+ rights in the Middle East. For more on Sinno, listen to this interview conducted by podcast Kerning Cultures.
Film/Television
Laverne Cox: Laverne Cox is an actress, dancer, and LGBTQ+ advocate known for her role as Sophia Burset on the acclaimed Netflix show, Orange is the New Black, making her the first trans woman of color to be cast in a leading role on a mainstream scripted television show. She has been featured on TIME magazine and was nominated for an Emmy Award.
Alice Wu: Alice Wu is a gay Asian-American director and filmmaker known for her films Saving Face (2005) and The Half of It (2020). Her films feature both Asian-American and non-straight characters.
Jim Parsons: Parsons is an award-winning actor known for his role of Sheldon Cooper on the hit show, The Big Bang Theory. He has won four Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. He has also performed on Broadway (see An Act of God) and in films. A fun fact is that Parsons was born in Houston, Texas (like me!)
Queer Eye Cast: Queer Eye is one of the most beloved makeover/reality shows of our generation. The Fab 5--Johnathan Van Ness, Bobby Burke, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, and Karamo Brown--are five proud gay men who are making the world a better place.
Kate McKinnon: McKinnon is an actress, comedian, and writer. You can catch her on episodes of Saturday Night Live satirizing famous Americans like Hillary Clinton, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and the late Ruth Bader Ginsberg.
RuPaul: RuPaul is a drag queen, actor, model, and reality show host best known for his show RuPaul’s Drag Race. He was celebrated as one of TIME’s most influential people in 2017.
Sports
Jason Collins: Collins is a retired NBA player who has played for a variety of teams, including the New Jersey Nets, Washington Wizards, and Boston Celtics.
Billie Jean King: King is a former professional tennis player. At the age of 29, she beat American tennis champion, Bobby Riggs, in a “Battle of the Sexes” match in 1973.
Johnny Weir: Weir is an accomplished Olympic figure skater and NBC television contributor. He is known for his stylistic fashion choices and expressive skating routines.
Politics & Activism
Angela Davis: Davis is a political activist, academic, and author. Her activism focuses on feminism, race, class, and prison abolition. She remains a controversial figure and was named in TIME’s 100 “Most Influential People” of 2020.
Sharice Davids: Davids represents the 3rd District of Kansas in the U.S. House of Representatives. Two of her major policy focuses are Native American rights and healthcare.
Kyrsten Sinema: Sinema proudly represents Arizona as one of two senators.
Ritchie Torres & Mondaire Jones: Torres and Jones, elected to Congress in the Nov. 2020 election, proudly represent two districts in the state of New York.
Authors/Writers
James Baldwin: Baldwin is an acclaimed African-American author, essayist, playwright, poet, and activist. His writing engages themes of race and sexuality. Some of his most famous works include Giovanni’s Room (1956), Go Tell It On the Mountain (1953), and If Beale Street Could Talk (1974), which was adapted into a film in 2018.
Larry Kramer: Kramer, who passed away this year, was an author, essayist, and playwright. He was also an outspoken and sometimes controversial activist during the 1980s, founding two organizations, Act Up and the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, to draw attention to the devastating AIDS crisis. He is also the author of the play, “The Normal Heart,” which won a Tony Award and was adapted into a film.
Roxane Gay: Gay is an African-American author, professor, editor, and social activist. She is known for her essay collection, Bad Feminist, memior, Hunger, and Marvel’s World of Wakanda.
Alok Vaid-Menon: Vaid-Menon is an Indian-American gender non-comforming writer and performance artist. They use poetry, prose, comedy, and fashion to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A Texas native, Bianca Navia is currently in her senior year at Arizona State University pursuing a dual major in Political Science and Global Studies. She is most passionate about international affairs, diplomacy, foreign languages, traveling, and teaching. A fun fact about her? She’s the oldest of four sisters in a big Cuban-Italian-American family!