Famous LGBTQ+ Personalities

Gay pop-rock star whose visibility helped broaden LGBTQ acceptance in mainstream entertainment.

WWII codebreaker and pioneer of modern computing.

Cartoonist and creator of the Bechdel Test.

Gender-nonconforming performer whose advocacy and art increased acceptance of gender diversity worldwide.

Irish actor known for stage and screen.

American artist and queer cultural icon whose Pop Art and Factory scene reshaped LGBTQ visibility in modern art.

Scholar and activist known for work on civil rights, prisons, and social justice.

Actor and entrepreneur advocating for trans rights.

American photographer and LGBTQ cultural figure, known for intimate portraits and her long relationship with Susan Sontag.

Model and one of the earliest British trans women in the public eye.

Trans musician whose experimental work and visibility advanced gender-nonconforming representation in music.

Queer singer-songwriter whose work highlights LGBTQ intimacy and mental health in modern pop.

Author of Tales of the City and chronicler of queer life.

Non-binary actor whose prominent roles expanded mainstream understanding of non-binary identity.

Poet and activist who shaped Black feminist and queer thought.

Trans Latina activist and community leader whose organising advanced health and rights for trans people.

Lesbian rights pioneer whose organising and visibility campaigns helped catalyse modern LGBTQ equality movements.

Civil-rights leader and U.S. congresswoman known for powerful constitutional speeches.

Civil-rights strategist and lead organizer of the 1963 March on Washington.

Poet and diplomat whose letters suggest same-sex relationships.

Influential blues singer who was openly bisexual.

Singer and composer who came out as trans later in life.

Bounce music star and LGBTQ icon whose gender expression and visibility expanded queer representation in hip-hop culture.

Tennis legend and equality advocate in sports and society.

Actor and singer known for challenging gender norms in fashion.

Composer and jazz legend who collaborated with Duke Ellington.

English singer and style icon, frontman of Culture Club, known for androgynous fashion and chart-topping 1980s hits.

Andy Warhol superstar and trans icon.

English model and actor, queer icon whose openness as pansexual and genderfluid broadened LGBTQ visibility in fashion and film.

Trans justice advocate whose case and organising strengthened trans rights and abolitionist movements.

A British transgender actress, activist, and author from London. In 2013 she started a project for her final year at London College of Fashion called Nail Transphobia. The project involves offering manicures to people and talking to them about trans issues, Craggs still offers these sessions today.

American transgender activist and cultural figure whose visibility advanced understanding and acceptance of trans identities.

Country music singer who came out publicly in 2010.

Chicana feminist writer and lesbian theorist.

French musician exploring gender fluidity.

One of the first Americans to become widely known for gender-affirming surgery.

Writer whose work influenced queer literature.

American actor-director and lesbian icon whose work and visibility helped strengthen LGBTQ representation in film and television.

Drag performer and LGBTQ advocate whose media work promoted queer acceptance and equality.

American actor and queer icon whose public life and advocacy increased LGBTQ visibility in mainstream culture and politics.

Queer creator whose work helped normalise LGBTQ joy and love in mainstream television.

Musician whose gender expression influenced queer culture.

American humorist and gay icon whose essays and storytelling brought queer life into mainstream literary culture.

Lesbian feminist activist and writer.

British filmmaker and gay icon whose AIDS-era art and activism shaped queer cinema and culture.

Drag performer and cult film star.

One of the earliest known trans women to undergo surgery.

Film director and early public crossdresser.

Lesbian rights icon whose case helped bring marriage equality to the United States.

Novelist and memoirist of gay life.

Comedian and TV host whose coming out advanced LGBTQ+ visibility.

Actor and producer who publicly came out as transgender.

Legendary musician and AIDS activist.

Author of Room and writer of historical queer fiction.

Foundational queer theorist whose writings reshaped how sexuality is studied in culture and literature.

Trans MMA fighter whose career pushed public debate on trans athletes and visibility in combat sports.

Spanish poet and playwright executed during the Spanish Civil War.

Cuban-American gay artist whose conceptual work, shaped by AIDS, became central to queer contemporary art.

Gay rights pioneer who challenged state discrimination and helped build the early US LGBTQ civil rights movement.

American singer-songwriter and queer icon whose openness helped expand LGBTQ visibility and representation in popular music.

Queen frontman and one of the most influential singers in rock.

Painter known for groundbreaking self-portraits and bisexual identity.

Pop musician who became an LGBTQ+ icon after coming out publicly.

Actor and activist known for LGBTQ+ advocacy and speaking on incarceration history.

Trans political pioneer, first openly trans MP, who advanced LGBTQ and sex-worker rights through legislation.

Writer and art patron at the center of Parisian modernism.

Trans creator whose online visibility helped mainstream trans narratives for a new generation.

Harlem Renaissance performer who defied gender norms.

First openly gay Major League Baseball player.

Scholar whose work bridged queer theory and Chicana feminism.

Australian comedian and non-binary queer icon whose work broadened LGBTQ visibility through candid storytelling and critique.

One of the first openly gay elected officials in the U.S. and a movement icon.

Musician and actor known as a modern lesbian pop icon.

Actor and longtime LGBTQ+ equality advocate.

Actor and model advocating for trans and nonbinary visibility.

Transmasculine scholar whose work influenced contemporary thinking on gender, sexuality, and queer culture.

Actor and performer prominent in queer theater.

Writer whose work examined race, sexuality, and American power structures.

Surgeon born female but lived as a man.

Chef and writer who helped define modern American cuisine.

Actor and cultural icon often discussed as bisexual.

Musician and actor who advocates for queer visibility and identifies as nonbinary.

Writer and producer advocating for transgender women of color.

Jason Sutton, also known under his stage name as Miss Jason, was an English actor, comedian, drag artist, pantomime dame, and a community and philanthropic activist.

Trans activist and media figure whose early visibility helped shift public understanding of trans youth.

Influential artist whose work explored race, power, and identity.

Director of Paris Is Burning documenting ballroom culture.

American actor-director and lesbian icon whose acclaimed career and public visibility strengthened LGBTQ representation in film.

Queer filmmaker whose transgressive cinema and champions of drag shaped LGBTQ counterculture.

Gay actor whose Broadway and screen success increased LGBTQ visibility in mainstream theatre and TV.

American non-binary TV personality and LGBTQ icon whose visibility on Queer Eye broadened acceptance of gender diversity.

Drag performer and one of the first openly gay political candidates.

Performer and civil-rights activist; a queer cultural icon.

Queer theorist whose work on gender and performativity shaped LGBTQ scholarship and activism.

Transfeminist writer and bi icon whose work on transmisogyny influenced LGBTQ thought and activism.

Performance artist and gender-nonconforming icon.

Canadian singer-songwriter and lesbian icon whose artistry and visibility helped expand LGBTQ representation in music.

Lesbian journalist whose influence in tech media increased LGBTQ visibility in a major industry.

Author and speaker on gender nonconformity.

American comedian and lesbian icon whose mainstream visibility helped widen LGBTQ representation in TV and popular culture.

First openly lesbian elected official in the U.S.

Queer R&B star whose openness helped normalise fluid sexuality in mainstream music.

Artist whose work addressed sexuality, AIDS, and social justice.

Pop singer and first openly trans woman to win a Grammy.

Avant-garde singer and cult figure of the New Wave era.

American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry. Gaga's philanthropy and activism focus on mental health awareness and LGBTQ rights.

Filmmaker whose work is widely interpreted through a trans lens.

Harlem Renaissance poet and writer; widely discussed as a queer cultural figure.

AIDS activist and co-founder of ACT UP.

Trans punk icon whose music and openness advanced trans visibility in alternative rock.

Transgender actress and advocate for trans rights and visibility.

Trans model whose high-fashion visibility helped normalise trans presence in global fashion media.

Poet and performer speaking on nonbinary identity.

Australian performance artist and queer icon whose radical fashion and body art reshaped LGBTQ expression and club culture.

American writer-producer and lesbian icon whose Emmy-winning work increased LGBTQ visibility and storytelling on television.

Composer and conductor who shaped American classical music.

Writer and activist known for transgender liberation and Stone Butch Blues.

Trans athlete whose participation sparked global debate and intensified focus on trans inclusion in sport.

Musician who challenged norms by being openly gay in hip-hop.

Filmmaker and co-creator of The Matrix who is openly transgender.

American actor-comedian and LGBTQ icon whose long partnership with Jane Wagner and visibility broadened queer representation.

Lisa Power MBE is a British sexual health and LGBT rights campaigner. She was a volunteer for Lesbian & Gay Switchboard and Secretary General of the International Lesbian and Gay Association. She co-founded the Pink Paper and Stonewall, later becoming Policy Director at the Terrence Higgins Trust She was the first openly LGBT person to speak at the United Nations.

Playwright whose work explored race and queer identity.

Trans activist who challenged medical gatekeeping.

Author of Harriet the Spy and lesbian literary figure.

Physician and early advocate for homosexual and trans rights.

David Raven, better known by the stage name Maisie Trollette, was a British drag queen who was active for more than 50 years. One of the oldest working drag queens in the world, she was a regular feature of Brighton Pride from 1973.

Comedian and outspoken LGBTQ+ ally and bisexual icon.

German-born actress and bisexual icon whose gender-defying style and openness influenced queer culture and representation.

Stonewall-era activist and advocate for trans liberation and the unhoused.

Czech-born tennis champion and lesbian icon whose openness and activism advanced LGBTQ visibility in professional sport.

Historical novelist known for gay themes.

Dancer and early 20th-century queer icon.

Soccer champion and advocate for LGBTQ+ and gender equality.

Lesbian rock icon whose coming out and activism strengthened LGBTQ visibility in mainstream music.

Trans actress and LGBTQ icon whose leading roles helped transform trans representation in television.

Trans activist and model whose public advocacy challenged discrimination and increased trans visibility in the UK.

Actor known for stage and screen work and LGBTQ+ visibility.

Lesbian boxing champion whose success and visibility helped normalise LGBTQ athletes in elite sport.

Trans actor and activist whose roles and advocacy expanded trans representation in TV and comics.

Trans beauty influencer whose coming out amplified global trans visibility in digital culture.

Ballroom legend and trans activist.

Gay pop artist and actor whose openness and work on queer themes boosted LGBTQ visibility in UK culture.

Irish writer whose works and life became central to queer literary history.

Brazilian drag superstar whose global success increased LGBTQ visibility in pop culture.

Thai drag icon and advocate whose international platform boosted LGBTQ visibility in Asia and beyond.

Crime novelist best known for The Talented Mr. Ripley.

Writer and trans activist whose work influenced queer sexuality discourse and transmasculine visibility.

Comedian and television personality.

Civil-rights lawyer and early gender-equality theorist.

AIDS educator who humanized HIV on television and promoted prevention and compassion.

Trans entertainer and activist whose mainstream platform advanced trans visibility and community advocacy.

Photographer documenting queer life in New York.

Human rights campaigner and journalist

Phil Starr, birth name Arthur James Fuller, was a gay cabaret comedian, singer, mainstay and regular feature of the London and English south coast gay scene during a career spanning from the 1950s.

Indie musician who openly identifies as bisexual.

Writer and actor known for Fleabag.

UK activist who founded UK Black Pride, expanding visibility and community support for Black LGBTQ people.

Lesbian rights activist and journalist.

Quentin Crisp was an English writer, raconteur, and flamboyant gay icon known for wit, candour, and defiant individuality.

Trans public health leader and visibility figure whose federal role marked a milestone for trans representation.

Broadcast journalist known for political commentary and public LGBTQ+ visibility.

Author of The Well of Loneliness.

Prolific filmmaker of the New German Cinema.

Non-binary creator whose storytelling brought queer themes to children’s animation and mainstream TV.

Surrealist writer who lived openly as a gay man.

Tennis player and ophthalmologist who fought for trans inclusion.

Pop star who publicly came out and advocates for LGBTQ+ rights.

German singer and trans icon of the 1970s.

French painter who lived openly with her female partner.

American writer and bisexual icon whose essays and cultural criticism amplified LGBTQ visibility and conversations on identity.

Drag performer and media figure who popularized drag worldwide.

AIDS activist who cared for dying patients abandoned by families.

First American woman in space; later recognized as a lesbian icon.

Singer-songwriter who publicly identifies as nonbinary.

Black gay author whose groundbreaking fiction and essays expanded queer visibility in literature and criticism.

Lesbian broadcaster whose public visibility and advocacy supported LGBTQ equality and representation.

Trans scholar influential in transgender studies.

Queer musician whose work and advocacy with Tegan and Sara advanced LGBTQ youth support and visibility.

First openly transgender state senator in the U.S.

Actor known for television and film roles.

Queer writer and AIDS activist whose work preserved ACT UP history and advanced LGBTQ cultural politics.

Trans athlete and speaker whose visibility advanced conversations on trans inclusion in sport and education.

Singer who has spoken about fluid sexuality.

Scottish trans artist and producer whose sound reshaped pop and expanded trans visibility in music.

Actor, writer, and LGBTQ+ advocate.

Gay theatre giant whose work influenced generations, including queer artists and audiences across musical theatre.

Butch lesbian and gender-nonconforming icon linked to Stonewall, famed for protecting queer communities.

Sue Louise Sanders is Emeritus Professor Harvey Milk Institute 2015 (born in 1947 in London). She is an 'out and proud' lesbian, a British LGBT rights activist who has specialized in challenging oppression in the public and voluntary sectors for over forty years.[

Trans historian and lesbian trans icon who helped found transgender studies and preserve trans history.

A British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues..

Queer musician and producer whose work expanded LGBTQ visibility in R&B and alternative pop.

Stonewall veteran and organizer who fought for trans and homeless youth.

Queer musician whose work and advocacy with Tegan and Sara advanced LGBTQ youth support and visibility.

Olympic diver and LGBTQ+ role model with prominent public advocacy.

American fashion designer and gay icon whose high-profile career and visibility influenced LGBTQ representation in style and media.

Actor and writer who came out as transgender.

Trans filmmaker and artist documenting Black trans history and strengthening cultural memory within LGBTQ communities.

Creator of the Moomins and an influential lesbian artist and writer.

Trans model and visibility figure whose milestones broadened trans representation in mainstream fashion.

Modernist writer whose work explored gender, sexuality, and identity.

American comedian and lesbian icon whose public visibility and advocacy helped expand LGBTQ representation in mainstream entertainment.

Trans composer whose electronic music innovations and visibility made her a landmark trans cultural figure.

Drag performer and winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Artist and AIDS activist known for conceptual photography.