These women have given great meaning to the word "pride." This list is certainly not exhaustive, but check out these inspiring members of the LGBT community if you haven't already.
1. Ellen Degeneres
The queen of talk shows and known for the voice of Dory from "Finding Nemo," Ellen DeGeneres has been a role model for LGBTQ rights since she came out as a lesbian in 1997. DeGeneres has utilized her good-natured comedy to rise to fame all across the world. She began her career in stand-up comedy after being discovered by an agent from "The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson" at a coffee shop. She was only 23 years old at the time. After being invited on several other talk shows to guest star, DeGeneres was given her own sitcom. The show was tremendously criticized after DeGeneres’ character revealed she was homosexual on the air (the first time to ever happen!). DeGeneres would later admit to media sources that this was true for herself as well.
2. Hannah Hart
Hannah Hart is a rising social media star who hosts the YouTube channel, MyHarto. Hart provides plenty of cheer and food related puns to the Internet one drunkenly prepared meal at a time with her popular show, "My Drunk Kitchen." Hart uses her channel to talk about more personal matters as well. She always aspires to create an encouraging, open environment for her viewers. This goes hand in hand with Hart being open about her homosexuality. She speaks freely about LGBTQ-related topics for those who may not be as daring to do so. As well as her YouTube channel, Hart has written two best-selling books and has been featured on "Food Network Star" and in several movies. Not bad for a home cook who likes to drink!
3. Ellen Page
Canadian actress Ellen Page is well known for her involvement in numerous movies such as The X-Men series, "Juno," "Inception," "Whip It," and others. She has voice acted for the game "Beyond: Two Souls" and has been on several television shows. One television documentary to note that Page has been associated with as a host and executive producer is "Gaycation." This program tackles LGBTQ aspects of society across the world that may or may not have ever been brought to national attention. Each episode takes the viewer to a different country to discover the varying lifestyles of LGBTQ citizens. The series began in 2016, but Page has been out as homosexual since 2014. Page’s expedition to bring LGBTQ awareness across the country is truly an amazing triumph for the community.
4 & 5. Cameron Esposito & Rhea Butcher
Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher are married, homosexual stand up comedians. (It’s hard not to group them together because they’re just so cute!) The two were original natives of Ohio and currently reside in
Los Angeles. They are probably most recognizable from either the Seeso web series "Take My Wife," or from Esposito’s creation of Buzzfeed’s “Ask A Lesbian” series. Esposito’s foci on stand up usually revolve around the topics of LGBTQ and/or feminism. Butcher is the same way but tends to include her interests of baseball and vegetarianism. Female stand-up comics are definitely rare to come by. They are also commonly disrespected in the field. Esposito and Butcher’s roles in "Take My Wife" show the world how they persevere as lesbians and females in a mostly male dominated career.
6. Samira Wiley
This 29-year-old actress can be easily recognized by her role as Poussey Washington in the Netflix series "Orange Is the New Black." Wiley went to the infamous Julliard School for drama and performed often in theatre. Wiley was actually recommended to audition for the role of Washington by a connection from her university. Wiley was around LGBTQ acceptance most of her life due to her parents being pastors of a Baptist Church that embraced same-sex unions. Wiley is openly homosexual and recently became engaged to her fiancée Lauren Morelli in 2016. Interestingly enough, Morelli is a writer for "Orange Is the New Black."
7. Jane Lynch
Known for her skills as a comedian, actress, and singer, Jane Lynch has been involved in many different acting roles in her lifetime. Lynch’s portrayal as Sue Sylvester in “Glee” has won several awards. She has also starred in “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Weeds,” “Two and a Half Men,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” and has appeared in numerous other films and TV shows. Lynch has always been open about her homosexuality. Lynch was given a spot in Power Up’s “10 Amazing Gay Women in Showbiz”. She also got married to Lara Embry in 2010. They later divorced in 2014.
8. Portia de Rossi
Portia de Rossi, also known as Portia Lee James DeGeneres, is an Australian-American actress who is also the wife of Ellen DeGeneres. Rossi has been cast in “Scandal,” “Arrested Development,” “Ally McBeal,” “Better Off Ted,” and many other shows and films. News of Rossi’s homosexuality was first revealed when she began to date a director named Francesca Gregorini from 2000 to 2004. The couple broke up as soon as Rossi met Ellen DeGeneres. DeGeneres seemed to give Rossi more confidence. She finally found the courage to discuss her homosexuality with talk show hosts in 2005. Rossi also mentioned the topic of being a lesbian on “Good Morning America” in 2010. She admitted that she was fearful of being exposed as homosexual when she was a younger actress. Rossi and DeGeneres were married in 2008. Rossi became a legal United States citizen in 2011. Rossi also supports several charities including Locks of Love, Alley Cat Allies, FXB International, and the Gentle Barn.
9. Raven Symoné
“That’s So Raven,” “The Cosby Show,” “Empire,” tons of Disney Channel shows and
family oriented movies… Raven Symoné has done it all as a kid star gone right. She has grown up producing several albums under her singing career and currently hosts on “The View” as well. Symoné would not label her sexual orientation back in 2012, but she has always appeared to respect same-sex relationships. She was incredibly
happy about the legalization of same-sex marriages that occurred in 2013. She admitted to liking both boys and girls when she was twelve years old. She dated AzMarie Livingston for three years before they broke up in 2015. On “The View” as of last year, Symoné did call herself a lesbian.
10. Sarah Paulson
42-year-old Sarah Paulson has starred in a lengthy list of films, shows, and theatre productions. One of her biggest achievements currently is her involvement with the “American Horror Story” and “American Crime Story” series. She has been in each season since its premiere in 2011. Paulson has also been praised for her roles in “12 Years A Slave” and “Carol.” In June of 2016, Paulson was involved with a video shoot produced by the Human Rights Campaign about the Orlando nightclub shooting. She calls her sexuality more fluid even though she has recently been with women. She dated another actress on this list, Cherry Jones, for around five years. She is now
dating Holland Taylor.
11. Heather Matarazzo
Heather Matarazzo can be seen in films such as “Welcome to the Dollhouse,” the “Princess Diaries” movies, “The Devil’s Advocate,” and others. She actually began her career at an AIDS benefit for children at the age of six when a talent manager noticed her. Matarazzo is openly homosexual. She was married to her partner Caroline Murphy from 2004 to 2012. Matarazzo was also a keynote speaker one year for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight
Education Network in Boston that is held annually.
12. Cherry Jones
The oldest on this list at 60-years-old, actress Cherry Jones is well known for her participation in film, television, and on Broadway. She has been a five-time nominee for the Tony Award due to her theatre experience. She won for Best Actress in a Play in both “The Heiress” and “Doubt.” She also won a Primetime Emmy Award for her role in “24.” Jones has always been openly homosexual. She was in a relationship with her partner Mary O’Connor for 18 years. Jones began dating Sarah Paulson in 2004. They were together until their split in 2009. Jones got married in 2015 with her wife Sophie Huber.
13. Ruby Rose
A native of Melbourne, Australia, Ruby Rose has gained popularity in Australia and the United States as a model, DJ, video jocky, recording artist, and actress. Rose has been the face of Maybelline New York in Australia. She has been on “MTV Australia,” “Australia’s Next Top Model,” “The Project,” and “Orange Is the New Black.” Rose has been out as a lesbian since she was 12. She has used her modeling career as a way to practice androgyny with her style. Rose classifies herself as gender fluid who uses female pronouns. She was engaged to a fashion designer named Phoebe Dahl for a year before they broke up. Rose currently dates a singer from The Veronicas, Jess Origliasso, after having dated in 2008.
