10 Famous People You Didn’t Know Are Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual

In the past,  there are many, both celebrities and ordinary people, who have always hidden their sexuality once they are not straight due to fear of being judged or even attacked. However,  as society keeps changing, more people are coming out thanks to laws that recognize the rights of everyone to get married and more tolerance from society. That said,  there are still some famous gay people as well as bisexuals and trans that many do not know even after coming out and being in a number of relationships.

Famous Gay, Lesbian, or Bisexual People

1. Drew Barrymore

Drew Barrymore (Image Source)

The actress Drew Barrymore has had a very troubled past, battling drug addiction even before she was a teenager. She has had three failed marriages in the past.

Drew came out in 2003 when she revealed that she had always loved women in the same way that she loved men. The actress revealed that she found the body of women very appealing and that at the time, she had already gone to bed with a good number.

Barrymore got married for the first time in 1994 to Jeremy Thomas, but the union ended in 1995. Her next marriage was to Tom Green and that also lasted a year from 2001 to 2002. In 2012, she married Will Kopelman until 2016 when it ended. She has been linked to women such as Jane Pratt and Heather Graham in the past.

2. Miley Cyrus

famous gay
Miley Cyrus (Image Source)

The American movie/musician Miley Cyrus may be happily married to her man, Liam Hemsworth, but that doesn’t mean she is straight. Once referred to as bisexual, she came out to identify herself as pansexual and gender-fluid instead. This means that she can fall in love with anyone without minding the gender.

According to Cyrus who became famous as Hannah Montana, she had never understood her sexuality and gender. She said she later understood that her gender was unassigned and her real sexuality became clear to her. Before coming out in 2016, she had already had a relationship with a woman. In fact, she stated that the first relationship she ever had was with a chick.

Among people she dated in the past are Nick Jonas, Justin Bieber, and Stella Maxwell.  After her marriage to Liam in 2018, she made it clear in 2019 that the marriage did not change her identity as queer.

3. Angelina Jolie

famous gay
Angelina Jolie (Image Source)

Jolie has been in some of the most famous relationships in Hollywood in the past and has been married more than once to men. Nevertheless, she has revealed that apart from men, she also has sexual feelings for women.

Angelina Jolie got married for the first time in 1996 to Jonny Lee Miller. This marriage which ended only three years later is almost forgotten by many. In 2000, she got married again to Billy Bob Thornton and although they were only together for three years, no one will forget this easily after she had his name tattooed on her body.

She met and fell in love with Brad Pitt in 2005. At the time, he was still married to Jennifer Aniston. In 2006, she became pregnant for him and they remained together until 2014 when they got married. The union, unfortunately, ended in 2016.

With a number of other men on her dating list, Jolie also dated some women including Jenny Shimizu. There is also the rumor that she dated Lady Gaga, who has also come out as bisexual.

4. Caroline Cossey

Caroline Cossey (Image Source)

In 1981, Cossey was in the James Bond film, For Your Eyes Only. It was after the movies that she was outed by the British press as transgender. While not known by many people, the English model was born a man in 1954.

She described her childhood as very hard because of the bullying she suffered due to her feminine appearance and so by the time she was 17, she decided to change her sex. By December 1974, she had fully transitioned into a woman and had legally adopted the name, Cossey.

Now married to David Finch with whom she has been with since 1992, Caroline Cossey became the first transgender to pose for Playboy which she did in 1991. She once also worked in Paris as a showgirl as well as in Rome as a topless dancer when she was still trying to raise money for her sex reassignment surgery. At the time, she had already done a breast augmentation surgery.

5. Erika Ervin

Erika Ervin (Image Source)

Popular as Amazon Eve because of her massive height of 6 feet 8 inches, Erika Ervin is trans. She was born in 1979 as a man and by the time she was 14, she had already had a height of 5 feet 11 inches.

In 2004, she underwent a sex reassignment surgery, becoming a woman. She revealed that she suffered from abusive parents when she was growing up and teasing when in school. Five years after the reassignment surgery, Amazon started her career as a model and then in 2010, she was named the World’s Tallest Model in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Also, an actress who has appeared in American Horror Story: Freak Show in 2014 and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in 2018, she has found it hard finding love due to her height. However, she got into a relationship with a man identified as Dennis in 2013.

6. Ian Harvie

Ian Harvie (Image Source)

When Ian was born in 1969, he was birthed as a girl. According to the American stand-up comedian, he knew from a very early age that he was trans. At the time,  however, he had no term to describe who he was. At the age of 19, he came out as gay and then when he was 32, he was out as a trans. For anyone who follows his comedy,  he references his sexuality in his jokes.

Being one of the famous gay guys out there, Ian is a very popular figure in the LGBTQ community where he performs among other popular celebrities in the LGBT  pop culture community.

7. Jake Zyrus

Jake Zyrus (Image Source)

It was as Charmaine Clarice Relucio Pempengco that the Filipino singer Jake Zyrus was born in 1992. When the singer first emerged,  he used the name, Charice.

Raised by a single mother,  Zyrus has had the talent for singing since a very early age. To support his mother, he started singing in competitions when he was just 7. Zyrus became famous in 2007 when his videos went viral and he was invited to the Ellen DeGeneres show.

The journey of Charice started in 2012 with a change of hairstyle which she said was just herself evolving. In 2013, she came out identifying herself as a lesbian. By 2014, Zyrus was already wearing a boyish look. In 2017, the singer had changed the name to Zyrus and announced that he had already removed both breasts and was continuing with other transitioning processes.

The singer has been in a number of relationships in the past but is currently engaged to his girlfriend, Shyre Aquino. The two have been dating since 2017 and then they got engaged in 2018. Before Aquino,  Jake had been in a relationship with his former girlfriend Alyssa Quijano. They were together from 2013 to 2017.

8. Stephen Fry

famous gay
Stephen Fry (Image Source)

Although he has been very open about it, Stephen Fry is another famous gay person that some people still don’t know about his sexuality. The actor has had a bisexual past but he now describes himself as completely gay. However, he said he still sees women whom he may have some kind of feelings for.

He describes himself as gay and not bisexual because according to him,  it is easier that way.  Fry has not only dated men, but he has also been a vocal advocate against homophobia in his various works.

Looking at his dating life,  Fry who is now married to Elliot Spencer since 2015 has dated other men in the past. He has been linked to people like Daniel Cohen whom he dated from 2005 to 2010 and then Steven Webb from 2010 to 2013, the same year he met Elliot.

9 Daniel Newman

famous gay
Daniel Newman (Image Source)

The Sex and the City actor had always kept his sexuality to himself until 2017 when he decided to come out.  Before then,  he was involved in LGBT activities. According to him,  he finally decided to come out after a girl approached him and thanked him for helping the gay community even though he was straight. When he told her he was gay, she asked why he was still yet to come out when doing so would help give strength to many others.

Immediately after the encounter,  the Walking Dead actor made an emotional video coming out as gay and encouraging others who are also gay to come out.

See Also: 20 Best Amazon Prime Original Series, Movies, and TV Shows

10. Wentworth Miller

famous gay
Wentworth Miller (Image Source)

The Prison Break star joined the long list of famous gay celebrities after he publicly came out as gay in 2013. The British-born American actor revealed in a letter to the St. Petersburg International Film Festival that he was troubled by the attitude of the Russian government towards the gay community and so he was rejecting his invitation to the festival. He said as a gay man, there was no way he could in good conscience be part of a celebratory occasion hosted by a country that denied people like him their rights.

The actor would later reveal his struggles as it relates to his sexuality. He has spoken about his mental health issues and self-harm which he links to his sexuality. He has continued to use his prominence to speak for the gay community.

Chux Dezman
Chux Dezman
Chux has been writing and editing for several major websites and publications for over 16 years, when he is not crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s, you might catch him at home watching his favourite TV shows

Recommended

Featured Today

Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness, if you've found a possible error, be it factual, editorial or something that needs updating, please contact us

Read This Next