Out and Proud Celebrities

June is Pride Month, and, even with the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, people are opening up and sharing their LGBTQ identities with the world -- TV stars included. Lili Reinhart (Riverdale), Auli'i Cravalho (Moana, The Little Mermaid Live!), and Willow Smith (Red Table Talk) are among the familiar faces who have spoken -- or tweeted -- their truths. They join dozens of other Hollywood favorites, including Kristen Stewart, ex-Batwoman star Ruby Rose, and CNN's Don Lemon.

Click ahead for a look at more than 80 celebrities -- movie stars, pop stars, reality stars and primetime fixtures -- who have come out over the years.

In a 2019 episode of the Facebook web series, Red Table Talk, Willow Smith said she loved men and women "equally," and was open to a polyamorous relationship.

In June 2020 Reinhart took to Instagram Story to share that she is a "proud bisexual woman," ETonline reported. 

The star of Netflix's Queer Eye came out as non-binary in June 2019. "I didn't think I was allowed to be nonconforming or genderqueer or nonbinary — I was just always like 'a gay man' because that's just the label I thought I had to be," they said.   

In April 2020, as reported by Billboard, the star of Moana and The Little Mermaid Live! responded to a fan on Twitter who asked if she "like[d] girls" by posting a TikTok clip of herself lip-syncing Eminem's "Those Kinda Nights": "Seriously though, jokes aside, how you doin'? You straight?...No, I'm bi."

In February 2020, the actor, best known for roles on The Vampire Diaries, Quantico and The Flash, started an Instagram video by saying, "Hi everyone. Dramatic pause, I'm gay."

In 2019, a few years after coming out as bisexual, the former Famous in Love star and Masked Singer alum told Good Morning America she was "actually a pansexual, and I didn't know that." 

In 2019, months after his Andi Mack character, Cyrus Goodman, became the first openly gay character on a Disney Channel show, Joshua Rush shared in a series of tweets, per CNN, that he was "an out and proud bisexual man."

The star of Netflix's Atypical came out as non-binary in a 2019 Instagram post, sharing, "I'm non-binary, always felt a lil bit boy, lil bit girl, lil bit neither."

In 2019, after a new trailer for the upcoming season of ABC's Bachelor in Paradise was released, the reality star shared with her fans, via Twitter, "Spolier alert: I'm a queer queen."

Goode came out as gender fluid in a Season 12 episode of RuPaul's Drag Race. "I've kind of always teetered between male and female throughout my whole life," Goode said, per Out.

The Umbrella Academy actress came out in an inspiring and candid speech on Valentine's Day 2014. "I'm here today because I am gay. And because maybe I can make a difference," Page said at the Time to THRIVE conference. The actress added she was "tired of lying by omission" and that "We deserve to experience love fully, equally, without shame and without compromise. There are too many kids out there suffering from bullying, rejection or simply being mistreated because of who they are."

A May 2012 New York Times article confirmed the star's sexuality when the writer revealed that the star of the 2007-2019 CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory was not only gay, but in a long-term relationship.

Alexander, star of Netflix's The OA, is the first transgender Asian-American person to act on television.

"Being on set for The OA was the first time my mom used my correct name and pronoun," Alexander said during a 2019 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. "So that just made my heart soar."

According to a 2018 profile with GQ, the Saturday Night Live star realized she was gay thanks to Gillian Anderson's Scully on The X-Files.

The YouTube star turned NBC late-night host (A Little Late with Lilly Singh) announced that she is bisexual in a 2019 tweet to her fans.

"✅ Female ✅ Coloured ✅ Bisexual. 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 x," she wrote.

The American Crime Story star and father of two openly discussed his sexuality for the first time on his website in March 2010, saying he was proud to be "a fortunate gay man."

The singer and actress confirmed that she is pansexual in a 2018 Rolling Stone cover story saying that she is "a queer black woman in America... who has been in relationships with both men and women."

The Game of Thrones star, best known for playing Hodor on the HBO show, came out in an interview with a fan site for the fantasy series WinterIsComing.net. "It's a privilege, and I really mean that," he said. "I've never hidden my sexuality from anyone, my whole life in fact, and I've been waiting for someone to ask about it in an interview, [because] it's not something you just blurt out. I've tried to lead the questions a few times, to no avail!"

The Hunger Games star had previously announced that they identify as non-binary and, in 2018, Stenberg announced on Instagram: "OUT & PROUD. So happy to say the words Yep, I'm Gay in official print."

The Twilight star has opened up about her sexuality, especially since saying she was "so gay" during a 2017 hosting gig on Saturday Night Live.

The Handmaid's Tale actress married her longtime partner, writer Lauren Morelli, in 2017 after the two met while working on Netflix's Orange Is the New Black.

The actress is the first woman of color to receive the Vito Russo Award at the 2018 GLAAD Media Awards.

The former star of The CW's Batwoman, who identifies as gender fluid, says she came out to her mom when she was 12.

While accepting an award at the 2012 Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards, the Doom Patrol hottie thanked his partner Simon Halls and their three children "for teaching me what unconditional love is. You will always be my proudest accomplishment."

The Marvel star opened up about her sexuality in a 2018 interview with Net-A-Porter.

"I'm attracted to men and also to women," Thompson said.

The CNN anchor came out in July 2012 in an email to The Daily Beast reporter Andrew Sullivan. "The fact is, I'm gay, always have been, always will be, and I couldn't be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud," he wrote.

The veteran TV and film actress revealed she was in a long-term relationship with her female best friend in a New York Times editorial in December 2013. In the essay, titled "Coming Out as a Modern Family," Bello opened up about sharing the news with her 12-year-old son Jackson from a previous relationship, as well as her parents. Despite her "deeper" love with a woman named Clare, Bello said she still doesn't identify as gay or bisexual. "I would like to consider myself a 'whatever,' as Jackson said," she wrote. "Whomever I love, however I love them, whether they sleep in my bed or not, or whether I do homework with them or share a child with them, 'love is love.' And I love our modern family. Maybe, in the end, a modern family is just a more honest family."

The Good Morning America anchor came out in December 2013 via a reflective year-end Facebook post, revealing a relationship with her "longtime girlfriend" Amber Laign, a native of the San Francisco Bay Area who works as a massage therapist. In the post, Roberts writes: "I am grateful for my entire family, my longtime girlfriend, Amber, and friends as we prepare to celebrate a glorious new year together."

When talking about her sexuality with Broadway.com in 2013, the American Horror Story star said "the situation is fluid for me." Paulson has been in a relationship with actress Holland Taylor since 2015.

The CNN anchor came out to the New York Times in 2011. "I think if I had seen more people like me who are out and proud, it wouldn't have taken me 45 years to say it -- to walk in the truth," he said.

The Glee alum officially came out during an appearance on Chelsea Lately in 2009, confirming to the host that, like his Glee character Kurt Hummel, he is also gay.

In April 2010, Flack star Paquin made the declaration that she is bisexual in a public service announcement for the True Colors Fund, a nonprofit co-founded by Cyndi Lauper that promotes gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality.

The Heroes alum first referred to himself "as a gay man" in an interview with New York Magazine in October 2011.

The Fast & the Furious star came out as bisexual in October 2013. "I've gone both ways," she told Entertainment Weekly. "I do as I please. I am too f---ing curious to sit here and not try when I can. Men are intriguing. So are chicks."

Following reports about NPH's homosexuality, the How I Met Your Mother alum confirmed to People magazine in November 2006 that he is a "very content gay man." The star married David Burtka in 2014, and the couple has two children together.

The Emmy Award-winning writer of Netflix's Master of None, and creator of Showtime's drama The Chi, said she wants to be "a shining light for all the little lesbians in training" during the 2018 Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards.

The out-and-proud producer accepted the Ford Vanguard Award at the 2018 event, saying: "Being born gay, black and female is not a revolutionary act. Being proud to be a gay, black female is."

The Broad City star told Vanity Fair she dates "men and women" during a 2018 interview. "I kind of go both ways."

Her only caveat: "They have to be funny, doing something they love."

Following the passage of Proposition 8 in November 2008, the comedian and Black-ish star said at a gay rights rally in Las Vegas: "I'm proud to be gay."

The figure skater, known for his popular sports commentary with Tara Lipinski, came out of the closet in his 2011 autobiography Welcome to My World.

Though in previous interviews the star said she rejects labels,in 2016, Raven-Symoné referred to herself as a lesbian during a segment on ABC's The View.

The Arrested Development star came out in 2005 in Details and The Advocate. Three years later, she married talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.

The Mean Girls star came out in April 2014 through a letter he penned to his film character Damian. "I had the perfect opportunity in 2004 to let people know the REAL Daniel Franzese," he wrote in the letter, which was posted on Indiewire.com. "Now in 2014 - ten years later - looking back, it took YOU to teach me how to be proud of myself again. It's okay if no one wants to sit at the table with the 'art freaks.' Being a queer artist is one of my favorite things about myself. I have always been different and that's rad."

The Biggest Loser trainer came out at the age of 48 on the NBC weight loss show in November 2013, even though he told his family when he was 17. He decided to discuss his sexuality publicly after meeting one of this season's contestants who was struggling to come out to his strict Catholic family. "I want to show Bobby that he doesn't have to live in shame," Harper said. "Being gay doesn't mean being weak and being gay doesn't mean you're less than anybody else. It's just who you are."

The Prison Break star revealed he was gay in a letter condemning Russia's anti-LGBT laws in August 2013. Miller declined an invitation to the Russian Film Festival, writing: "As a gay man, I must decline. I am deeply troubled by the current attitude toward and treatment of gay men and women by the Russian government. The situation is in no way acceptable, and I cannot in good conscience participate in a celebratory occasion hosted by a country where people like myself are being systematically denied their basic right to live and love openly."

The Mormon-raised lead singer for pop quartet Neon Trees came out as gay in an interview with Rolling Stone in March 2014. "I've always felt like I'm an open book, and yet obviously I haven't been completely," Glenn said at the time. Inspired by the coming out of several professional athletes like Michael Sam and Jason Collins, Glenn went public about his sexuality only several months after he started coming out to family and friends in October 2013. "Yes. I am a happy and healthy Mormon gay pop star. I don't know what it all means, but I'm OK with it," Glenn tweeted the day the interview was published.

The Olympic gold medalist came out as gay is December 2013, days after being appointed to the United States' official Olympic delegation for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi. "I am many things: a son, a brother, and uncle, a friend, an athlete, a cook, an author, and being gay is just one part of who I am," Boitano, then 50, said in a statement.

The actor, who who played Jack Donaghy's fawning assistant Jonathan on 30 Rock came out in November 2013. He told OUT Magazine that he and his partner just celebrated their ninth anniversary. "It feels like a nice time to be celebrating something like that, especially on the heels of the DOMA and Prop 8 decisions," he said.

In May 2013, Collins became the first active NBA player to come out. "I'm happy to start the conversation," he wrote in Sports Illustrated. "I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, 'I'm different.' If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand."

The Orville actor publicly addressed his sexuality in January 2013 after Garber was asked to confirm information posted on Wikipedia about his longtime boyfriend Raineer Andreesen, a Canadian artist and model. "I don't really talk about it but everybody knows," Garber said. Although the public didn't take note, Garber had spoken out about his partner before, when he told a Canadian magazine in 2012, "My companion... and I have been together almost 13 years in Greenwich Village."

After '80s pop star Tiffany told Watch What Happens: Live host Andy Cohen that Knight "became gay" after they dated, the New Kids on the Block singer confirmed he is gay on the band's blog in 2011. Knight is now set to host HGTV's Farmhouse Fixer.

Country singer Chely Wright told People magazine in May 2010: "Nothing in my life has been more magical than the moment I decided to come out."

The Will & Grace star discussed his sexuality with The Advocate in March 2010, saying: "I am who I am. I was never in, as they say. Never."

In 2009, the former reality star tweeted: "I was in denial for a long time and I found that lying to myself isn't cool. I finally realized that im [sic] lesbian. Not bisexual. I love women."

After months of speculation about American Idol Season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert's sexuality, the rocker and Queen frontman told Rolling Stone in June 2009 he is gay and even had a crush on winner Kris Allen.

The English comedian took a very personal interest in 2009's International Coming Out Day when he tweeted: "Oh my, it's International Coming Out Day -- just time to announce that I'm a screaming gaysexual before midnight strikes." A year later, he wrote in his memoir that he's "'90 percent gay,' which is of course pretty damned gay, but every now and again on my path through life I have met a woman in the 10 percent bracket."

Bono came out as transgender in 2009.

Though Bono's famous mom, Cher, was torn about it at first, she is a proud supporter of her son. "Chaz is so happy now and we get along better than ever," she told Pride Source in 2018.

After three failed marriages, the Family Ties matriarch told the Today show's Matt Lauer in December 2009 that her realization that she was gay was "a later-in-life recognition."

The Brothers & Sisters star came out to Canadian paper Globe and Mail in 2008. "I don't know what will happen professionally," MacFarlane admitted. "That is the far, but I guess I can't really be concerned about what will happen, because it's my truth." Macfarlane recently starred on the 2015-2019 Canadian sci-fi series, Killjoys.

The former American Idol finalist and Broadway star appeared on the cover of People in September 2008 holding his infant son with the words "Yes, I'm Gay" across the photo.

After years of refusing to discuss her sexuality, Foster came out in 2007 during an acceptance speech at a Women in Entertainment breakfast. The actress paid tribute to her then-partner when she thanked Cydney Bernard, with whom she has two sons.

In July 2006, the 'N Sync alum came out on the cover of People and told the magazine he is "more liberated and happy than I've been my whole life."

Nixon began dating education activist Christine Marinoni in January 2004. Then in September 2006, the Sex and the City co-star told New York magazine: "I met this woman, I fell in love with her, and I'm a public figure." Nixon and Marinoni married in 2012 and have a son together.

During her standup routine at the Ovarian Cancer Research benefit in 2002, O'Donnell came out as gay, saying, "I don't know why people make such a big deal about the gay thing... People are confused, they're shocked, like this is a big revelation to somebody."

The daytime talk-show host came out on Time's cover in April 1997 with the headline that read, "Yep, I'm Gay." Her sitcom character at the time, Ellen Morgan (Ellen), also came out about the same time to her therapist, played by Oprah Winfrey. The episode marked the first gay or lesbian leading character on television.

Ferguson's father had a hard time accepting when the Modern Family star came out in his early 20s. "At one point, he asked me if I had a girlfriend after I'd already come out to him, and I had to reiterate, 'No, Dad, I'm gay.'" Ferguson told Out magazine.

The Green Day front-man came out as bisexual in a 1995 interview with The Advocate.

The Grace and Frankie actress married her partner, Jane Wagner, in 2013 after 42 years together. Tomlin said she had an offer from Time magazine to announce her sexuality on the cover of their magazine in 1975 but turned them down. "It was a hard decision to make," she said.

The singer-songwriter announced she is a lesbian at the 1993 Triangle Ball, a gay and lesbian inauguration party for President Bill Clinton. The singer tied the knot with Linda Wallem in 2014.

After reports that Grey's Anatomy co-stars Patrick Dempsey and Isaiah Washington were involved in an argument in which Washington allegedly said a gay slur, Knight released a statement through People in October 2006 that read, "While I prefer to keep my personal life private, I hope the fact that I'm gay isn't the most interesting part of me."

The Glee actress and host of NBC's Hollywood Game Night came out to her parents in a letter when she was 32. "It was great," she said of her parents' reaction. "When I was 18, I think it would have been a different story. They had heard of gay people at this point," she joked.

In October 2005, Star Trek's original Sulu confirmed that he is gay to Frontiers, a Los Angeles magazine covering gay and lesbian issues. He also revealed he had been in a committed 18-year relationship with partner Brad Altman, whom he married in September 2008.

Known for her play with sexuality and sexual orientation, the singer officially came out in a 1992 interview with The Advocate.

The X-Men star came out in Capitol Gay magazine in 1988, saying that coming out was crucial to one's self esteem.

The Conners actress officially confirmed that she is a lesbian during a 2010 press tour. Gilbert married musician Linda Perry in 2014.

John came out in a 1976 Rolling Stone cover story, in which he also stated that everyone was bisexual to a certain degree. The musician married his husband, David Furnish, in 2014. They have two sons together.

While he declined to discuss his private life in the media, in May 2007 the Frasier star's publicist confirmed said Pierce is gay and in a long-term relationship with TV producer Brian Hargrove. The two married in October 2008 after being together for 25 years.

"I've had a lot off good press off the back of coming out from friends, family, newspapers and the public. I've been very lucky. I get a lot of nice comments saying 'well done' from gay people and 'fair play to you," Norton said of his coming out.

"I think you do things in your own time. My family knew I was gay when I was 15, long before I got famous. But it's a very different thing coming out to your family and coming out to the universe. That's a big step," Boy George said in 2011.

In April 2009, the Top Gun star was asked on the SheWired.com Internet show Girl Rock! what kind of partner she's looking for. Her response? "Definitely a woman ... I'm done with the man thing."

The actor came out as bisexual in 1998 and married his partner Grant Shaffer in January 2012 in New York City.

The singer declared himself bisexual during a 1972 interview with Michael Watts of Melody Maker, but in 1983 Bowie took back the proclamation, referring to it as a huge mistake. Bowie died in 2016 at the age of 69.

The former Empire star came out after an interview with Ellen DeGeneres about playing a gay character on the Fox hip-hop drama. Wishing to clarify some comments he made in the interview, Smollett pulled Ellen backstage and said, "There's never been a closet that I've been in. I choose not to talk about my personal life. But there is, without a doubt, no closet that I've ever been in, and I just wanted to make that clear. ... When I say that I don't talk about my personal life, I'm saying that, but it is in no way to hide or deny who God made me. My Mama knows. My Mama likes me a lot ... and yes, I take her to the Sound of Music sing-along every year."

The Olympic swimming champion came out in a TV interview with Michael Parkinson in July 2014, ending years of speculation. Thorpe, Australia's most decorated swimmer, had denied in his 2012 memoir that he was gay. "Part of me didn't know if Australia wanted its champion to be gay [now] I am telling the world that I am," he said. Thorpe added that he had battled depression and alcoholism, and contemplated suicide. "I couldn't do it to [friends and family]," he said. "It was the only thing that stopped me."