GAY List
50. Nathan Lane
Born February 3, 1956 (age 55), stage and screen actor Nathan Lane
might be best known for his role as the flamboyant Albert in 1996's
The Birdcage (the all-time highest grossing gay film in North America).
He came out officially in 1999 — prompted by the death of Matthew Shepard.
But even before that he dropped a lot of hints. When a reporter once
asked him if he was gay he famously replied, "I'm 40, single and work
in the musical theater. You do the math."
Recently, Lane turned up on Modern Family as Cam and Mitch's friend "Pepper."
49. T. R. Knight
Born March 26, 1973 (age 37) Theodore Raymond Knight is best known for
his role as Dr. George O'Malley on Grey's Anatomy. Knight came out publicly
after reports surfaced that co-stars Patrick Dempsey and Isaiah Washington
got into a fight over Washington's use of the word "f*ggot" to describe
another cast member (Knight).
Afterward, Knight released the following statement to People:
“I guess there have been a few questions about my sexuality, and
I'd like to quiet any unnecessary rumors that may be out there.
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.”
Washington was eventually let go from the series, and Knight asked to
be released from his contract in 2009. Since then the actor has been
active on the stage. Recently, he was on Broadway starring opposite
Patrick Stewart in David Mamet's A Life in the Theatre.
48. Mika
Mika (a.k.a. Mica Penniman) was born August 18th, 1983 in Beirut.
His mother is Lebanese and his father American. In a September 2009
interview Mika commented on his sexuality: "I've never ever labeled
myself. But having said that; I've never limited my life, I've never
limited who I sleep with... Call me whatever you want. Call me bisexual,
if you need a term for me..."
In March 2010, Mika was named a Knight in the Order of Arts for services
to music by France. (He the youngest person to ever receive that award.)
All well and good, but more importantly, in February 2011 Mika was named
one of AfterElton's Top 50 Gay Male Musicians.
47. Joel Burns
Joel Burns (born February 4, 1969) is a Fort Worth, Texas City Councilman.
In October 2010 as a response to a tragic string of gay teen suicides,
Burns spoke passionately at a City Council meeting about his own struggle
with bullying as a teenager. The video of that emotional speech was posted
on the web and was seen by millions.
46. James Duke Mason
18-year-old James Duke Mason (born April 27, 1992) is an actor and
advocate. His parents are Belinda Carlisle and Morgan Mason, and he
is the grandson of the late actor James Mason. The Advocate named him
one of the most influential young GLBT Americans under 40.
45. Gavin Creel
Handsome 34-year-old stage actor Gavin Creel (born April 18, 1976)
scored a Tony nomination for his Broadway debut in Thoroughly
Modern Millie, but he really made a splash in the 2009 revival of Hair.
He came out officially in an interview in 2009, the same year he was
named one of The 37 Hottest Guys in Theater.
44. Alan Ball
Born May 13th, 1957 (age 53), Alan Ball started out in television
(he wrote for Cybill) and then scored an Oscar in 2000 for his
American Beauty screenplay. From there, he brought us Six Feet
Under and the seminal interracial gay TV couple David and Keith.
Now of course he's helming the vampire series True Blood. Between
the two shows, Ball has brought us three of the Top 50 Gay TV
Characters of All Time — no doubt with more to come.
43. Robert Gant
42-year-old actor Robert Gant (born Robert John Gonzalez; July 13, 1968)
is probably best known for playing Ben Bruckner on Queer As Folk (2001-2005).
Gant came out in 2002. After QAF he has worked steadily in commercials and
doing guest TV appearances, but he also devotes a lot of his time to
philanthropic organizations such SAGE - Senior Advocacy for GLBT Elders and
GLEH - Gay & Lesbian Elder Housing.
Gant majored in English Lit at University of Pennsylvania and attended law
school at Georgetown.
42. Matt Doyle
Matt Doyle was born May 13, 1987 (age 23). He is primarily a stage performer,
appearing on Broadway in Bare: a Pop Opera and Spring Awakening. He is best
known to TV audiences for playing Eric Van der Woodsen's boyfriend Jonathan
on Gossip Girl.
41. Chris Salvatore
25-year-old Chris Salvatore was born May 22, 1985. The handsome
performer started his career as a singer songwriter, but has also
drawn attention as an actor for his performance as Zack in Eating
Out: All You Can Eat.
40. Wilson Cruz
37-year-old Wilson Cruz was born Wilson Echevarría on December 27, 1973.
Openly gay from the start of his career, in 1994 he played the first
gay teen on prime-time television Enrique "Rickie" Vasquez in the
short-lived but classic series My So Called Life. Parts of the
character's storyline were inspired by Cruz's own personal experiences.
Since then, Cruz has worked steadily in stage, film and television.
He had a recurring role on the series Noah's Arc and most recently
he had a memorable guest appearance on the series Grey's Anatomy.
39. Sean Hayes
40-year-old Sean Hayes (born June 26, 1970) is best known for playing
Jack McFarland on the sitcom Will & Grace. For many years Hayes declined
to discuss his orientation with the press, but the actor finally came out
in 2010.
More recently, Hayes has appeared on Broadway opposite Kristin Chenoweth
in Promises, Promises. He also hosted the 64th Annual Tony Awards.
38. Randy Harrison
33-year-old Randy Harrison (born November 2, 1977) is best known to
television audiences for playing Justin Taylor on the U.S. version
of Queer as Folk. Since then he has worked steadily in New York theater.
37. David Sedaris
54-year-old best selling author David Sedaris was born December 26, 1956.
He was working as an apartment cleaner when he was invited by Ira Glass
to read one of his humorous personal essays, The SantaLand Diaries, on
NPR. The performance was a big hit with listeners and has since become a
holiday standard. That essay was included in a collection of short
stories and other personal essays called Barrel Fever in 1994. Since
then, Sedaris has published seven other popular collections and his
live readings draw huge crowds. His sister is the actress/comedian
Amy Sedaris.
36. Chad Allen
36-year-old Chad Allen was born June 5, 1974. He was a child actor and
then teen heartthrob as Jane Seymour's son on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.
He was outed by a tabloid toward the end of that series but has worked
steadily ever since. He's been in a number of independent films, he played
gay detective Donald Strachey in a series of TV movies, and he had a memorable
romantic role on General Hospital: Night Shift. Most recently he showed up
on Dexter.
35. Clay Aiken
32-year old Clay Aiken (born November 30th, 1978) was runner up in the
second season of American Idol. He has since sold over 5 million albums
worldwide. He has also appeared on Broadway in Spamalot, done numerous
concert tours and made many television appearances. He came out in 2008.
34. Alan Cumming
46-year-old Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965) is a Scottish born actor,
producer, director and writer. He came out as bisexual in 1998 and currently
lives with his partner Grant Shaffer in New York.
Cumming can currently be seen on The Good Wife playing the Machiavellian
(and heterosexual) Eli Gold.
33. B.D. Wong
B.D. Wong (born October 24, 1960, age 50) is best-known for his roles as
Dr. George Huang on Law & Order: SVU, as Father Ray on HBO's Oz, and
for his starring role in the Broadway production of M. Butterfly.
32. David Burtka
David Burtka (born May 29, 1975, age 35) is probably best known as
Neil Patrick Harris' other half, but he's had a notable acting
career in his own right. He made his Broadway debut in the 2003
production of Gypsy. In addition to theater work, Burtka has had
guest starring roles in several television series including
The West Wing, Crossing Jordan, and How I Met Your Mother.
Burtka has lately concentrated on a culinary career and has established
a Los Angeles catering company. He and Harris became the parents of
twins Gideon Scott and Harper Grace on October 12, 2010.
31. Lance Bass
Lance Bass (born May 4, 1979 - age 31) was a member of the hugely
successful boy band 'N Sync. After the band broke up, Bass started
his own music production company, tried his hand at acting and even
trained as a cosmonaut for the Russian space program. In July 2006,
Bass came out in People magazine and had a high profile relationship
with Reichen Lehmkuhl. He released his autobiography, Out of Sync,
in October 2007, and was a finalist on Dancing with the Stars in 2008.
30. RuPaul
RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960 - age 50) is best known
for his drag queen persona RuPaul. He was a fixture in the New York and
Atlanta club scenes before shooting to fame in 1993 with his dance hit
single "Supermodel (You Better Work)." Since then he's modeled for
MAC cosmetics, made numerous film and televsion appearances, and
released several albums. Most recently, he has produced and starred
in Logo's hit reality series RuPaul's Drag Race.
29. Scott Evans
27-year-old Scott Evans (born September 21, 1983) is best known
for his role as gay police officer Oliver Fish on the ABC soap opera
One Life to Live. He is also the younger brother of film actor Chris Evans.
28. Darryl Stephens
37-year-old Darryl Stephens (born March 7, 1974) came to fame playing title
character Noah Nicholson in the television series Noah's Arc. Stephens
has also starred in Boy Culture and Another Gay Movie, and officially
came out in 2007.
27. Tom Ford
American fashion designer Tom Ford (born August 27, 1961 - age 49)
is also now a film director. His first directorial effort was 2009's
A Single Man.
He and his partner fashion journalist Richard Buckley have been
together since 1986.
26. Nate Berkus
Nathan Jay "Nate" Berkus (born September 17, 1971 - age 39)
started out as an interior designer in Chicago. He became
widely known as a popular regular guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show
before launching his own successful syndicated program,
The Nate Berkus Show in September 2010.
25. Johnny Weir
26-year-old American figure skater Johnny Weir (born July 2, 1984)
came out in his memoir Welcome to My World, published January 2011.
24. Rufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973 - age 37)
is the son of Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle.
He has recorded six critically acclaimed albums, including
Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall. Wainwright's longtime partner
is Jörn Weisbrodt.
23. Dustin Lance Black
Dustin Lance Black (born 10 June 1974 - age 36) is a screenwriter,
producer, director and GLBT rights activist. He is probably best
known for his screenplay for Milk, for which he won an Academy Award,
but he has also written for the HBO series Big Love and his biographical
screenplay on the life of J. Edgar Hoover is currently being filmed
starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Clint Eastwood.
22. Dan Choi
Lt. Dan Choi (born February 22, 1981 - age 30) is a former U.S. Army Infantry
officer and now GLBT rights activist. He attended West Point before entering
the military and serving in Iraq as an Arabic linguist. After coming out publicly
on The Rachel Maddow Show, Choi received a discharge letter from the Army.
He subsequently devoted his energies to repealing DADT and in March 2010
was arrested for chaining himself to the White House fence.
21. Congressman Barney Frank
Congressman Barney Frank (born March 31, 1940 - age 70) has
represented Massachusetts' 4th District since 1981.
(He has been re-elected 15 times.) Frank came out publicly in 1987.
20. Tim Gunn
Tim Gunn (born July 29, 1953 - age 57) was chair of fashion design
at Parsons when Bravo reality series Project Runway launched in 2007.
His role as design "mentor" on that series made him famous and much
sought after as a style guru and television personality.
19. Ryan Murphy
Writer/producer/director Ryan Murphy (born November 30, 1965 - age 45)
is responsible for the television series Popular, Nip/Tuck and now Glee.
18. George Takei
George Takei (born April 20, 1937 - age 73) will forever be known as
Star Trek's Mr. Sulu. He came out in 2005, and he and husband Brad Altman
are GLBT activists. They have campaigned tirelessly on behalf of
gay marriage in California.
17. Matthew Mitcham
Matthew Mitcham (born March, 2 1988 - age 23) is an Australian diver.
He came out as gay in 2008 to the Sydney Morning Herald in a profile
piece of Beijing Olympic hopefuls. Mitcham went on to win a gold medal
in the 10 meter platform, receiving the highest single dive score in
Olympic history.
16. Jake Shears
Jake Shears (born October 3, 1978 - age 32) is the charismatic
lead male vocalist for the Scissor Sisters.
15. Russell Tovey
Russell George Tovey (born November, 14 1981 - age 29) has been
acting in British TV and theater since he was a child.
He gained major exposure in both the stage and film productions
of The History Boys but is probably best known for his current
role as George the werewolf in the original UK version of Being Human.
14. Luke Macfarlane
Canadian actor Luke Macfarlane (born January 19, 1980 - age 31).
He is best known for his role as Scotty Wandell on ABC's Brothers & Sisters.
Macfarlane came out publicly in 2008.
13. Gareth Thomas
Welsh professional rugby player Gareth Thomas (born July 25, 1974 - age 36 )
came out publicly in December 2009. According to Sports Illustrated, at the
time that made Thomas the world's only openly gay professional male athlete
currently active in a team sport.
12. Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry (born August 24, 1957) is an English actor,
screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian,
television presenter and film director. He is active on Twitter
and can boast over 2 million followers. Famously witty, about being
gay Fry once quipped: "I suppose it all began when I came out of the
womb. I looked back up at my mother and thought to myself,
'That's the last time I'm going up one of those.'"
11. Dan Savage
Dan Savage (born October 7, 1964 - age 46) writes the internationally
syndicated relationship and sex advice column Savage Love. He is also
an author and journalist and highly effective media pundit. In September 2010,
together with longtime partner Terry Miller, Savage launched the
It Gets Better Project. The campaign encourages adults (both gay and straight)
to submit videos assuring gay teenagers that life can improve after
bullying in early life.
10. Cheyenne Jackson
Cheyenne Jackson (born July 12, 1975 - age 35) is an actor and singer.
He currently appears on 30 Rock as sweet-natured Canadian Danny Baker
and has had numerous guest appearances on other shows, including Glee,
where he plays competing glee club coach Dustin Goolsby. Jackson has
also had major success on Broadway, a highlight being his turn as the
cut-off jeans wearing, rollerskating "Sonny" in Xanadu. He has been out
from the start of his career.
9. Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (October 22, 1975 - age 35)
portrays Mitchell Pritchett on the ABC sitcom Modern Family.
8. Sir Elton John
Sir Elton John (born March 25th, 1947 - age 63) is one of the most
successful recording artists of all time. He has released over 30 albums
and sold more than 250 million records worldwide. John has been out since
the late eighties and has been heavily involved in the fight against AIDS
since then. He started the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992, and the
organization has since raised over 200 million dollars.
His longtime partner is David Furnish (they have been together 18 years
and were joined in a civil partnership in 2005). The couple has a young son,
Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John.
7. Jonathan Groff
Jonathan Groff (born March 26, 1985 - age 25) sprang to fame playing
the lead in the Broadway musical Spring Awakening. (He was nominated for
a Tony for that role.) He is best known to television audiences for a recurring
role on Glee as "Jesse St. James," a romantic interest to Lea Michelle's
character Rachel Berry. (Michelle was also Groff's co-star in Spring Awakening).
6. Sir Ian McKellen
Sir Ian McKellen (born May 25, 1939 - age 71) is one of the world's most
celebrated actors. He has a Tony award, two Oscar nominations and in addition
to critical acclaim he is well known to audiences for iconic signature roles
in two major franchises: Magneto in the X-Men movies, and Gandalf in the
Lord of the Rings films.
McKellen came out publicly in 1988 and was a founding member of Stonewall,
a leading UK LGBT rights group. He was knighted in 1991.
5. John Barrowman
John Barrowman (born March 11, 1967 - age 44) is a Scottish-American actor
and musical performer. He is best known for his role as the dashing bisexual
Captain Jack Harkness in the science fiction series Torchwood.
4. Ricky Martin
Ricky Martin (born Enrique Martín Morales on December 24, 1971)
is a Puerto Rican pop singer and actor who first came to fame as a
member of the Latin boy band Menudo, then starting in 1991 as a solo artist.
He has sold more than 60 million albums worldwide.
Throughout his career there was much speculation about the singer's orientation.
In 2010 Martin announced that he was a "fortunate homosexual man."
Martin's twin sons, Matteo and Valentino, were born via a surrogate mother in 2008.
3. Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris (June 15, 1973 - age 37) was a successful child actor
best known for the title role in the series Doogie Howser, M.D. He successfully
made the transition to adult roles and is better known to audiences now as the
womanizing Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother, or for playing the title
role in Joss Whedon's musical web series Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.
He is also a much sought after presenter and has hosted the Tonys and the Emmys.
Harris came out in 2006: "...I am happy to dispel any rumors or misconceptions
and am quite proud to say that I am a very content gay man living my life to
the fullest and feel most fortunate to be working with wonderful people in
the business I love."
He has two children with longtime partner David Burtka (also on The Gay List at #32).
He also has the distinction of being AfterElton's "Gay Man of the Decade."
2. Adam Lambert
Adam Lambert (January 29, 1982 - age 29) was the runner up on the
eighth season of American Idol. He came out officially in an interview
with Rolling Stone soon after the competition ended. He released his debut
album, For Your Entertainment in late 2009 and embarked on a worldwide
tour to support it. He is currently at work on a second studio album.
He is ranked tenth on AfterElton's list of the Top 50 Gay Male Musicians.
1. Chris Colfer
Chris Colfer (born May 27, 1990 - age 20) plays gay teen Kurt Hummel
on the FOX series Glee. He won a Golden Globe this year for his sensitive
portrayal of the out and proud teen. Glee was Colfer's first television
role and he originally auditioned for the part of wheelchair-bound Artie.
Ryan Murphy was so impressed with Colfer that he created the role of Kurt
specifically for him.
Posted by AfterElton.com Staff on March 14, 2011
http://t.co/GDeOngg
