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Jessica Madsen -

Every year, the month of Pride has a way of drawing people out of the closet in a leap that celebrates their humanity. ‘Bridgerton’ actress Jessica Madsen is one of those celebrities, who took to Instagram at the beginning of the month to openly declare her queer identity. “I’m in love with a woman,” she wrote. “Loud about it and proud about it!”

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Reneé Rapp -

While actress and singer Reneé Rapp previously identified as bisexual, her appearance on ‘Saturday Night Live’ earlier this year was met with appreciation and respect from fans after she came out as a lesbian on the show. The actress–most recently known for her role in ‘Mean Girls’ (2024)–said that coming out has “been the most rewarding, validating, scary and exciting experience ever.”

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Jessica Gunning -

Actress Jessica Gunning very recently achieved a rapid rise in fame following the release of ‘Baby Reindeer’ on Netflix, in which Gunning plays one of the show’s primary characters. But with this fame, Gunning has also found herself able to share her authentic self with the world, describing herself as “a big, old gay.” The actress added, “I am surrounded by gays, like all my friends are gay, so it wasn’t that I was repressing anything, it was just that I didn’t think that I could be.”

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Hunter Schafer -

Hunter Schafer, known for ‘Euphoria’ and the recent ‘Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’ (2023), revealed a past romance that unfolded with singer Rosalía. Although the relationship only last a few months in 2019, Schafer has confirmed that the singer is “family no matter what.”

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Lily Gladstone -

Actress Lily Gladstone captivated the world with her performance in ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ (2023), which earned her a nomination for Best Actress at the Academy Awards, making her the first Native American woman to be nominated. Gladstone opened up about her sexuality and pronoun preferences via an interview with People magazine, where she reinforced the fact that she is nonbinary. “In most Native languages, most Indigenous languages, Blackfeet included, there are no gendered pronouns. There is no he/she, there's only they.” The actress, who uses she/they pronouns, continued, “My pronoun use is partly a way of decolonizing gender for myself.”

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Sophia Bush -

‘One Tree Hill’ star Sophia Bush not only revealed her inclusion in the LGBTQ+ community during an interview with Glamour magazine, but she also confirmed her relationship with retired soccer star Ashlyn Harris. She wrote: “I’ve experienced so much safety, respect, and love in the queer community, as an ally all of my life, that, as I came into myself, I already felt it was my home.”

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Zoe Lister-Jones -

Zoe Lister-Jones, who appeared in ‘Life in Pieces’ from 2015 to 2019, came out to the world after arriving at the Independent Spirit Awards with queer and nonbinary director Sammi Cohen as a date. In a quote from The Hollywood Reporter, Lister-Jones said, “I’m here, I’m queer, I have some fear but I’m working through it.”

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Tom Hollander -

After having taken on some pretty high-profile gay roles in ‘The White Lotus’ and ‘Feud,’ actor Tom Hollander has been known to play queer characters believably. But speaking more personally, the actor made it clear that he has had many different experiences regarding his own sexuality, referring to them as “sufficiently liberal” and “not anyone’s business.”

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Amanda Tori Meating -

Amanda Tori Meating appeared on the 16th season of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ and was fresh out of a divorce when the show was filmed. But the drag performer has made different kinds of exciting waves by coming out as transgender, which she has mentioned was a reason why her marriage ended. “I wasn't at all supported by my partner, and it ended up being a big part of why I had to leave because he didn't want to be with a trans person.” The performer has since advocated for mental health awareness and has asserted that no one deserves to be victimized for who they are.

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Farrah Moan -

Another star who walked off the red carpet of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ is Farrah Moan, who competed in the show’s ninth season. Farrah has experienced many hardships as a result of her gender identity, but she has now fully embraced life as a trans woman. Farrah has detailed how dressing like a boy stressed her out and she resented every masculine feature that she had, which pushed her to embrace this beautiful part of herself.

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Lauv -

The process of coming out can be quite lengthy, and usually involves a lot of self-discovery and an inability to grasp the correct label for a long time. American singer-songwriter and record producer Lauv has shown how tumultuous this process can be, since he has been vocal about his continuous struggle to identify his own sexuality. But it seems he ultimately settled on simply saying outright, “I feel like I’m gay, okay?”

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Salvador Sobral -

Salvador Sobral, best known as the Portuguese winner of Eurovision in 2017, recently revealed that he is intersexual since his body is unable to naturally produce the hormone that would typically assert gender. “My body doesn’t produce testosterone,” the singer admitted, and while he has struggled with health complications in the past, he has come to terms with this part of his life.

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Grace Wilson -

Grace Wilson is the first pro Australian soccer player to come out as non-binary, which is certainly a feat in itself. The 18-year-old athlete announced their identity via an interview, wherein Wilson explained the trepidation they felt for much of their childhood whenever the thought of their gender identity came to mind. “I think looking back, I kind of knew since I was a kid.”

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Aliyah Bah -

Aliyah Bah, known professionally as Aliyah's Interlude, is another influencer to have created ripples in the LGBTQ+ world after she recently came out as pansexual. The music and fashion influencer has made it clear that the gay community is made up of some of her most ardent and beloved fans and, although she used to identify as bisexual, she feels that pansexuality is the right label for her.

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Colin Grafton -

American figure skater Colin Grafton came out as gay in a recent interview. The skater recalled encountering a toxic anti-gay sports environment during his youth, but the World Junior Championships bronze medalist has certainly found positivity since. “It wasn't easy but all of it made me stronger because I took it and focused everything on my sport."

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Bethany Antonia -

Actress Bethany Antonia came out rather powerfully via a response to a racist message that she had received on Instagram. The actress, who is known for playing Princess Baela Targaryen in ‘House of the Dragon,’ was sent a racist slur regarding her inclusion in the show’s newest season, but the actress simply responded, “Wait till they find out I'm gay too.”

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Matt Terry -

In March, singer-songwriter Matt Terry released a song titled ‘His Car,’ which he has since revealed was an apology to the first man he fell in love with after Terry asked to keep their romance a secret. Terry, who won the 13th season of ‘The X Factor’ in 2016 and experienced intense media speculation about his sexuality, declared that, “I’ve been hiding who I was, and I haven’t really opened up. I’ve never let anybody in.” That is, until now.

Sources: (Pride) (PinkNews) (Edge Media Network) (Autostraddle) (The Advocate) (The Hollywood Reporter) (People) (Glamour) (E! Online)

See also: A colorful history of LGBTQ+ Pride Month

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