As we close out Pride Month for 2025, here are some well-known figures who are part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Feeling comfortable in one’s skin and being able to freely share the joy of a relationship with others you love are concepts that most people see as a natural right. Still, for some time many people have felt the need to hide themselves behind inadequate labels or conform to fit the mold of what they believe others want them to be. Many of these people are members of the LGBTQ+ community.
With each milestone in the country’s history, and a greater widespread acceptance of people from all backgrounds and walks of life, LGBTQ+ individuals now may feel more comfortable living their lives openly. It hasn’t always been an easy journey, and there are still obstacles to overcome. Certain people have been instrumental to the LGBTQ+ movement through the years. The following are a handful of people who have had a positive impact on LGBTQ+ individuals and others over the years.
Alan Turing
Alan Turing was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, and cryptanalyst. He was instrumental in helping break German code during World War II. Turing was prosecuted for being gay, after telling police in the 1950s that he had homosexual relations. He was posthumously royally pardoned in 2013 and the British government posthumously pardoned other men convicted of abolished sexual offenses in what would be known as the Turing Law.
Christine Jorgensen Jorgensen was named George Jorgensen at birth and grew up in the Bronx neighborhood of New York City. She often felt she was a woman trapped in the body of a man. After traveling to Copenhagen to undergo gender therapy and sex reassignment surgery, Jorgensen returned to the United States in the 1950s and gained notoriety. She is touted as being one of the first people to go public as being transgender.
Little Nas X
Little Nas X is the first openly gay Black music artist to not only win a Grammy Award, but also a Country Music Association Award. In 2021, he was awarded the Trevor Project’s Suicide Prevention Advocate of the Year Award for his dedication to supporting LGBTQ+ people who have thoughts of suicide.
Bill Thom
Thom used his law experience to launch Lambda Legal in 1973 with Michael Lavery and Cary Boggan. The organization has been providing legal assistance to the LGBTQ+ community since its inception.
Billy Jean King
Tennis champion King was outed as a lesbian in 1981 and although her publicists told her to deny the claim, King decided to confirm it. She became the first openly gay athlete, and also fought for equal pay for women athletes.
RuPaul
RuPaul Andre Charles is an American gay drag queen. He got his start in the 1990s in the music industry, releasing the song “Supermodel (You Better Work).” He also appeared in many films in his drag persona. RuPaul helped bring the niche art of drag into the mainstream.
