Celebrities That Came Out

Jim Nabors, 2013 ( Los Angeles Times / January 30, 2013 ) Well, gawwwly! "Gomer Pyle, USMC" and "The Andy Griffith Show" star Jim Nabors married his longtime partner, Stan Cadwallader, in Seattle in January. The relationship was never a secret, but the sitcom star had not come out publicly before. "I'm 82, and he's in his 60s, and so we've been together for 38 years, and I'm not ashamed of people knowing," Nabors told Hawaii News Now.

Anderson Cooper, 2012 ( Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times ) Until July, Anderson Cooper had never publicly confirmed he was gay, but he'd never denied it, either. Cooper's sexual orientation has long been an open secret, but it took an Entertainment Weekly cover story about gay celebrities to prompt the newsman to finally come out. Daily Beast blogger Andrew Sullivan, another openly gay newsman, wrote to Cooper asking for his reaction to the story and published the response on his blog, The Dish. In the email, Cooper said, "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.”

Jim Parsons, 2012 ( Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times ) The New York Times broke the story quietly with one understated sentence referencing Parson's successful Broadway stint in the play "The Normal Heart." "The Normal Heart," it read, "resonated with him on a few levels: Mr. Parsons is gay and in a 10-year relationship, and working with an ensemble again was like nourishment, (Parsons) said.”

Andrew Rannells, 2012 ( Joan Marcus ) As Andrew Rannells began preparing to star as a gay man in the new NBC sitcom "The New Normal," he came out to Vulture.com in May.

Zachary Quinto, 2011 ( Al Seib / Los Angeles Times ) Zachary Quinto came out to New York magazine, taking public ownership of his sexuality with the words "as a gay man.

Sean Maher, 2011 ( Araya Diaz/Getty Images ) Actor Sean Maher came out to Entertainment Weekly in September 2011, saying,"This is my coming out ball. I've been dying to do this." Read the full EW article here.

Jonathan Knight, 2011 ( David Surowiecki / Getty Images ) Jonathan Knight of New Kids on the Block, far right, came out as gay in 2011 when '80s songstress Tiffany said he was gay on the Bravo TV show "Watch What Happens: Live." Knight responded on the band's website, saying he is proud to be gay and has been open about it for more than 20 years.

Chely Wright, 2010 ( Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times ) Country singer Chely Wright was outed by online magazine Queerty, which speculated Wright would come out the day after the release of her new album and memoir in 2010. The Times covered Wright's coming out here.

Lady Sovereign, 2010 ( Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times ) British rapper Lady Sovereign came out in an April 2010 interview with Diva magazine. "Magazines would always ask about it but [questions about my sexuality] would get stopped by my publicists," she told the magazine. "It was my choice, too, because I was a bit worried about it but now I don't really give a .... You can't hide away forever.”

Sara Gilbert, 2010 ( ABC ) Sara Gilbert, pictured here during the filming of "Roseanne," came out during a panel discussion for her CBS show "The Talk." Read the full story here.

Chris Colfer, 2009 ( Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times ) "Glee" star Chris Colfer came out to an "Access Hollywood" reporter in an interview in 2009. The Times profiled Colfer's rise from small town stage actor to "Glee" soprano here.

Sean Hayes, 2010 ( Los Angeles Times ) Sean Hayes used the Advocate to break the news in a 2010 cover story.

Brandi Carlile, 2009 ( Timothy Haitt ) Singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile opened up about being lesbian during a 2009 interview with the Los Angeles Times. "I hope that somewhere in Small Town, USA, a 15-year-old kid looks to me as a role model the way I looked at the Indigo Girls and Elton John as role models," she told The Times. "And I hope they also recognize that the reason why I don't have to have a lot of formality around it, the reason why I don't have to wear it on my sleeve and make a spectacle of it, is because there were people before me who paved the way so I wouldn't have to.”

Meredith Baxter, 2009 ( Kevin Sharp ) Meredith Baxter told Matt Lauer of the "Today" show that she didn't want "some tabloid to take a story and make it up." "So I wanted it to be in my own words.”

Wanda Sykes, 2008 ( Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times ) Actress Wanda Sykes announced to a crowd she was gay at a same-sex marriage rally in Las Vegas in 2008. Sykes said she felt personally attacked by California's Proposition 8 that banned gay marriage, according to a New York Times article on the event. Read the full story here.

Kele Okereke, 2007 ( Roger Sargeant / file photo ) Bloc Party musician Kele Okereke gave several interviews with gay-oriented magazines until more openly discussing his sexuality during a 2007 interview with the Guardian. "I guess that's the only reason [to speak out], isn't it?' he told the Guardian. "To speak to young people in their impressionable formative years — and say something that could help them make sense of their lives. Lessen the sense of alienation and isolation that they might have. I think that's something that definitely ... I'd be proud of. That we could say that there are alternative ways of behaving, of living one's life.”

Neil Patrick Harris, 2006 ( Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times ) Neil Patrick Harris came out with a statement to People magazine saying rather than ignore speculation into his private life, he wanted to tell the public the truth. "I am happy to dispel any rumors or misconceptions," the statement read, "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.”

Michael Stipe, 2001 ( Bryan Chan / Los Angeles Times ) The REM lead man, musician Michael Stipe, ended years of public speculation when he told Time magazine he was a "queer artist" during a May 2001 interview. Prior to coming out he said he "was being made to be a coward about it," and was ready to tell the public the truth about his sexuality.

Ellen DeGeneres, 1997 Ellen DeGeneres came out publicly with a Time Magazine cover in April 1997. The headline: 'Yep, I'm gay.’ Melissa Etheridge, 1993 ( Eric McCandless / Triage ) Musician Melissa Etheridge announced she was a lesbian during the January 1993 Triangle Ball — a gay and lesbian gala that celebrated the first inauguration of President Clinton k.d. lang, 1992 Musician k.d. lang came out in 1992 to Advocate Magazine. "I don't want to say the wrong things to the gay culture," she said to the magazine, "Because there are so many different opinions on how to gain acceptance. And I don't want to hurt my mother by coming out in the press." "But at the same time I don't want to hurt my culture, and it's like — what do you do?” Rupert Everett, 1989 ( Evan Agostini / Getty Images ) Rupert Everett was openly gay early in his career, a decision he later told the Guardian may have hurt his burgeoning career. "It's not that advisable to be honest," he said. "It's not very easy. And, honestly, I would not advise any actor necessarily, if he was really thinking of his career, to come out.” Elton John, 1988 ( Kevin P. Casey / Los Angeles Times ) Musician Elton John first came out as bisexual during a Rolling Stone"Elton John: It's Lonely at the Top" interview in 1976. Even so, it wasn't until after his second divorce in 1988 that he told Rolling Stone he was comfortable being a gay man. Rock Hudson, 1985 ( Los Angeles Times ) Many of Rock Hudson's Hollywood friends said they knew he was gay long before People magazine reported in 1985 that he was dying of AIDS. Even so, the article marked the first public confirmation of his sexual orientation, something the tabloids had speculated about for years. Hudson's death is credited with humanizing people with AIDS and mobilizing support for a cure. These Celebrities put their career and lives on the line but they had to live their lives. Hope that gives inspiration to anyone who reads this and is in the closet. Take it from me, we who we are and when we take a personality that is not ours you throw your life away. A  lot of these people came out when it was difficult and we have people through the decades that have come out before us, but now we are fortunate that there is been a path made for us to come out. People might not like us  but they have to respect us. The important thing is for us to recognize who we are so we can live our lives. That is natural, that is nature. adamfoxie*blog