Judy Garland as
Dorothy Gale in
The Wizard of Oz (1939) Late singer and actress
Judy Garland was immensely popular among gay men due to her
camp sensibilities, and is considered "the quintessential pre-
Stonewall gay icon". In the 1950s, the phrase "
friend of Dorothy" became used as a slang term for homosexuals. This term is attributed both to well-known author and fellow gay icon
Dorothy Parker, and to Garland's prominent role as
Dorothy Gale in
The Wizard of Oz. The aspects of gay identification with Garland were being discussed in the mainstream as early as 1967.
Time magazine, in reviewing Garland's 1967
Palace Theatre engagement, disparagingly noted that a "disproportionate part of her nightly
claque seems to be homosexual". It goes on to say that "[t]he boys in the tight trousers" (a phrase
Time repeatedly used to describe gay men, as when it described "ecstatic young men in tight trousers pranc[ing] down the aisles to toss bouquets of roses" to another gay icon,
Marlene Dietrich) would "roll their eyes, tear at their hair and practically levitate from their seats" during Garland's performances.
Time then attempted to explain Garland's appeal to the homosexual, consulting psychiatrists who opined that "the attraction [to Garland] might be made considerably stronger by the fact that she has survived so many problems; homosexuals identify with that kind of hysteria" and that "Judy was beaten up by life, embattled, and ultimately had to become more masculine. She has the power that homosexuals would like to have, and they attempt to attain it by idolizing her." Garland is camp, he asserts, because she is "imitable, her appearance and gestures copiable in drag acts". Many of her songs are considered
gay anthems, including "
If I Could Turn Back Time", "
Believe", "
Strong Enough" and "
Song for the Lonely". ''
Maclean's journalist Elio Iannacci stated that Cher was "one of the first to bring drag to the masses", citing her Las Vegas residency in 1979, which featured three drag performers impersonating Bette Midler, Diana Ross and Cher herself. The Advocate''s Jeff Yarbrough described Cher as "one of the first superstars to '
play gay' with compassion and without a hint of
stereotyping", as she portrays a lesbian in the 1983 film
Silkwood. Cher's social activism has further solidified her status as a gay icon. Her eldest child,
Chaz Bono, first came out as a lesbian at age 17, which led Cher to state that LGBTQ people "didn't have the same rights as everyone else, [and she] thought that was unfair". She was the keynote speaker for the 1997 national Parents, Families, & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (
PFLAG) convention, and received the
GLAAD Vanguard Award in 1998 for having "made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for lesbians and gay men". On June 11, 2009, Chaz came out as a
transgender man, and his transition from female to male was legally finalized on May 6, 2010. As the mother of a trans man, Cher has continued to advocate for visibility and support for trans families. Cher's standing in LGBTQ culture is also reflected in popular media. In the NBC sitcom
Will & Grace, she was the idol of gay character
Jack McFarland. Within the drag community,
RuPaul has cited Cher as a formative influence on his career, stating that he learned to host live shows by watching her television specials and that the runway segment of
The RuPaul Show was "lifted from
The Cher Show". The reality competition series ''
RuPaul's Drag Race has honored her through recurring challenges and runway themes across multiple seasons. Chad Michaels, a professional Cher impersonator, became known beyond the drag scene through his portrayal of Cher in the Snatch Game challenge and won the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars''. At a 2024 appearance at
the Abbey in West Hollywood, Cher told her LGBTQ fans: "I've had really ups and downs in my career—I mean, really!—and you guys never left me. So thank you."
Madonna Pop musician
Madonna has become a preeminent gay icon.
The Advocates Steve Gdula commented that "back in the 1980s and even the early 1990s, the release of a new Madonna video or single was akin to a national holiday, at least among her gay fans." Madonna cited
David Bowie as a foundational influence, declaring after attending her first-ever concert at age 15, to be "so inspired by the way he played with gender confusion. Was both masculine and feminine". In 2016, after Bowie's death, she dedicated a redention of his "
Rebel Rebel" song during her
Rebel Heart Tour, stating: "He showed me that it was OK to be different. And he's the first Rebel Heart that I laid eyes on ... Talented. Unique. Genius. Game Changer. The Man who Fell to Earth". After
David Collins' death, Madonna penned a letter describing his influence on her life.
Whitney Houston in 1991 During
Whitney Houston's early fame, rumors speculated of a romance between Houston and
Robyn Crawford, which both denied during a
Time magazine interview in 1987. In addition, Houston became an activist for the fight against
HIV and AIDS during the first decade of the AIDS epidemic. The Whitney Houston Foundation for Children, in particular, focused on helping children who suffered from HIV/AIDS, among other issues. In 1990, Whitney took part in Arista Records' 15th anniversary gala, which was an AIDS benefit. A year later, Whitney participated in the Reach Out & Touch Someone AIDS vigil at London in September 1991 while she was finishing her historic ten-date residency at London's Wembley Arena; there, she stressed the importance of AIDS research and addressing HIV stigma. During the middle of her tour to promote the
My Love Is Your Love album in June 1999, Whitney gave a surprise performance at the 13th Annual New York City Lesbian & Gay Pride Dance, titled
Dance 13: The Last Dance of the Century. According to
Instinct magazine, Houston's unannounced performance at the Piers "ushered in a new era that would eventually make high-profile artists performing at LGBTQ events virtually commonplace." Hits like "
...Baby One More Time" and "
Toxic" have been embraced as anthems within gay culture. Her performances, notably kissing Madonna at the MTV Video Music Awards 2003, are celebrated as iconic moments in queer pop history. Spears has expressed gratitude and support for her LGBTQ fans. In her memoir “
The Woman In Me,” Spears describes her relationship with the LGBTQ+ community as one of unconditional love, noting how she has both been supported by and served as a refuge for queer fans: She also writes about her most cherished experiences occurring in gay clubs, describing them as places where she felt truly welcomed and uplifted by the community’s exuberance and acceptance. The LGBTQ community was an important part of the
Free Britney movement. LGBTQ fans empathized with loss of control; the movement echoed a broader struggle for queer liberation.
Kate Bush Kate Bush has been cited as an influence by respected artists like
Elton John, who is openly gay and credits Bush's music with helping him to overcome his alcoholism. Fellow gay icon Cher has also expressed admiration of Bush's work. Her debut single "
Wuthering Heights" topped the charts and became a global success. The music video for the song in which she dances in the moors in a red dress has become iconic among the LGBTQ community. One of her less influential albums,
Lionheart (1978), featured a song titled "Kashka From Baghdad", which regaled to the listener the tale of a gay couple living together in sin, which was quite revolutionary for its time. Since 2016, Kate Bush fans have gathered in locations all over the world and taken to recreate Bush's "Wuthering Heights" video in an event dubbed
The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever. People in attendance to the event don red dresses or red in general and recreate the choreography observed in the video as a tribute. Bush, who has seen a clip of one of the events, described the tribute by her fans as "very touching and sweet".
Kylie Minogue Kylie Minogue, known for her disco-infused dance music and camp style, is held in high esteem by her gay fans. She remarks that her gay fans have been with her 'through thick and thin', yet was never specifically marketed to a gay audience early in her career. Singer-songwriter
Rufus Wainwright, who is openly gay, described Minogue as "the gay shorthand for joy". She has performed at the
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Party in 1994, 1998 and 2012,
Palm Springs White Party in 2018,
WorldPride 2019 in
New York City and headlined the opening ceremony concert at
WorldPride 2023 in
Sydney. Minogue encourages her gay icon status with comments including "I am not a traditional gay icon. There's been no tragedy in my life, only tragic outfits" and "My gay audience has been with me from the beginning ... they kind of adopted me." Her status as a gay icon has been attributed to her music, fashion sense and career longevity. Author Constantine Chatzipapatheodoridis wrote about Minogue's appeal to gay men in Strike a Pose, Forever: The Legacy of Vogue... and observed that she "frequently incorporates camp-inflected themes in her extravaganzas, drawing mainly from the disco scene, the S/M culture, and the burlesque stage." In Beautiful Things in Popular Culture (2007), Marc Brennan stated that Minogue's work "provides a gorgeous form of escapism". Minogue has explained that she first became aware of her gay audience in 1988, when several drag queens performed to her music at a Sydney pub, and she later saw a similar show in Melbourne. She said that she felt "very touched" to have such an "appreciative crowd", and this encouraged her to perform at gay venues throughout the world, as well as headlining the 1994 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Minogue has one of the largest gay followings in the world.
Mariah Carey Mariah Carey has demonstrated allyship since the early beginnings of her career. She has shown her love for her LGBTQ+ fans numerous times, including a 2003 performance at G-A-Y in London, as well as headlining
Los Angeles Pride in 2023 and
Brighton Pride in 2025. Furthermore, Carey also won a GLAAD award for Allyship.
The Golden Girls Bea Arthur,
Betty White,
Rue McClanahan, and
Estelle Getty - the four main stars of
The Golden Girls - each had a long and rich history of working with and for LGBTQ causes and each was an outspoken supporter whenever asked in interviews. The show itself also featured a number of gay-centric episodes, each portraying the queer character with kindness and compassion. The majority of these episodes were almost never made due to hesitation on the part of the network,
NBC, to produce episodes focusing on homosexuality, with the four actresses often fighting the network to see them produced. Bea Arthur had previously worked on her own television show,
Maude which featured multiple gay-themed episodes. After her death in 2009, Arthur
bequeathed $300,000 to the
Ali Forney Center, a New York City organization that provides housing for homeless
LGBTQ+ youths. Meanwhile, as a supporter and advocate of LGBTQ rights, Betty White said in 2010, "If a couple has been together all that time – and there are gay relationships that are more solid than some heterosexual ones – I think it's fine if they want to get married. I don't know how people can get so anti-something. Mind your own business, take care of your affairs, and don't worry about other people so much." In a 2011 interview, she revealed that she always knew her close friend Liberace was gay and that she sometimes accompanied him to premieres to help him hide it. Rue McClanahan was also a supporter of
gay rights, including advocating for
same-sex marriage in the United States. In January 2009, she appeared in the star-studded
Defying Inequality: The Broadway Concert—A Celebrity Benefit for Equal Rights. Estelle Getty was said by friends
Harvey Fierstein and
Rosie O'Donnell, both notable members of the
LGBTQ community, to have been heavily involved in
HIV/AIDS activism and had lost close friends and family to the disease, among them her nephew Steven Scher (1962–1992), whom she cared for after he was diagnosed with
HIV/AIDS, and her
Torch Song Trilogy co-star
Court Miller (1952–1986). She later helped to open a
hospice for AIDS patients in
Greensboro, North Carolina, her nephew's hometown, in 1996, called Beacon Place, which was still in operation as of 2023.
Janet Jackson Janet Jackson garnered a substantial LGBTQ following during the 1990s with her sixth studio album
The Velvet Rope (1997). The album was honored by the National Black Lesbian and Gay Leadership Forum and received the award for Outstanding Music Album at the 9th Annual
GLAAD Media Awards in 1998 for its songs that dealt with sexual orientation and
homophobia. On 26 April 2008, she received the
Vanguard Award—a media award from the
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation—to honor her work in the entertainment industry in promoting equality for LGBTQ people.
Christina Aguilera Christina Aguilera has been recognized as a
gay icon. She became known for incorporating themes such as
feminism,
sexuality,
LGBTQ culture and the
sex-positive movement into her work. Her 2002 song "
Beautiful" has been called an
anthem for the LGBTQ community, with UK
LGBTQ rights charity
Stonewall naming it the most empowering song of the decade for lesbian, gay and bisexual people and for having "inspired millions of young people around the world". In the video for "
Beautiful" (2002), the highlight scene of a gay kiss has been considered an important moment for
LGBTQ culture. Aguilera was lauded for calling out myths around
HIV/AIDS, in addition to raising awareness about the virus and raising funds for the
Mac AIDS Fund and the
Elton John AIDS Foundation. In 2008, she advocated for
same-sex marriage and spoke out against
Proposition 8. In June 2016, Aguilera release single "
Change", which was aimed to raise proceeds to the victim's families and survivors of the
Orlando nightclub shooting. During
The X Tour (2019), Aguilera visited Russia and "blessed" a gay marriage proposal in the backstage, contrary to the
country's laws against "gay propaganda". In 2019, she was awarded by the
Human Rights Campaign for using her "platform to share a message of hope and inspiration to those who have been marginalized ... bringing greater visibility to the LGBTQ community". In 2023, Aguilera was honored for her LGBTQ allyship and for advocating for the queer community at the
Stonewall National Monument.
Lady Gaga Lady Gaga, who herself is bisexual, fought as an LGBTQ rights activist from the beginning of her career and has a large LGBTQ following. She has fought against LGBT-related phobia and for marriage and adoption equality, the repeal of the Don't Ask Don't Tell law, and the protection of transgender people.
Diana, Princess of Wales Highly regarded by the LGBTQ community due to her work with
gay men suffering from AIDS,
Diana, Princess of Wales, is considered to be a gay icon. The hardships she faced during her life within the
British royal family and her struggles with
bulimia have been cited as factors to which members of the LGBTQ community can mostly connect. James Greig from
Vice also held a similar viewpoint, stating that "her status as a tragic diva aside, it's undeniable that Diana made real, material changes to the lives of LGBT people – particularly through the work she did around AIDS." In an article for
Newsweek, Desmond O'Connor wrote that Diana's work with dying HIV+ gay men was crucial for reminding "the people of Great Britain that their 'untouchable' sons deserved to be loved." In 2009, a panel including Sir
Ian McKellen and
Alan Hollinghurst chose Diana's portrait to be shown in the Gay Icons exhibition at the
National Portrait Gallery, London.
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John
, famously known as
Elton John, is perhaps one of the most famous, publicly queer musicians of all time. During 1976, he announced publicly that he was bisexual and remained open about his sexuality to present day, happily married to his husband
David Furnish since 2014. Aside from his musical career, he is also the founder of the
Elton John AIDS Foundation which was created to give support and aide to those in need as well as to "prevent infections, fight stigma and provide treatment with love, compassion and dignity for the most vulnerable groups affected by HIV around the world".
Lea Salonga In 2011,
The Advocate called
Lea Salonga a "major gay icon" for being "very vocal in her support for LGBT equality, both here [the U.S.] and in her native Philippines." The song "
Reflection," which she sang in
Disney's
Mulan (1998), has become viewed as an anthem for queer audiences. On October 12, 2009, during a benefit concert for victims of
Typhoon Ondoy, Salonga referenced the
National Equality March in
Washington, D.C., and firmly stated, "I believe that every single human being has the fundamental right to marry whoever they want." In February 2016, Salonga publicly criticized Filipino politician and former professional boxer
Manny Pacquiao for his views on homosexuality and same-sex marriage. Over the course of decades, Salonga has spoken and performed at several fundraising events for HIV/AIDS.
Others (non-inclusive list) Other people referred to as queer icons include
Barbra Streisand,
Liza Minnelli,
Beverly Glenn-Copeland,
James Baldwin,
Lana Del Rey,
Florence Welch,
Beyoncé,
Rihanna,
Miley Cyrus,
FKA Twigs,
Judith Butler,
Troye Sivan,
Charli XCX,
Dolly Parton,
Jennifer Coolidge,
Chappell Roan,
Megan Hilty,
Ariana Grande,
Ina Garten,
Billie Eilish,
Tilda Swinton,
Diana Ross,
Sophie,
Stevie Nicks,
George Michael,
Adam Lambert,
Boy George,
Freddie Mercury,
Keith Haring,
Lil Nas X,
Hayley Kiyoko,
Sinéad O'Connor,
Prince, and more. == Fictional characters ==