Tab Hunter

Tab Hunter was a lady-killing movie heartthrob in the 1950s and 1960s. In 2005, he published his autobiography, "Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star," in which he came out. Here Hunter poses with his trophies for Best New Personality Actor at the Audience Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles in 1952. (Photo by Getty Images)

Adam Lambert

Adam Mitchel Lambert's goth glam image began on the stages of American Idol Season 8, as the show's first openly gay contestant.

Alan Ball

Alan Ball won an Academy Award for his "American Beauty" screenplay and went on to create the drama series "Six Feet Under" for HBO. (AP)

Alan Cumming

Scottish actor Alan Cumming won a Tony Award for his role as the Master of Ceremonies in the revival of Cabaret. Movie audiences might recognize Cumming from GoldenEye, Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, or X2: X-Men United in which he played the mutant Nightcrawler.

Andy Cohen

Television personality Andy Cohen

Anthony Rapp

Actor Anthony Rapp starred in the original Broadway cast of "Rent," and later starred in the film version of the musical. (AP)

B.D. Wong

Actor B.D. Wong, known for his role as Dr. George Huang on "Law & Order: SVU," hired a woman to mother a child for him and his partner. In 2000, the woman gave birth to twins from an ovum taken from his partner's sister. Wong journaled his experiences in the book Following Foo: the Electronic Adventures of the Chestnut Man. (AP)

Billy Bean

Former Major League Baseball player Billy Bean's 1999 book "Going The Other Way" revealed his homosexuality and alleged widespread homophobia in professional sports. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Boy George

Boy George - real name George O'Dowd - found superstar fame in the 1980s with the band Culture Club. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)

Bruce Vilanch

Comedian Bruce Vilanch is best known for having written jokes for the Academy Awards and other shows, as well as appearing on the revamped "Hollywood Squares" of 1998. (AP)

Chad Allen

Actor Chad Allen, who played Matthew Cooper on "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," came out in the Oct. 9, 2001, issue of The Advocate. (Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images)

Cherry Jones

Film and stage actress Cherry Jones became the first open lesbian to win a Tony Award when she received Best Actress in a Play for 1995's "The Heiress." (Photo by Evan Agostini/Getty Images)

Clay Aiken

Clay Aiken, the former 2003 American Idol runner up, multiplatinum recording artist and now Broadway star, confirmed longstanding rumors that he is gay. Aiken came out publicly on the cover of People, holding his infant son, Parker Foster Aiken, with the headline: "Yes, I'm Gay."

Cynthia Nixon

Actress Cynthia Nixon

Danny Pintauro

Actor Danny Pintauro arrives at Louis Vuitton's renovated Rodeo Drive store re-opening party on Oct. 6, 2004, at Louis Vuitton in Beverly Hills.

Ellen DeGeneres

(Photo by Matthew Peyton/Getty Images)

Ellen DeGeneres came out in real life in 1997, and soon so did her character Ellen Morgan on the sitcom "Ellen." At the time, DeGeneres' relationship with actress Anne Heche made them a hot "it" couple until their split in August 2000. Now she's married to actress Portia de Rossi. (Photo by Matthew Peyton/Getty Images)

Elton John

Sir Elton John - born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on March 25, 1947 - arose as a pop superstar in the 1970s and, 250 million records and 50 Top 40 hits later, remains one of the music industry's greatest songwriters. He was knighted by the British crown in 1998. (AP)

Frasier Cast

Actor Dan Butler played the sports talk show host "Bulldog" on the long-running sitcom "Frasier." Here he is, left, with the rest of the cast: John Mahoney, Peri Gilpin, Kelsey Grammer, Jane Leeves and David Hyde Pierce. (AP)

George Michael

Singer George Michael, who came to fame as part of the 1980s musical group Wham, was outed following his arrest in a park restroom in Beverly Hills, Calif., in 1998. Following the media circus which followed, Michael publically confirmed his orientation. (AP)

George Takei

Actor George Takei, who played Enterprise helmsman Hikaru Sulu in the original "Star Trek" television series and several "Trek" movies, came out in 2005 at age 68. (AP)

Greg Louganis

Former U.S. Olympic diver Greg Louganis won Olymmpic gold medals in 1984 in Los Angeles and in 1988 in Seoul. (AP)

Harvey Fierstein

Actor/singer Harvey Fierstein is best known for his semi-autobiographical play and film "Torch Song Trilogy" about the trials and triumphs of a gay man living through the 1970s.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson

Out actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson plays "Mitchell" on ABC's hit comedy Modern Family. Like his Modern Family character "Mitchell," Ferguson is openly gay in real life. In an interview with OUT, Ferguson said: "Not to rat on my Dad, but I had to come out four times to him. He kept forgetting and would ask about girlfriends. I’d be like 'Dad, we talked about this!'

John Waters

Cult film director John Waters was the creative force behind the movies "Pink Flamingos" (1972), "Polyester" (1981), "Hairspray" (1988), "Cry-Baby" (1990) and "Cecil B. DeMented" (2000). (AP)

K.D. Lang

In 1990, singer k.d. lang appeared on the cover of the first issue of Entertainment Weekly magazine. Two years later, she again made headlines by coming out as a lesbian in the gay news magazine The Advocate. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Kate Clinton

Comedian Kate Clinton attends the Hetrick-Martin Institute's 2005 Emery Awards at Cipriani Wall Street Dec. 7, 2005, in New York City. (Photo by Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images)

Lance Bass

In July 2006, 'N Sync member Lance Bass revealed that he was gay and was in a stable relationship with actor and "Amazing Race 4" winner Reichen Lehmkul (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images)

Leslie Jordan

Actor Leslie Jordan attends the Fashion Forward Fundraiser benefitting Friendly House and CLARE Foundation, Inc. on June 13, 2004, at Beverly Hills Mercedes Benz in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)

Melissa Etheridge

Multiple Grammy award winning musician Melissa Etheridge is also famous as a gay rights activist since coming out during Bill Clinton's first inauguration in January 1993. Etheridge's partnership with Julie Cypher made them parents to two children: Bailey Jean, born February 1997, and Beckett, born November 1998, via a sperm donor David Crosby of Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Meredith Baxter

Family Ties Actress Meredith Baxter came out to The Advocate magazine in 2009.

Nate Berkus

Nate Berkus becomes the first openly gay man to host a nationally syndicated daytime show with 'The Nate Berkus Show'

Nathan Lane

Out actor Nathan Lane is best known for giving voice to the animated meerkat Timon in Disney's "The Lion King" and as scheming Max Bialystock in Mel Brooks' musical "The Producers." (Photo by Peter Kramer/Getty Images)

Neil Patrick Harris

Neil Patrick Harris (AP)

Actor Neil Patrick Harris, known for his TV roles on "Doogie Howser, M.D." in the early 1990s and "How I Met Your Mother" now, came out in November 2006. (AP)

Peter Paige Robert Gant

Actors Peter Paige, left, and Robert Gant, out actors who played gay characters in the cable TV series "Queer As Folk." (Photo by Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)

Queer Eye For The Straight Guy

The five stars of the television show "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," clockwise from left, Carson Kressley, Ted Allen, Thom Filicia, Jai Rodriguez and Kyan Douglas, pose after holding a news conference at Caesars Palace March 24, 2006, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Richard Chamberlain

Actor Richard Chamberlain - star of TV's "Dr. Kildare," "The Thorn Birds" and "Shogun," among other shows - published an autobiography when he was 69 years old acknowledging that he was gay. (AP)

Richard Hatch

First-ever "Survivor" winner Richard Hatch may have won $1 million on the reality show in 2000, but slights to the taxman put Hatch behind bars for tax evasion in 2006. (AP)

Ricky Martin

Recording artist Ricky Martin is the father of twin boys. He came out on March 29, 2010 in a heartfelt letter on his web site.

Rosie O'Donnell

Comedienne Rosie O'Donnell, once the 'queen of nice' on her daytime talk show, came out publically several months before her talk show ended.

RuPaul

San Diego native RuPaul - born RuPaul Andre Charles on Nov. 17, 1960 - became a drag queen superstar in the 1990s thanks to hits like "Supermodel (You Better Work)" and others. (Photo by Teresa Lee/Getty Images)

Rupert Everett

Actor Rupert Everett has found success playing both staight and gay lead characters. (AP)

Sean Hayes

Actor Sean Hayes, best known for his role as Jack "Just Jack!" McFarland on the sitcom Will & Grace, came out of the closet in March 2010. Hayes, on the cover of The Advocate, said it was the "interview you've waited 12 years to read. I am who I am."

Sharon Gless

Actors Sharon Gless and Randy Harrison arrive at the Showtime and Motorola Final Season Premiere of "Queer As Folk" at Regent Showcase Cinemas on May 18, 2005 in Hollywood. (Photo by Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)

Sir Ian McKellen

Award-winning British actor Sir Ian McKellen came out in 1988 in reaction to "Section 28," an anti-gay rights legal proposal in England.

Stephen Gately

Musician Stephen Gately arrives at the World Premiere of "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" at the Odeon Leicester Square on Nov. 6, 2005, in London. The film is based on the fourth installment of author J. K. Rowling's novel series. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)