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21 Actors Who Publicly Came Out After Portraying A Queer Character In A Beloved TV Show Or Movie

1. First, after starring as Alex Danvers on Supergirl, Chyler Leigh publicly opened up about her sexuality in a heartfelt blog post. She talked about how playing Alex and showing her coming-out journey gave her the courage to come out as part of the LGBTQ community. “When I was told that my character was to come out in Season 2, a flurry of thoughts and emotions flew through and around me because of the responsibility I personally felt to authentically represent Alex’s journey,” Chyler began.

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In fact, Renée worked with executive producer Justin Noble to help craft Leighton’s story in Season 1. While Renée has always felt comfortable expressing her sexuality, she said it ended up being very “difficult” to portray Leighton’s closeted storyline. “It was like vomiting out my deepest, darkest fears about my own internalized homophobia,” she explained. “It made for some very emotional days.”

“His vulnerability and courage inspire me every day, and I hope he can do the same for you. To all of you who feel like little Levis out there, know that I do too, that you are seen, and that we’re all in this together. And to everyone who has supported me over the years, I can’t thank you enough, and I love you more than all the stars…”

“Through this incredible, enlightening journey of playing a queer character and meeting the fans that are drawn to her, I guess I’ve reevaluated how I am to face this part of me. Hanging out with the community over the past few years allowed me to see, time and time again, people achieving mini milestones and stepping into their light. It has made me more certain than ever that I also have to at least try being brave and hopefully contribute to the positive ripple effect that is caused when we step up and live authentically.”

“I wish it could just be about the human I am in love with, not their gender. This is why I am so passionate about advocating for equal acceptance across the spectrum of sexuality. Let’s just love who we love and leave each other alone. The world has bigger problems.” Kat has been a strong supporter of advocating for better LGBTQ representation onscreen.

“I fully identify as bisexual. I literally just got goosebumps saying that,” Ronen said in an interview with Variety. “It feels so good to talk about it, it feels so good to finally be comfortable with it. … There was definitely a fear of sort of embracing how I felt. I was definitely more aware of it in high school. I was aware of my feelings and how I started looking at men, but I couldn’t talk to anybody about it.”

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8. After playing Callie Torres on Grey’s Anatomy — still the longest-running LGBTQ character in TV history — Sara Ramirez first came out as bisexual in 2016 and now identifies as nonbinary. Sara came out as nonbinary prior to starring as Che Diaz on And Just Like That… “Che is someone who came out as nonbinary later in life and who speaks their truth unapologetically. I thought, This character will teach me a lot about how to embrace the power that you have, even against systems that would have you shut down,” they explained.

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Speaking about their coming-out journey, Sara said, “There was so much for me to unlearn, and I faced my own internalized oppression. In this society, we often feel this pressure to live in these rigid boxes. When I stepped out of the box I had put myself in, I discovered my own possibilities for change.”

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9. During the filming of Love, Simon, where he played Bram, Keiynan Lonsdale came out to the cast and crew of the film before publicly addressing his sexuality in an Instagram post that read, “I like girls, & I like guys (yes).” Keiynan explained that he was out to the cast of The Flash, some family, and a lot of friends, but working on Love, Simon helped give him the confidence to come out to everyone.

20th Century Fox

“Before we got to the afterparty [for Love, Simon], we just went out for drinks,” he recalled. “Like, all the cast and I. I don’t even know how I said it, but I just said it to the group, and they were of course really supportive, and I explained to them that I wish I had said something earlier. It was great. It’s an interesting thing to go through that kind of growth and learn those lessons while your character is also learning those lessons. I’m very thankful for it.”

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10. In 2022, after starring as Maya Bishop on Station 19 for five seasons, Danielle Savre publicly addressed her sexuality for the first time. First, on a podcast, Danielle revealed that she has been in love with women before.

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Then, while attending A Day With… convention in Milan alongside her Station 19 costar Stefania Spampinato, who plays her love interest Carina DeLuca, Danielle talked to fans, saying, “There’s a lot of shame that’s associated with the LGBTQ community that’s put on us. And it’s wrong, and it sucks. I felt shame because I had feelings, romantic relationships with people of both sexes. I’m very private about my personal life.”

In a series of tweets, Ella later clarified her comments and said that she does identify as queer. She tweeted, “[W]hen the interviewer asked me directly if I was queer I got anxious and fumbled my answer. (Having not openly talked about my identity for long). […] I am queer and I am happy to be open about it. (I just get all kinds of nervous and fumbly in interviews sometimes).”

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12. Following his Emmy Award–winning run as Jack McFarland on Will & Grace, Sean Hayes publicly came out in 2010. Sean said he was “too scared” to come out during the show’s original run because of the “death threats” he was getting simply for playing a gay character on TV. “I wasn’t looking to be an activist of any kind. I didn’t have the courage and the strength at such a young age to speak on behalf of the gay community,” he recalled.

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In 2018, he reflected on his coming-out experience, saying, “I had to be elusive and mysterious. And it’s so funny, it’s so not me. I’m an open book. We were taught by society in the ’70s and ’80s that being gay was an awful thing. I was taught to keep it a secret; I was taught to be ashamed of it. And now that we’re older and wiser, we have to be bigger than that and work against it.”

Rich Fury / Getty Images for GLAAD

13. Samira Wiley, who portrayed Poussey Washington on Orange Is the New Black, publicly addressed her sexuality after Season 1. “First season, I wasn’t out at all,” Samira explained while detailing how she was accidentally outed by one of her OITNB castmates.

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“Someone from my cast actually, during the interview, they were talking about out gay actors in the cast…and they mentioned my name and I saw it in print, and I cried. I cried a lot,” she recalled. Samira said it was “a journey” to feel comfortable being out and proud, and now she loves being an outspoken advocate for the LGBTQ community.

He continued, saying, “I stuffed the existential crisis of talking about my sexual orientation into a box in my mind for years. Today, I release it into the world. Thank you to you for giving me the courage to know who I am and tell you this today. Happy 20biteen!”

Brigette then went on to explain the pronouns they now prefer, saying in the IG post, “Using they/them as of late n it feels right. Scary AF to come out n been rly putting this off. But I feel I owe it to myself and to all of us who struggle w/ gender.”

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16. Following her character Rosa’s memorable coming-out story on Brooklyn Nine-Nine in Season 5, Stephanie Beatriz announced in 2018 that she’s bisexual. In an op-ed published in GQ, Stephanie wrote, “I’m bi, and I’m getting married this fall. I’m excited, nervous, terrified, and so fucking happy. I’m choosing to get married because this particular person brings out the best in me. This person happens to be a man. I’m still bi.”

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She continued, “People’s sexuality is often defined by who we’re partnered with at any given moment, which can be a frustrating limitation for me. I’ve had countless tiny ‘coming out’ moments in my life, often simply to explain to someone else that they have misjudged my sexuality based on who they saw me dating. Now I have a small platform of visibility, because I’m on a fun and (if I do say so myself) damn good television show. I’ve chosen to use that platform to speak openly about my bi-ness, because of other people who may feel invisible and unsure of whether or not to come out as bisexual.”

She continued, “To end up in this place where I am now, a 43-year-old happily married woman who is so comfortable with myself … That journey was one that was not always easy.” In recent years, Clea has talked about writing roles for herself that “align with her identity,” and creating roles for other LGBTQ actors, like in Happiest Season.

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18. Adamo Ruggiero, who famously played Marco on Degrassi: The Next Generation, said that playing the first openly gay main character in the franchise’s history helped him come out in real life too. “Suddenly, I was a character that was playing to all my deepest, darkest secrets, so there was a lot of negotiation of my coming out personally and a negotiation of my personally not being prepared to have those conversations because they were drawing to these pains in me,” Adamo recalled.

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“What Marco gave me is a community. In the promotion of the show, I connected with a queer world. He just busted open this door of a world that probably would have taken a lot longer to find.”

In her coming-out Instagram post, Kaylee wrote, “Hi ? My name is Kaylee and I’m queer! ?️‍? Happy Pride Month ?️‍?.”

After the first season of Elite dropped in 2018, fans began speculating about Omar’s sexuality IRL, given his character’s storyline with Ander. Since then, Omar has shared more about himself on his Instagram.

In a tweet addressing her sexuality, Mae wrote, “Just taking a moment to say I am SO proud to be even a small part of a show like The Owl House. Being pansexual myself, I wish I had such incredible characters like Amity and Luz in my life when I was growing up. Queer representation is sososo important […] keep it up world!” The tweet was accompanied by a drawing of Amity and Luz from The Owl House.

My Fake Boyfriend, a new LGBTQ rom-com from BuzzFeed Studios starring Keiynan Lonsdale, Dylan Sprouse, and Sarah Hyland, is out June 17 in the US — just in time for Pride! Sign up for Prime Video now so you’re ready to watch.

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Not in the US? My Fake Boyfriend is coming to Prime Video in the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, LatAm, and Brazil on June 10, and all other territories on June 24.