Transcript A C Benson Writer of Land of Hope and Glory son of the

Famous gay, lesbian or
bisexual people –
past and present
A C Benson
Author
Writer of Land of Hope and Glory
son of the Archbishop of Canterbury, 2 of his
brothers were also gay
Radclyffe Hall
British poet and author of eight novels,
including the lesbian novel The Well of
Loneliness
Alan Turing
British mathematician, computer scientist
and theorist – WW II code breaker
Alejandro Amenabar
Oscar winner
Widely considered one of the most important Spanish
directors working today even though he has directed only
four films.
K D Lang
Musician
“Something in me broods love into fear
It veils my vision leaves my thoughts unclear
I've been outside myself for so long
Every feeling I had is close to gone”
Alexander the Great
King of Macedon (336–323 BC), was one of the
most successful military commanders in history.
Sappho
Ancient Greek lyric poet
The word lesbian itself is derived from the name of the
island of Lesbos from which she came. (Her name is also
the origin of its much rarer synonym sapphic.)
Alfred Kinsey
Scientist
During this work, he developed a scale measuring sexual
orientation now known as the Kinsey Scale which ranks from
0 to 6, where 0 is exclusively heterosexual and 6 is
exclusively homosexual.
Andre Gide
Nobel Laureate
(Nobel Prize for Literature in 1947 )
“It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved
for what you are not.”
Martina Navratilova
Professional Tennis Player
Andy Warhol
Artist
Alex Parks
Fame Academy winner in 2003
Mark Feehily
Westlife
Benjamin Britain
Composer
One of Britain's greatest composers and musicians
Amelie Mauresmo
Professional tennis player
Brian Dowling
Big Brother Winner
Daphne du Maurier
Best known for her short story "The Birds" and her classic
novel Rebecca. Both were adapted into films by Alfred
Hitchcock. Passionate letters written between Gertrude
Lawrence and Du Maurier were published in a 1993
biography of Du Maurier and she reportedly had an
infatuation for the wife of her American publisher, Ellen
Doubleday
Bayard Rustin
Civil rights and gay activist, best known as the
organiser of the 1963 March on Washington for
Jobs and Freedom. During the march, King
delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
Brian Paddick
British Police Commander
openly gay
Colonel Dr.Margarethe Cammermyer
Highest ranking out USA Military Officer
In 1994 she published her autobiography Serving in
Silence, which was made into a TV movie starring Glenn
Close. The movie won a Peabody and three Emmy awards.
Christopher Marlowe
Writer
“Was this the face that launch’d a thousand ships,
And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?” Faustus.
Claire Balding
Sports Presenter
E M Forster
Writer of Howards End, A passage to India, A room
with a view
“I would rather be a coward than brave because
people hurt you when you are brave”
Ellen DeGeneres
Comedian
April 1997 Ellen DeGeneres (and her character on the show
Ellen) came out of the closet on national television. On
September 7, 2006, DeGeneres was chosen to host the
79th Academy Awards ceremony, which took place on
February 25, 2007. This makes her the first openly gay
person to have hosted the event.
Eoin O’ Duffy
Irish Police Commissioner – aide to Michael
Collins.
Ferdinand 1 of Bulgaria
Tsar
Ferdinand's bisexuality was both well-known and exploited
throughout European diplomatic circles. His regular holidays
on Capri, then a famous haunt for wealthy gay men, was
common knowledge in royal courts throughout Europe.
Will Young
Won UK Pop Idol contest 2002
Sheryl Swoopes
Professional Basketball Player
Nike’s Air Swoopes named after her
G H Hardy
mathematician
Known for his achievements in number theory and
mathematical analysis.
George Michael and Elton John
Musicians
Nancy Cook
and Ethel Smyth
suffragettes
Gianni Versace
and Jean Paul Gaultier
Designers
Graham Chapman
English comedian, actor, writer and physician.
He was one of the six Monty Python members and lead
actor in their two narrative films, playing King Arthur in
Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Brian in Life of Brian.
Greta Garbo
Actress
Greta Garbo and fellow actress Mimi Pollak became involved
in an affair at Drama school. Circumstances did not allow the
two to continue the relationship, Garbo went on to become
involved with several other Hollywood actresses, though
keeping her sexuality a secret. As recorded in her personal
writings Garbo remained in love with Pollak until her death in
1990.
Hadrian
Roman Emperor
Initiated building of Hadrian’s Wall
Ivor Novello
Actor
The Ivor Novello Award is a prize awarded for songwriting,
named for Ivor Novello, and awarded each year by the
record industry to song writers and arrangers rather than
the performing artistes.
Skin
Former lead singer of rock group Skunk
Anansie
James 1 of England
(James VI Scotland)
Authorised an official translation of the Bible, which
came to be known as the King James Bible
(published in 1611). Responding to deflect the
growing criticism over his sexuality James adopted a
severe stance towards sodomy using English law.
Jane Addams
First American female Nobel Peace Prize
Winner
Jean Michael Basquait
Artist
In 1981, he catapulted from being an unknown nineteen year-old
graffiti writer to becoming one of the most successful, controversial,
glamorous artists in the world. By 1988, he was dead at the age of
27. In 1996 his story was made into a movie under the title 'Basquiat',
with Jeffrey Wright as Basquiat and David Bowie as Andy Warhol.
John Barrowman
Actor / Performer
His most prominent television role has been the con man Jack
Harkness in Doctor Who and its spin-off series Torchwood.
Pat St. Clements
Actor
Pat from Eastenders
Leonard Bernstein
Composer
Leisha Hailey
American actress, musician, and producer.
Most famous for playing Alice Pieszecki, a bisexual journalist, on the
The L Word.
Brian Kennedy
Singer
Lord Alfred Douglas
Writer
"the Love that dare not speak its name”
Josephine Baker
American-born dancer, actress and singer.
She became a citizen of France in 1937. She was so well
known and popular that even the Nazis, who occupied
France during World War II were hesitant to cause her
harm. In turn, this allowed Baker to show her loyalty to
her adopted country by participating in the
Underground. After the war, Baker was awarded the
Croix de Guerre for her underground activity.
Lord Byron
Poet
“Those who will not reason, are bigots, those
who cannot, are fools, and those who dare not,
are slaves.”
Marlene Dietrich
Actress
“I am at heart a gentleman.”
Noel Coward
Writer
“It is discouraging how many people are shocked by honesty and how
few by deceit.”
Oscar Wilde
Writer
“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a
mask, and he will tell you the truth.”
“The aim of life is self-development. To realise one's nature perfectly that is what each of us is here for.”
“Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live
as one wishes to live.”
Sue Perkins
English television presenter, actress, and
writer.
Prince Edmond de Polignac
Composer
Married Winnaretta Eugenie Singer, daughter of
Isaac Singer, the sewing machine tycoon, who was
a lesbian.
Portia de Rossi
Actress
Australian actress who is best known for her role as lawyer Nelle Porter
on the television series Ally McBeal, and as Lindsay Bluth Fünke on the
television series Arrested Development.
Sir Derek Jacobi
Actor
Jake Shears
Vocalist for the American music group the
Scissor Sisters.
Sarah Waters
Writer – Tipping the Velvet, Fingersmith
Sir Ian McKellen
Actor
Matt Lucas
Actor, comedian, writer
Virginia Woolf
Writer
“Different though the sexes are, they inter-mix. In every human being
a vacillation from one sex to the other takes place, and often it is only
the clothes that keep the male or female likeness, while underneath
the sex is the very opposite of what it is above.”
“If one could be friendly with women, what a pleasure - the
relationship so secret and private compared with relations with men.
Why not write about it truthfully?”
Stephen Fry
Comedian
“If ignorance is bliss, why aren't there more happy people
in the world?”
Stephen Twigg
MP
He was the first gay man to be out at the time of their
election to the House of Commons when he was elected at
the 1997 General Election, in that regard it proved a close
contest for just 21 minutes later Ben Bradshaw, also openly
gay, was elected in Exeter.
Trajan
Roman Emperor
Vita (Victoria Mary) Sackville- West
English poet and novelist
Her most famous affair was with Virginia Woolf
Leonardo Da Vinci
Artist
At age 24, da Vinci was formally charged with sodomy.
Michaelangelo
From 1490 to 1492, Michelangelo attended Lorenzo's school
and was influenced by many prominent people who
modified and expanded his ideas on art, following the
dominant Platonic view of that age, and even his feelings
about sexuality. He wrote the Veracci Sonnets - love poems
to a younger man.