Here is  a list of notable gay, lesbian, and bisexual people because we feel it's important for the gay community (particularly gay and lesbian youth) and the general population to realize that gay people have made, and continue to make invaluable contributions to society. Having a list of notable gay and lesbian people also helps put a face on civil rights issues being debated across the country. This is not intended to be a comprehensive list of famous gays, but rather a sampling of the gay, lesbian and bisexual people who have helped shape our world, and continue to enrich our lives.

Sports

• Martina Navratilova, professional tennis champion
• Billie Jean King, professional tennis champion
• David Kopay, retired NFL football player
• Greg Louganis, three-time Olympic gold medalist in diving
• Glenn Burke, Ex-Major League baseball player
• Dave Pallone, Ex-Major League baseball umpire
• Bruce Hayes, Olympic swimmer
• Bob Jackson, professional bodybuilder
• Babe Didrikson Zaharias, professional golfer
• Tom Waddell, Olympic decathelete

Music

• Elton John, musician
• George Michael, musician
• k.d. lang, musician
• Melissa Etheridge, musician
• Boy George, musician (Culture Club)
• Ani DiFranco, musician
• Brian Epstein, First manager for the Beatles
• Liberace, pianist/entertainer
• Aaron Copeland, composer
• Johnny Mathis, musician
• Iggy Pop, musician
• Janis Ian, musician
• Michael Stipe, (lead singer of R.E.M.)
• Joan Baez, musician
• Cole Porter, song writer
• Leonard Berstein*, Composer (West Side Story, On the Waterfront)
• Pete Townsend, musician (The Who)
• Jimmy Somerville, musician (Bronski Beat)
• Paul Rutherford, singer (Frankie goes to Hollywood)
• Holly Johnson, lead singer (Frankie goes to Hollywood)
• Emily Sailers, musician (Indigo Girls)
• Amy Ray, musician (Indigo Girls)
• Franz Schubert, composer
• Peter Tchaikovsky, composer
• Josephine Baker, singer
• Andy Bell, musician
• Benjamin Britten, composer
• Bessie Smith, singer
• Patty Schemel, drummer (Hole)
• Dave Navaro, musician (Red Hot Chilli Peppers)

Writers, Poets & Playwrights

• Willa Cather*, writer (My Antonia, O' Pioneers)
• Radclyffe Hall, writer (The Well of Loneliness)
• James Baldwin, writer (Go Tell it on the Mountian, Giovanni's Room, Another Country)
• Andrew Sullivan, editor of The New Republic magazine
• May Sarton, writer
• Randy Shilts, journalist (The Mayor of Castro Street; And the Band Played On)
• Deb Price, Gannett newspapers columnist
• Edward Albee, playwright (Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?)
• Sir James M. Barrie, playwirght/novelist (Peter Pan)
• Armistead Maupin, writer (Tales of the City)
• Audre Lorde, African-American poet and activist
• Rita Mae Brown, novelist
• William S. Burroughs, novelist
• John Boswell, historian/writer
• Gertrude Stein, writer
• Walt Whitman, poet (Leaves of Grass)
• Tennessee Williams, playwright (The Glass Menagerie; A Streetcar Named Desire)
• Hans Christian Anderson, writer of children's fairy tales
• Malcolm Forbes, publisher
• Somerset Maugham, writer
• Sappho, Greek poet
• Oscar Wilde, playwright/novelist (The Portrait of Dorian Gray)
• Marcel Proust, writer (Remembrance of Things Past)
• Emily Dickinson*, poet
• Gore Vidal, novelist
• Chastity Bono, writer for The Advocate (daughter of Sonny & Cher)
• E.M. Forster, writer (Howard's End, A Passage to India, Maurice)
• Amy Lowell, poet
• Virginia Woolf*,writer
• Alice B. Toklas, writer
• Edna St. Vincent Millay, poet
• Henry James,writer
• Sir Francis Bacon, writer
• Lord Byron, poet
• Allen Ginsberg, poet

Entertainers, Directors & Producers

• Rock Hudson, actor
• Amanda Bearsey, actress
• Ellen DeGeneres, actress/comedian
• Gus Van Sant, filmmaker (My Own Private Idaho)
• Sandra Bernhardt, comedian/actress
• Siegfried and Roy, entertainers
• Dick Sargent, actor (second Darrin on Bewitched)
• David Geffen, film producer/music business
• RuPaul, entertainer
• Julie Cypher, director (Teresa's Tattoo, music videos)
• Kate Clinton, comedian
• Sir Ian McKellen, actor
• Tom Hulce, actor (Mozart in Amadeus)
• Marie Schneider, actress (The Last Tango in Paris)
• Lily Tomlin, actress/comedian
• James Dean*, actor
• Pedro Almodovar, director
• Lea DeLaria, comedian
• Errol Flynn*, actor
• Montgomery Clift, actor

Artists

• Andy Warhol
• Jean Cocteau
• Michelangelo*
• Georgia O'Keefe
• Frieda Kahlo
• Leonardo da Vinci*

Other Notable People

• Someone you know
• Someone you work with
• Someone you care about
• Someone you respect
• Someone you love

*It is widely believed that this person was gay, lesbian or bisexual, based on their personal history, accounts by family and friends, memoirs, or works.