The Lucky Ones

POSITIVE OUTS
In a society guided by a heterosexual normality and in cities like Hollywood and New York where business and the mighty dollar reign supreme, it is almost a surprise that there have been as many positive coming out stories as there have through the years. However, while a public figure's sexual orientation is still the subject of a media firestorm and intense personal evaluation, the effects are almost always beneficial for both the celebrity/politician/athlete and the gay community. In industries where risk taking and honesty are rarely well recieved we salute those who have chosen to live their lives openly, truthfully, and rewardingly strong.

PERFORMERS
Rosie O'Donnell
"What I have found as a result of the letting go--not just of the show but the magazine and the coming out--are rewards that I can't even begin to explain."

Ian McKellen
"I've had enough of being a gay icon! I've had enough of all this hard work, because, since I came out, I keep getting all these parts, and my career's taken off. I want a quiet life. I'm going back into the closet. But I can't get back into the closet, because it's absolutely jam-packed full of other actors."

Ellen DeGeneres
"I think the media sometimes assumes that everybody's uptight and homophobic. I just think it's a different place now."

Nathan Lane
"'Look, I'm 40, single and I work in the musical theater-you do the math. What do you need, flashcards?"

Alan Cumming
"Your sexuality is like a vacation. You don't always want to go to the same place."

Anthony Rapp
"I'm always pleased to hear about people who are gay, out, happy, and successful. It's why I'm here--to tell gay and straight teenagers not to let other people's homophobia define who they are."

Rupert Everett
"I have nothing to complain about...except maybe people wondering if a queen like me can be butch-it-up enough to play a convincing straight man."

Harvey Fierstein
"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself."

Cherry Jones
"I walked into a room of journalists and they asked how this was going to change my career, and I said as a middle-aged lesbian in the film world I didn't think a flood of offers was going to be a problem. After a pause, a journalist stood up and said, 'Do you know how unique you are? We've never heard an actress call herself a lesbian or middle-aged.' I came out of the womb a happy gay person. I never felt I had to hide."

Lily Tomlin
"I've been around a long time, and I interviewed with a lot of the same people over and over. I was always direct and open about my life. I would always reference Jane [Wagner] and everything, but they never choose to write about it that way -- just like they never wrote about Jack Kennedy and the women in the swimming pool. It was the times, but the media culture has changed."

Elton John
"I think people should be free to engage in any sexual practices they choose; they should draw the line at goats though."

Randy Harrison
"I had a conversation recently with these gay movie producers about how in Hollywood pretty much everybody behind the scenes is out. But the actors still aren't. In a way, it just seems like it's too late for established actors to come out, because they've been part of the illusion, this mass manipulation, for too long."

K. D. Lang
"I think coming out helped a lot for me personally, because living in honesty and living open, and in truth is an amazing feeling and I highly recommend it for anyone. No matter what you're hiding, just let it go."

Melissa Etheridge
"When I took a look back at it, doing the thing that might have been the most fearful -- you know, coming out -- has proved to be the least horrible thing. It was wonderful. It's been a wonderful year. I've seen things triple. I've seen myself selling three million records to where I've only sold one before. I attribute it to a lot of things: a lot of hard work; radio stations being willing to play me that hadn't played me before. I think when a person steps up and says: 'Hey, this is what I am. Let's get on with it,' people appreciate that."

Lea DeLaria
"As a standup, I try to change the world. As an entertainer, I try to entertain. And as a lesbian, I try to pick up the prettiest girl in the room."

POLITICIANS

ATHLETES

DIRECTORS