These Celebrities All Have LGBTQ+ Parents
07/04/2024 15:00
From Kendall and Kylie Jenner to Dave Bautista, these stars have parents who are members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Families come in all shapes and sizes, and for some, that means having parents who are part of the LGBTQ+ community. There are actually quite a few celebs who were raised by queer parents -- and, in turn, it has made many of them outspoken supporters of the LGBTQ+ community. While some of these stars admit that it wasn't the most traditional upbringing, it made them the people that they are today.
Read on to find out which stars have LGBTQ+ parents…
1. Kendall & Kylie Jenner
Kendall and Kylie Jenner may have grown up in the spotlight with their family, but it wasn't until 2015 that their father, Caitlyn, began publicly living her truth as a transgender woman. Caitlyn had long been privately struggling with her gender identity and her daughters say that their relationship truly improved when Caitlyn came out.
"When my dad came out as transgender, our relationship grew," Kendall told People. "She could finally be honest with me. We could talk about deep emotions she was feeling through that time. Growing up my dad was not usually one to talk about her feelings so that was a big step for us."
Kylie added, "My dad has always been an inspiration to me, from winning the gold medal at the Olympics to getting her pilot's license. However, watching her live out her true self has been the most inspiring of them all."
2. Jay Z
Jay Z's mother, Gloria Carter, publicly came out as a lesbian in 2017 with a little help from her son. Gloria opened up about her sexuality in Jay's song "Smile," lending her voice for the song's outro. While Gloria says she had long known she was a lesbian, she explained that she had kept the secret for so long to "protect [her] family from ignorance." Although she was "happy," she wasn't truly free until she met her partner, who gave her the courage to speak up.
"Then one day, I met someone that made my heart sing. Made me no longer want to sneak a peep at them but actually look at them with loving eyes. Love gave me the courage to take the power that I allowed other people to have over my life for fear of them revealing my secret that wasn't really a secret," she shared during the GLAAD Media Awards.
3. Mandy Moore
When Mandy Moore was in her early 20s, her parents split -- and her mother Stacy began dating a woman. In addition to her mom coming out later in life, Mandy's two brothers have also come out as gay. Despite being not the most traditional family, she says they're all "extraordinarily close."
"Nobody is hiding who they are. There are no secrets in our lives. I love and support my mom and my brothers with my whole heart. And nothing makes me happier than seeing anybody live their authentic self, and to choose love. If anyone can find love, I support it, I salute you and I celebrate that," Mandy told People.
4. Paul Bettany
Paul Bettany says his father, Thane, had a complicated relationship with his sexuality throughout his life. After 25 years of marriage to Paul's mother, the couple split and Thane began dating a man. Thane and his partner Andy dated for 20 years but when Andy passed, he found himself back in the closet.
"I had a gay father who died a couple of years ago. He came out of the closet at 63. He then had a 20-year relationship with a man called Andy Clark. It was a joyous relief for everybody, actually," Paul told Total Film magazine.
He continued, "Once his partner died, he was in his 80s at that point, my dad decided to go back inside the closet and say that it had all been a big misunderstanding because he was a Catholic and concerned about getting past Peter through the pearly gates. The shame he felt for his sexual identity was devastating, he was unable to mourn the person who I think was the love of his life."
Dave Bautista's mother Donna Raye is a lesbian and it has made the former wrestler an outspoken supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. Through the years, he's celebrated Pride Month with his mom and shared inspirational messages about her.
"I was always proud of who my mom was because she was always proud of who she was. In your face, f--- you if you don't like it, unapologetically loud and proud. And her son [paid] attention. BE LOUD, BE PROUD, BE YOU," Dave wrote on Instagram, adding the hashtag #ProudSonOfALesbian.
6. Ally Sheedy
When Ally Sheedy was just a kid, her parents divorced and her mother, Charlotte, came out as a lesbian. She went on to become an activist in the LGBTQ+ community and helped shape Ally's views surrounding sexuality. Since then, Ally's daughter has also come out as gay.
"The thing is that with both my mom and my daughter, [coming out] wasn't really an 'event' per say. There's no event where somebody says, 'Let me come out to you.' … I mean, it does happen with some people where they choose to come out on the Internet -- which is their thing. I don't remember a time when I had the thought that, 'Oh, my God…my mother is gay!' because it was an ongoing conversation … It's just a part of life. It's like, 'Here's mom and here's mom's life' … I can't imagine things being any different," Ally shared with Windy City Times.
Growing up, Robert De Niro didn't really know his father, Robert De Niro Sr., and was only acutely aware of his sexuality. Looking back on his father's life through his diary entries, Robert discovered that he was incredibly conflicted about being gay, even referring to it as an "affliction."
"Yeah, he probably was [conflicted], being from that generation, especially from a small town upstate. I was not aware, much, of it. I wish we had spoken about it much more," he told Out Magazine. "My mother didn't want to talk about things in general, and you're not interested when you're a certain age. Again, for my kids, I want them to stop and take a moment and realize that you sometimes have to do things now instead of later, because later may be 20 years from now -- and that's too late."
In 2015, Jennifer Grey's father, Broadway legend Joel Grey, publicly came out as a gay man. Joel was married to Jennifer's mother, Jo Wilder, for 24 years and kept his sexual identity a secret for much of his life. When he did come out, he chose to keep it private, only telling family and friends. When he did decide to publicly come out, Jennifer shared her support for her father.
"I feel very happy for my dad that he has come to a point in his life where he feels safe and/or comfortable enough to declare himself in a public way as a gay man. Mostly because the more people are free to own their true nature, and can hopefully come closer to love and accept themselves as they really are, no matter what age, no matter how long it takes, to finally be free of the lies or half truths, it is freedom," Jennifer told People.
9. Jena Malone
Jena Malone's mother Deborah at one time identified as a lesbian, although she now no longer dates women. Growing up, Jena was raised by her mother and her partner, whom Jena referred to as her "godmom." After they split, Deborah renounced the relationship and began dating men.
"When I was younger, I didn't know it was any different. They never really came out as gay. My godmom was more open about it than my mom. My mom still renounces it. She doesn't like to talk about that. It was the only relationship she had with a woman. She found Christianity when they broke up, and she started dating men again," Jena told LA Weekly.
She continued, "You fall in love with people, regardless of sex. In the world that she grew up in, it was never accepted. I think they formed a beautiful bond out of intense hardship."
10. Anne Heche
Before Anne Heche's passing, she revealed that her father, Donald, had been involved with men during his lifetime. He passed away when she was just 13, shortly after telling his family that he had secretly been battling AIDS.
"We were told -- he never admitted it. He was in complete denial until the day he died," she said during a 2001 appearance on Larry King Live. "We know he got it from his gay relationships. Absolutely. I don't think it was just one. He was a very promiscuous man, and we knew his lifestyle then … I think he saw everybody as a sexual being. But I think at that time he was living a very flamboyant homosexual lifestyle."
11. 50 Cent
50 Cent's mother passed away when he was very young but before her death, he understood that she was a lesbian. He said his grandmother, who helped raise him, explained the nature of his mother's sexuality.
"My mom was a lesbian. Yeah, she liked women. My whole childhood was like that," he said in an interview with Perez Hilton. "It's two different things too -- from a female perspective, when you see two females together, you think, oh, they're just girlfriends, they're close. But, with my mom, the male was missing … When you're that small you don't see things that would indicate there are other things going on. [My] grandmother would say things like 'That kiss was a little different from all the other kisses you saw.'"
