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What we admire more than talent, artistry or god-given ability is courage. The courage to stand up for what one believes in. The courage to speak out even when it might be damaging or harmful to one’s own career. The courage to be exactly who you are and always were meant to be. To coincide with Pride Week, we’re honoring some of our favorite members of the LGBT community who we feel have taken it upon themselves to represent their community in a positive light.

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Musicians
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Ricky Martin
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The Puerto Rican pop star, who came out in 2010 by posting a message on his website, ( “I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am”) has also publicly come out in support of same-sex marriage. In an interview with Larry King, couldn’t help but state how wonderful he felt to be out in the open about his sexuality. “If I’d known how good it was going to feel (to come out),” Martin said, “I would have done it ten years ago.”
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Laura Jane Grace a.k.a. Tom Gabel
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MTV.com
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The Against Me! singer only recently revealed in a Rolling Stone interview that she felt as if she’d been trapped in a man’s body her entire life. Her decision to come out as transgender was widely embraced — which not only highlights the courage it took her to make this announcement, but also the open-minded attitude that music fans around the world now possess. We look forward to the fabulous musical contributions that Grace will continue to deliver the world now that she’s truly comfortable in her own skin.
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Adam Lambert
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The pop singer, who first came to fame thanks to his runner-up finish on American Idol, has been an outspoken proponent of LGBT rights and has been rewarded for his incredible efforts: in 2011 he was given the “Equality Idol Award” at the annual Equality awards, he was honored along with his mother at the Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) conference the next month, and perhaps most impressive of all, the proceeds from a remix of his single “Aftermath” were donated to The Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBT youth.
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Tegan and Sara
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Since breaking out with their 2004 album So Jealous, this Canadian sister duo have been outspoken about being lesbians and the importance of keeping an open dialogue with their fans. They spoke to this point in a recent interview. “Our fan base is getting really young, and it’s important to me to make sure that we’re spreading a very honest message,” Tegan said. “I’m glad there’s no part of us that has been reluctant to share who we are. There’s still so much homophobia, sexism and racism in younger generations, and yet these kids love us anyway. I think we have a very progressive message.”
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Actors/Celebrities
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Neil Patrick Harris
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Ever since he played the lovable Doogie Hauser as a child actor, Neil Patrick Harris has been adored by fans across the globe. So after he came in 2006 by stating “I am quite proud to say that I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest”,” it was wonderful to now know he was living life as he ought to — open about the man he was and always has been. Additionally, we were thrilled when he and partner David Burka announced their engagement last year via Twitter after the passage of the Marriage Equality Act in New York.
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Ellen Degeneres
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More than anything, our respect for this actress and daytime talk-show host stems from her being one of the first — and certainly most well-known — celebrities to come out as gay. For Degeneres, it was an utterly admirable, yet surely tough decision at the time. Since then, Degeneres, who is married to actresses Portia de Rossi, has been a major voice in the campaign for LGBT rights, and both her and her mother have been extremely active in both PFLAG and the Human Rights Campaign’s Coming Out project.
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Jane Lynch
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The Glee star, who married her longtime partner Lara Embry in 2010, has not only been active in LGBT groups such as PFLAG, but she has also helped develop the LGBT arts scene. Lynch wrote and starred in the award-winning 1998 play Oh Sister, My Sister, which later kicked off the Lesbians in Theater program at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center in 2004.
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Chaz Bono
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Perhaps no member of the transgender community has been as open and unguarded about his transition from a female to a male as Chaz Bono. Born Chastity Bono, Chaz, who came out in 1995 and recently had a fabulous turn on Dancing With The Stars, has become something of a social activist: he is a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, promoted National Coming Out Day, and served as Media Director for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
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Jim Parsons
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It was only reported last month in a New York Times profile that Parsons, the star of The Big Bang Theory, has openly stated he is gay and has been in a same-sex relationship for the past ten years. We include him on this list however for his courage to embrace his sexuality, but even moreso for what we hope will be a future of happiness for one of our favorite actors on TV.
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LGBT Characters on TV
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Cameron Tucker and Mitchell Pritchett on Modern Family
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Gay characters are certainly not new to TV or film, but never have any been portrayed so honestly and openly as Modern Family’s Cameron Tucker (Eric Sonestreet) and Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler). While only Tyler is in fact gay in real life, the amazing repoire these two have with one another onscreen is uncanny and absolutely incredible. Furthermore, we applaud the producers of MF for having a gay couple play such a prime role in a major-network show!
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Kurt Hummel on Glee
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Glee is one of the rare shows that has not only put LGBT characters like Chris Colfer’s Kurt Humel in the spotlight, but also shined a light on the numerous issues and challenges that face the LGBT community. Onscreen, Colfer is superb as Hummel, inviting viewers into the everyday joys, struggles and obstacles that a young gay man faces. That Colfer happens to be gay in real life only makes his portrayal all the more dignified. It’s a role and acting turn that is virtually unparalleled in today’s entertainment landscape.
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Sophie-Anne Leclerq on True Blood
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HBO
Sexuality plays a large role in HBO’s racy vampire series, True Blood. So it was a wonderful moment when Evan Rachel Wood’s character, Sophie-Anne Leclerq, a Vampire Queen who made appearances form Season Two until her death in Season Four, revealed herself to be bi-sexual. Her encounters were always super racy — which only added to her incredible portrayal as a lesbian vampire. This was one character we were sad to see go.
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Outspoken Activists
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Lady Gaga
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She may be the biggest pop star in the world, but it’s highly plausible that Lady Gaga may be nearly as well known for her activism. Gaga, who identifies as bi-sexual, has participated in the National Equality March, appeared at Europride, and has described homosexuals as “revolutionaries of love.” Says Gaga, “I am a child of diversity, I am one with my generation, I feel a moral obligation as a woman, or a man, to exercise my revolutionary potential and make the world a better place.”