• Source: List of LGBTQ people from Chicago

      • This is a list of notable LGBTQ people from the city and metropolitan area of Chicago, Illinois.


      Activists



      Jane Addams – settlement activist, social reformer, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and co-founder of Chicago's Hull House
      Gaylon Alcaraz – community organizer, activist, and former executive director of the Chicago Abortion Fund
      Lorrainne Sade Baskerville – social worker, activist, and founder of transgender social service agency TransGenesis
      Charlene Carruthers – activist and physical education teacher who director of Black Youth Project 100 and board member of SisterSong
      Shannon Downey – activist and crafter known for her work as a cross-stitcher in craftivism
      Henry Gerber – activist who founded the Society for Human Rights, the first LGBT rights organization in the country
      Vernita Gray – married her wife in Illinois's first same-sex marriage, helped organize Chicago's first pride parade, and helped found Lavender Woman, the city's first lesbian newspaper
      Peg Grey – activist, physical education teacher, and athlete who served as the first woman co-chair of the Federation of Gay Games
      Miss Major Griffin-Gracy – LGBT rights activist and former executive director at the Transgender Gender Variant Intersex Justice Project who was present at the pivotal Stonewall riots in 1969
      Jean Hardisty – activist who founded Political Research Associates and Chicago's first battered women's shelter
      Mary Morten – activist, documentary filmmaker, and author
      Pidgeon Pagonis – advocate for intersex people, documentary filmmaker, and youth leadership coordinator at Advocates for Informed Choice
      Craig Rodwell – gay rights activist known for founding the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop in Greenwich Village, New York
      Ellen Gates Starr – settlement activist, social reformer, and co-founder of Chicago's Hull House with Jane Addams
      Phill Wilson – advocate for people of color with AIDS and former executive director of the Black AIDS Institute


      Aviation and military


      Allen R. Schindler Jr. – U.S. Navy radioman who was murdered by two of his shipmates for being gay
      Amanda Simpson – Airbus Americas vice president, former deputy assistant Secretary of Defense, and the first openly transgender federal political appointee in the United States
      Karen Ulane – transsexual pilot whose firing led to an ultimately unsuccessful 1983 lawsuit against Eastern Airlines under the Civil Rights Act of 1964


      Arts and entertainment




      = Actors

      =

      Alexandra Billings – actor, teacher, and LGBT advocate known for playing Davina on Transparent
      Leyna Bloom – actor, dancer, and model who was the first openly transgender woman of color to appear in Vogue India
      Pat Bond – actor and performer known for appearing in the documentary Word Is Out (1978)
      Megan Cavanagh – played Marla Hooch in A League of Their Own and voiced Judy Neutron in several Jimmy Neutron movies and TV shows
      Parvesh Cheena – actor known for roles in Outsourced and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
      Peter Coffield – actor known for his performance in the film Cry Rape
      Barry Dennen – actor, voice actor, and singer known for playing Pontius Pilate in Jesus Christ Superstar
      Cameron Esposito – actor in and co-creator of the television show Take My Wife, stand-up comedian, and creator of the podcast Queery
      John Franklin – actor who appeared in The Addams Family (1991)
      Kathleen Freeman – character actor known for her work with Jerry Lewis, The Blues Brothers, and Naked Gun 33+1⁄3: The Final Insult
      Garcia – actor and production assistant known for portraying Jake Rodriguez in Tales of the City
      Alexandra Grey – played roles on Empire, Transparent, and MacGyver
      Sean Hayes – actor, comedian, and producer known for his role as Jack McFarland on the sitcom Will & Grace
      Rock Hudson – prominent actor of the 1950s and 60s who portrayed leading roles in movies such as All That Heaven Allows, Magnificent Obsession, and Pillow Talk
      Pepi Lederer – actor, writer, niece of Marion Davies, and daughter of Reine Davies
      Jane Lynch – actor, comedian, and author best known for playing Sue Sylvester on Glee
      Lauren Patten – actor, singer, and writer who originated the character Jo in the musical Jagged Little Pill
      David Pevsner – actor, singer, dancer, and playwright
      Anthony Rapp – actor, writer, director, and photographer known for playing Mark Cohen as part of the original cast of Rent
      Robert Reed – actor best known for portraying Mike Brady in The Brady Bunch
      Brendan Scannell – actor and comedian known for his roles in Bonding and Heathers
      Jussie Smollett – actor and singer known for playing Jamal Lyon on Empire and for allegedly staging a hate crime against himself
      Theo Germaine – actor known for playing James on Netflix's The Politician
      Nico Tortorella – actor and former model known for Scream 4, The Following, and Younger


      = Adult entertainment

      =
      Mia Isabella – transgender porn star
      Scott Masters – gay pornography producer and director who founded Nova Studios
      Dom Orejudos – leather artist, dancer, and choreographer who founded Kris Studios with Chuck Renslow
      Chuck Renslow – gay erotica publisher, businessman, and activist who founded one of the first leather bars in the world with Dom Orejudos


      = Comedians

      =

      Matt Bellassai – comedian, writer, and internet content creator
      Whitney Chitwood – stand-up comedian known for her comedy album The Bakery Case
      Matteo Lane – comedian and singer who starred in MTV's Guy Code and Joking Off
      Paula Pell – comedy writer, producer, and actor best known for her work on Saturday Night Live
      Irene Tu – stand-up comedian, actor, and producer
      Danitra Vance – comedian, actor, and repertory player on Saturday Night Live's eleventh season, the first black woman to hold such a role
      Jaboukie Young-White – stand-up comedian, television writer, and correspondent for The Daily Show


      = Culinary arts

      =
      Art Smith – celebrity chef and founder of Common Threads, a children's charity


      = Dance

      =
      Gerald Arpino – choreographer, artistic director, and dancer who co-founded the Joffrey Ballet with his romantic partner Robert Joffrey
      Brian Friedman – creative director, choreographer, and dancer known for appearing as a judge on So You Think You Can Dance? and for choreographing celebrities' music videos
      Loie Fuller – dancer, actor, and author known for creating the serpentine dance and for her innovations in theatrical lighting
      Craig Hall – ballet dancer, former soloist with the New York City Ballet, and faculty member at the School of American Ballet


      = Drag

      =

      Sister Boom Boom – drag nun and astrologer
      Kim Chi – drag queen, artist, and cosmetics entrepreneur known for appearing on season 8 of RuPaul's Drag Race
      Shea Couleé – drag queen, model, and podcast host who appeared on season 9 of RuPaul's Drag Race
      Denali – drag entertainer and ice skater who appeared on season 13 of RuPaul's Drag Race
      Miss Foozie – drag performer
      Silky Nutmeg Ganache – drag queen who appeared on season 11 of RuPaul's Drag Race
      Gigi Goode – drag queen known for appearing on season 12 of RuPaul's Drag Race
      Gia Gunn – drag performer and competitor on season 6 of RuPaul's Drag Race
      Monica Beverly Hillz – drag queen and transgender advocate known for appearing on season 5 of RuPaul's Drag Race
      Tony Midnite – female impersonator, costume designer, and activist
      The Vixen – drag queen and co-founder of the Black Girl Magic drag show known for appearing on season 10 of RuPaul's Drag Race


      = Film

      =

      Allan Carr – film and theater producer and talent manager
      Bill Damaschke – film producer who served as chief creative officer of DreamWorks Animation and president of animation and family entertainment at Skydance Media
      Angela Robinson – director, producer, and screenwriter known for D.E.B.S.
      Rose Troche – director, producer, writer, and actor who created the film Go Fish, which gave visibility to various aspects of lesbian culture
      The Wachowskis – filmmaker sisters known for The Matrix trilogy
      Aerlyn Weissman – Canadian documentary filmmaker and sound technician known for Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives
      Yvonne Welbon – filmmaker and founder of the nonprofit Sisters in Cinema
      Tanya Wexler – filmmaker behind Hysteria


      = Internet personalities

      =

      Brittany Ashley – actor and stand-up comedian known for her work with BuzzFeed
      Antoine Dodson – internet celebrity, singer, and entrepreneur known for being featured in "Bed Intruder Song"
      Dylan Geick – social media personality, writer, and wrestler


      = Music

      =

      Jeffery Austin – musician known for appearing on season 9 of The Voice
      Patricia Barber – jazz pianist and singer-songwriter
      Keith Barrow – singer-songwriter, entertainer, and son of civil rights activist Willie Barrow
      Taylor Bennett – hip-hop artist and brother of Chance the Rapper
      Terry Blade – singer-songwriter and lyricist
      Big Dipper – rapper and podcast host
      Da Brat – rapper and actor behind Funkdafied, the first rap album by a female artist to go platinum
      Anna DeShawn – American media personality, podcaster, and radio host
      Honey Dijon – D.J. and fashion plate
      K.Flay – singer, songwriter, producer, and rapper known for her debut album Life as a Dog
      Ezra Furman – singer-songwriter and former front person for Ezra Furman and the Harpoons
      Marla Glen – Germany-based singer, actor, songwriter, and leader of the Marla Glen Band who is known for her album This Is Marla Glen
      Laura Jane Grace – punk rock musician, transgender advocate, and author best known for leading the band Against Me!
      Steve Grand – singer-songwriter and model known for his homoerotic country song "All-American Boy"
      Tony Jackson – pianist, singer, and composer known for his song "Pretty Baby"
      Juba Kalamka – musician, hip-hop artist, and co-founder of Deep Dickollective
      Frankie Knuckles – music producer, remixer, and D.J. known as the "Godfather of House" for his contributions to the genre
      Adam Mardel – musician, songwriter, and member of the band Second Alibi
      Octo Octa – house producer and D.J.
      Chuck Panozzo – rock musician and bassist known for founding the band Styx
      Alan Pierson – conductor and artistic director
      Doug Pinnick – bassist and singer for King's X and KXM
      Martin Sorrondeguy – punk musician, documentary filmmaker, and photographer who founded the bands Los Crudos and Limp Wrist
      Lila Star – hip-hop artist, actor, and pageant competitor who is the self-proclaimed "first Latina trans rapper"
      Justin Tranter – songwriter, musician, and activist who has written music for the likes of Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez, and Justin Bieber
      Jim Verraros – singer and actor famous for appearing on the first season of American Idol


      = Photography

      =
      Richard Renaldi – portrait photographer and Guggenheim fellow
      Edmund Teske – photographer
      Tom Bianchi – photographer, artist, and former attorney who specializes in male nude photography


      = Reality television

      =

      Milan Christopher – rapper, actor, and model known for appearing on season 2 of Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood
      Andy Herren – public speaking professor known for winning season 15 of Big Brother
      George Kotsiopoulos – fashion plate and editor of C magazine who was a panelist on the television show Fashion Police
      Law Roach – stylist with celebrity clientele best known for appearing as a judge on Legendary


      = Television

      =

      Paris Barclay – television director, producer, and former president of the Directors Guild of America, the first black and openly gay person to hold that role
      Christopher Cantwell – television producer, director, and writer who co-created the show Halt and Catch Fire
      Robert Greenblatt – former chairman of NBC Entertainment, former chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainment, and the first openly gay broadcast television president
      Brittani Nichols – producer, actor, comedian, and writer known for her film Suicide Kale
      Joey Soloway – director, writer, producer, and filmmaker known for their work with the television show Transparent
      Burr Tillstrom – puppeteer and creator of the popular Kukla, Fran, and Ollie television show
      Lena Waithe – television writer, actor, and producer known for her role on Master of None
      Randall Winston – television producer known for Scrubs and Spin City


      = Theater

      =
      Claudia Allen – playwright and screenwriter known for her lesbian-themed work, including Hannah Free
      Kevin Bellie – former artistic director of Circle Theatre Chicago
      Sharon Bridgforth – playwright, author, activist, and founder of the root wy'mn theatre company
      David Cerda – playwright and producer who founded Hell in a Handbag Productions
      David Cromer – theater director and actor
      Frank Galati – stage director, professor, playwright, and actor
      E. Patrick Johnson – performance studies professor, actor, and author
      Alvina Krause – Northwestern University professor and theatrical director
      Mark Lamos – stage director, administrator, actor, and writer
      Scott McPherson – playwright and actor
      Tanya Saracho – actor and writer for television and the stage, known for co-founding Teatro Luna, Chicago's first all-Latina theatrical troupe


      = Visual arts

      =

      Tom Bachtell – illustrator and caricaturist known for his work with The New Yorker
      Roger Brown – artist and leader in the Chicago Imagist movement
      Edie Fake – alternative comic book author, painter, illustrator, and artist
      Emil Ferris – cartoonist, writer, and artist known for My Favorite Thing Is Monsters
      Harmony Hammond – artist, curator, scholar, and co-founder of A.I.R. Gallery
      Greer Lankton – artist known for her work in the medium of dolls
      Betty G. Miller – artist, deaf advocate, and professor known as the Mother of Deaf View/Image Art
      John Schacht – artist who explored a variety of styles at the edge of Chicago's art scene
      Rupert Kinnard – cartoonist who created the first openly gay African American comic book characters
      Sean – cartoonist and activist known for his illustrated gay erotica


      Business



      Fred Eychaner – chairman of Newsweb Corporation and philanthropist who supports many LGBT causes in Chicago
      Robert Gottschalk – businessman, camera inventor, and founder of Panavision
      Dema Harshbarger – businesswoman and talent manager
      Jennifer Pritzker – member of the prominent Pritzker family, CEO of TAWANI Enterprises, retired U.S. army colonel, and the world's first transgender billionaire


      Education


      John D'Emilio – professor, LGBT historian, writer, and activist
      J. Michael Durnil – president of the Simon Youth Foundation, former senior vice president of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, and former administrator at Roosevelt University
      Jeannette Howard Foster – librarian, professor, researcher, and pioneer in the study of lesbian literature
      Sarah Hoagland – professor and author
      Tonda L. Hughes – researcher and professor known for contributing to the field of LGBT women's healthcare
      Marie J. Kuda – historian, writer, and publisher of Chicago LGBT culture
      Charles R. Middleton – historian, educator, and the president of Roosevelt University, making him the first openly gay major university president in the country
      Althea Warren – librarian who headed the San Diego Public Library, the Los Angeles Public Library, the California Library Association, and the American Library Association


      Felons


      Nicole Abusharif – Villa Park resident convicted of murdering Rebecca Klein, her same-sex domestic partner
      John Wayne Gacy – serial killer and sex offender who sometimes made appearances as "Pogo the Clown" prior to his apprehension, conviction, and execution
      Michelle Kosilek – convicted murderer who unsuccessfully and repeatedly sued the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for sex reassignment surgery


      Philanthropy and nonprofits



      Robert Allerton – philanthropist and son of stockyard magnate Samuel W. Allerton who patronized the Art Institute of Chicago and the Honolulu Academy of the Arts and whose name is borne by green spaces in Hawaii and Illinois.
      David Bohnett – philanthropist and founder of GeoCities who has funded many programs for the advancement of LGBT people
      Marty Mann – public health pioneer, founder of the National Council on Alcoholism, and one of the first women to embrace Alcoholics Anonymous
      Laura Ricketts – board member of Lambda Legal and co-owner of the Chicago Cubs
      Mary Rozet Smith – philanthropist and companion of Jane Addams who helped fund Chicago's Hull House


      Politics and law



      Kelvin Atkinson – former Nevada state Assemblyman, state Senator, and state Senate majority leader who resigned amid a campaign finance scandal that ultimately led to his conviction and imprisonment.
      James Cappleman – politician serving as alderman for Chicago's 46th ward
      Kelly Cassidy – politician and activist who represents the 14th district in the Illinois House of Representatives
      Thomas R. Chiola – former Cook County Circuit Court judge and the first openly gay elected official in Illinois
      Phillipe Cunningham – Minneapolis city councillor among the first openly transgender men to be elected to office in the United States
      Jay Paul Deratany – lawyer, LGBT advocate, filmmaker, and playwright
      Maria Hadden – politician and activist serving as alderman for Chicago's 49th ward, the first openly gay black woman to serve on the city council
      Renee C. Hanover – attorney and LGBT rights activist, believed to be the first openly lesbian lawyer in the United States
      Greg Harris – member of the Illinois House of Representatives and the state's first openly gay House majority leader
      Pearl M. Hart – attorney, activist, professor, and political candidate who focused on defending the rights of children, women, immigrants, and LGBT people
      Patricia Ireland – attorney, activist, and former president of the National Organization for Women
      Lotta Hetler James – civic worker, candidate for governor of California, and community member active in child welfare, women's clubs, and education in Hanford, California
      Andrea Jenkins – politician, performance artist, poet, activist, and former political aide who was elected to the Minneapolis City Council in 2017, making her the first openly transgender black woman to be elected to public office in the United States
      William B. Kelley – lawyer and gay activist
      Jim Kolbe – former United States Representative and second openly gay Republican member of Congress
      Lori Lightfoot – politician and attorney currently who served as the 56th Mayor of Chicago, the first black lesbian person to hold that office
      Raymond Lopez – politician serving as alderman for Chicago's 15th ward
      Larry McKeon – member of the Illinois House of Representatives and gay activist who was the state's first openly gay legislator
      Carlos Ramirez-Rosa – politician and Chicago's first openly gay Latino alderman
      Judith Rice – politician and Cook County Circuit Court judge who previously served as the City Treasurer of Chicago
      Mary M. Rowland – federal judge for the Northern District of Illinois
      Tom Tunney – politician and restaurateur who is the vice mayor of Chicago and an alderman on the Chicago City Council
      Mary Yu – justice on the Washington Supreme Court, the first Asian-American, Latina, and openly gay person to serve on the panel


      Religion


      Robert Carter – Jesuit priest and gay rights activist
      Clarence H. Cobbs – head of the spiritualist First Church of Deliverance, Bronzeville community leader, and radio broadcaster


      Science and technology



      Robert Cabaj – psychiatrist, scholar, and author who served as president of the Association of LGBTQ Psychiatrists and the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association
      E. Kitch Childs – clinical psychologist and LGBT rights activist
      Coraline Ada Ehmke – software developer, open source advocate, and writer
      Arlene Halko – medical physicist and gay rights advocate
      Gretchen Kalonji – materials scientist, professor, and academic administrator
      Jessica Mink – astronomer, software developer, and data archivist who works at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
      Carlos T. Mock – physician, writer, and advocate
      Adrienne J. Smith – psychologist and LGBT rights advocate
      Carl G. Streed – physician, medical professor, researcher, and LGBT advocate


      Sports



      Jason Brown – figure skater who was the 2015 U.S. national champion
      Terry Donahue – professional baseball player who played for the Peoria Redwings
      Robert Dover – equestrian and the first openly gay Olympic athlete
      Fallon Fox – retired mixed martial arts fighter, the first known transgender person to compete in the sport
      Regina George – Nigerian sprinter and Olympic athlete
      Timothy Goebel – former Olympic figure skater and the first person to perform a four-revolution jump in competition
      Hurley Haywood – former race car driver, author, and driving instructor
      Billie Jean King – former professional tennis player and LGBT rights advocate
      David Kopay – former NFL football player who was one of the first professional athletes to come out as gay
      Chris Mosier – triathlete and transgender rights activist
      Judy Sowinski – roller derby skater and coach


      Writers



      Margaret C. Anderson – founder and editor of the literary magazine The Little Review, author, and partner of Jane Heap
      Rane Arroyo – poet, playwright, and creative writing professor at the University of Toledo
      Allen Barnett – author and co-founder of GLAAD who wrote The Body and Its Dangers, a collection of short stories on gay life and the AIDS epidemic
      Jay Bell – writer and author of the Something Like... series
      Barrie Jean Borich – writer known for authoring My Lesbian Husband
      Alice Hastings Bradley – science fiction author who wrote under the pseudonym James Tiptree Jr.
      Marlon Brando – Oscar-winning actor who appeared in The Godfather and A Streetcar Named Desire
      Mike Connolly – columnist for The Hollywood Reporter
      Jon-Henri Damski – writer, columnist, and advocate who documented and reported on LGBT culture in Chicago
      St. Sukie de la Croix – author, columnist, and playwright
      Patrick Dennis – author known for writing Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade
      Henry Blake Fuller – author and short story writer whose controversial Bertram Cope's Year was the first mainstream novel to include a gay relationship
      Judith Palache Gregory – writer, permaculturalist, and educator who served as editor of The Catholic Worker
      David M. Halperin – professor, author, and co-founder of GLQ who wrote One Hundred Years of Homosexuality and Before Pastoral
      Lorraine Hansberry – writer and playwright who penned A Raisin in the Sun, the first Broadway production written by a black woman
      Jane Heap – editor of The Little Review, writer, artist, and partner of Margaret C. Anderson
      Samantha Irby – comedian, blogger, and author of We Are Never Meeting In Real Life and Wow, No Thank You.
      Christina Kahrl – sports journalist and LGBT advocate who co-founded Baseball Prospectus
      Daniel M. Lavery – writer, author, and co-founder of The Toast
      Willard Motley – author and journalist most famous for writing Knock on Any Door
      Ifti Nasim – poet, radio host, and activist whose homosexuality-themed poetry was the first of its kind in the Urdu language
      Achy Obejas – author, poet, journalist, and translator
      Suze Orman – financial advisor and author known for her CNBC show and television appearances
      Andrew Patner – journalist, interviewer, and critic active in print, broadcast, and electronic media
      Torrey Peters – writer, author of Detransition, Baby, and one of the first trans women to be published by a "Big Five" publisher
      Riley Redgate – young adult author of Seven Ways We Lie and Final Draft
      Frank M. Robinson – science fiction writer and friend of Harvey Milk's known for authoring The Dark Beyond the Stars and The Glass Inferno
      Robert Rodi – novelist, comedian, critic, and comic book writer
      Dan Savage – writer and activist known for his sex advice column Savage Love and for creating the It Gets Better Project
      James Schuyler – poet who won a Pulitzer Prize for his 1980 collection The Morning of the Poem
      Randy Shilts – journalist and author whose book And the Band Played On garnered acclaim for documenting the AIDS epidemic
      Valerie Taylor – writer and activist popular for penning lesbian fiction
      Edmund White – novelist, biographer, professor, and critic best known for writing A Boy's Own Story
      Mary Wings – comic book author and illustrator known for Come Out Comix, the first lesbian underground comic


      See also



      Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame


      References

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