Stars From The '70s Who Came Out As Part Of The LGBTQIA+ Community

The LGBTQIA+ community began to publicly blossom in the 1970s after a series of monumental events in the late '60s. The Sexual Offences Act of 1967, for instance, declared that same-sex activity was legal in England and Wales, given that both people consented and were over 21. In the summer of 1969, the Stonewall uprising left an unforgettable mark on New York City — and the rest of the world.

Before the 1970s, most celebrities who identified as LGBTQIA+ kept it to themselves or an extremely close circle in fear of rejection or banishment; until 1973, homosexuality was classified as a mental illness by the American Psychiatric Association. After the Stonewall uprising, however, more prolific figures began to not just embrace their sexuality but proudly share it with the world.

Not every '70s celebrity who identifies (or identified) as part of the LGBTQIA+ community came out during that decade. Some people waited until much later in life to announce their sexual identity; others either backtracked on earlier admissions made, or chose not to address them at all when questioned. These famous people from the '70s, no matter how or when they chose to come out, all have a few important characteristics in common: honesty, bravery, and courage.

Elton John solidified himself as one of the world's most unforgettable singer-songwriters in the 1970s. As a solo artist, John released a slew of successful albums throughout the decade, including "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" (1973) and "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" (1975). John has written too many songs to properly list at this point, but smash hits from the '70s include "Tiny Dancer" and "Your Song," an iconic Elton John ballad reportedly written in mere minutes. 

John announced that he was bisexual in a 1976 interview with Rolling Stone. At the time, he hypothesized, "I think everybody's bisexual to a certain degree. I don't think it's just me." Years later, in 1992, John told Rolling Stone that he was actually gay and felt "quite comfortable" being so (via Variety).

John met David Furnish, a Canadian businessman turned filmmaker, in 1993 at a dinner party; they hit it off immediately, and the rest, as they say, is history. John and Furnish entered into a civic partnership in December 2005. When same-sex marriage became legalized in England and Wales in 2014, the duo applied to be retroactively married. As of 2026, they primarily reside in England with their two sons, whom they welcomed in 2010 and 2013.

Graham Chapman was a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. "Monty Python's Flying Circus" premiered in 1969 and the group steadily increased in popularity and favor as the 1970s progressed. By the end of the decade, the group had released two standout comedy movies that are still heavily quoted today: "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (1975) and "Monty Python's Life of Brian" (1979). 

Chapman publicly revealed he was gay in 1972 during a TV interview with British jazz singer George Melly. "We should all just love each other and do it in our own way. That's the only thing that's important," Chapman said at the time (via YouTube).

Chapman met David Sherlock in 1966. The two became a couple not long after, and in 1967, Chapman divulged his relationship status and sexual orientation to the other members of Monty Python. Chapman and Sherlock adopted a teenager, John Tomiczek, in 1971, and Tomiczek became Chapman's manager as an adult. Chapman died from cancer in 1989 age 48.

David Bowie was a musical chameleon in the 1970s. During the decade, the avant-garde superstar released more than 10 albums, including "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" (1972) and "Station to Station" (1976). These albums were each promoted with their own physical appearance and distinctive sound, which solidified Bowie's adaptability. 

Bowie came out as bisexual twice in the 1970s: the first admittance was in a 1972 interview with Melody Maker, while the second was to Playboy in 1976. In 1983, however, Bowie told Rolling Stone, "The biggest mistake I ever made [was telling] that Melody Maker writer that I was bisexual. Christ, I was so young then. I was experimenting." In 2002, Bowie confirmed that he was bisexual. He told Blender magazine, "I had no problem with people knowing I was bisexual. But I had no inclination to hold any banners or be a representative of any group of people."

Bowie was married twice and fathered two children. From 1970 to 1980, he was married to actor/model/journalist Angela Barnett, and welcomed son Duncan Jones in 1971. In 2000, David Bowie's second child, Alexandria, was born to his second wife, Somali-American supermodel Iman, whom he married in 1992. The couple remained together until Bowie's death from liver cancer on January 10, 2016. 

In the 1970s, decades before Ian McKellen appeared in "The Lord of the Rings" and almost starred in the "Harry Potter" franchise, he gained attention for his impact on British theatre. With The Actors Company, McKellen directed "A Private Matter" (1973) and starred in William Shakespeare's "King Lear" (1974). McKellen then joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and starred in productions of "King John" and Bernard Shaw's "Too Good to be True." 

McKellen announced he was gay on January 27, 1988. At the time, he was a part of a live radio debate about the 1988 Local Government Bill, which would've made it illegal to "promote homosexuality" (via Ian McKellen). "That I had actually come out probably surprised me more than my being gay can have shocked any listener who knew my work," McKellen told Capital Gay magazine in December that year, per his website. "I learnt that coming out was crucial to self esteem." Ian McKellen, who turned 87 in 2026, has never married and has no children.

Richard Chamberlain's career was in full swing by the 1970s. On screen, Chamberlain starred in movies like "The Three Musketeers" (1973) and "The Man in the Iron Mask" (1977). As a stage performer, Chamberlain was nominated for two Drama Desk Awards for his roles in "The Night of the Iguana" and "Fathers and Sons."

Chamberlain was initially outed as gay in 1989, when a French magazine, Nous Deux, reported that he was in a relationship with Martin Rabbett. Chamberlain did not address his sexuality until he was 69 years old in 2003, by confirming he was gay in his memoir, "Shattered Love." In 2022, he admitted to Fox News, "I would've been a happier person to be out and free and all that," although he added, "I already had so much to be happy about." Richard Chamberlain died from a stroke on March 29, 2025, at 90. Chamberlain never married and had no children.

George Takei was a busy man in the 1970s. He took on a number of acting roles, although it was his performance as Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu on "Star Trek" that helped propel him to the level of stardom he's known for today. Outside of acting, Takei was politically involved in the early 1970s, including a prospective time as a California delegate for the 1972 Democratic National Convention. 

In November 2005, at 68, Takei announced he was gay. At the time, he told Frontiers editor Alexander Cho that he was inspired to come out after California's governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, vetoed same-sex marriage; Takei was in a relationship with Brad Altman, whom he first met in the 1980s. "His decision to come out was both deeply personal and deeply political," Cho told The Current 20 years later in 2025. 

Takei and Altman eventually got married on September 14, 2008. They appeared on the game show "The Newlywed Game" in 2009 and ultimately became the first same-sex partners to win, solidifying themselves as a beautiful couple that proves love has no boundaries. 

In the wise words of Wendy Williams, Freddie Mercury was an icon, a legend, and the moment in the 1970s. As the frontman of Queen, Freddie Mercury amassed a surprising net worth and wrote some of the most remarkable songs in history like, "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Are the Champions." From 1969 to 1976, Mercury was in a relationship with Mary Austin and referred to her as his common-law wife.

According to Austin, her relationship with Mercury ended when he confessed he was bisexual. "I do remember saying to him at the time, 'No Freddie, I don't think you are bisexual. I think you are gay,'" Austin told the Daily Mail (via The Standard) in 2013. In 1985, Mercury met and started dating Jim Hutton, an Irish hairdresser. They lived together and reportedly wore matching wedding bands. Mercury also referred to Hutton as his husband. 

Freddie Mercury died from pneumonia, a complication of HIV/AIDS, on November 24, 1991 at 45. He was never legally married and did not father any confirmed children, although allegations of a secret child emerged in 2025.

Former professional tennis player Billie Jean King was a powerhouse in the 1960s and '70s. In 1973, King made headlines when she defeated Bobby Riggs in a highly publicized "Battle of the Sexes" match. King founded two major organizations around the same time: the Women's Tennis Association and the Women's Sports Foundation. 

King was forced to come out as gay in 1981 after a secret relationship with Marilyn Barnett turned sour. Barnett, who worked as King's personal assistant, filed a palimony lawsuit and threatened to publicly release details, such as letters, from their time together. "I said: 'I'm going to do it. I don't care. This is important to me to tell the truth,'" King reflected to NBC News in 2017.

King was married to sports promoter Larry King from 1965 to 1987. She has been married to another former professional tennis player, Ilana Kloss, since 2018. They met in 1966 and started dating after the Kings' divorce was finalized. 

In the 1970s, Martina Navratilova was laying down her roots to become an eventual tennis superstar. Originally from the Czech Republic (then-communist Czechoslovakia), Navratilova won her first tournament in 1974 and went on to win her first Wimbledon in 1978. 

In 1975, when she was 18 years old, the United States granted Navratilova political asylum. Shortly after she obtained citizenship in 1981, Navratilova told the New York Daily News that she was bisexual. The tennis player asked them to hold the interview until she was ready to go public, but they published it anyway. "At the time, I wasn't trying to make a political statement; I wanted to be true to myself. If I couldn't face my fear, how could I face my opponents?" Navratilova wrote for Pride Source's Between The Lines in 2006.

Martina Navratilova married Julia Lemigova in December 2014, and adopted two children in 2024. Lemigova, a former beauty pageant competitor and model, joined "The Real Housewives of Miami" in 2021. Navratilova made frequent appearances until the series went on hiatus in 2026. 

Harvey Milk, who served on California's San Francisco Board of Supervisors in the late 1970s, was one of the United States' first openly gay politicians. During his time in office, Milk was a prominent gay rights activist and proposed bills like the 1978 Human Rights Ordinance. Milk was also one of the men behind the LGBTQ+ rainbow flag. In 1978, Milk commissioned Gilbert Baker to design the iconic symbol, which became a nationally recognized staple by the 1990s. 

Milk didn't come out as gay during any particular moment. Instead, he publicly embraced being gay and decided to live openly and authentically after he moved to the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco with his partner, Scott Smith; they were together for seven years. "It takes no compromise to give people their rights. It takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no political deal to give people freedom. It takes no survey to remove repression," Milk once said (via SFGMC). Harvey Milk was assassinated on November 27, 1978. He never married and had no children. In 2009, President Barack Obama awarded him a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Clive Davis was a full-fledged musical moneymaker by the 1970s, having served as the president of Columbia Records from 1967 to 1973. He went on to establish Arista Records, which he oversaw from 1974 to 2000. At the time of writing, Davis, who turned 94 in 2026, serves as the chief creative officer at Sony Music.

Davis revealed he was bisexual in 2013, at aged 80, in his memoir, "The Soundtrack of My Life." "After my second marriage failed ... I just found that I would open myself up to the possibility of a relationship based on the person and not on gender," he told Rolling Stone (via 92NY) ahead of its release. "It was frankly intimidating in the sense that the adage is true...nobody believes in it. You're either gay or straight or you're lying."

Davis has been married twice and has four children. His first marriage to Helen Cohen lasted from 1956 to 1965 and produced two children. He had his two other children with his second wife, Janet Adelberg. They were married from 1965 to 1985. 

Jodie Foster's stunning transformation from a bright-eyed child actor to an ultra-successful adult means that she's been a hot topic plenty of times over the decades. In the 1970s, Foster starred in two Martin Scorsese movies: "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" (1974) and the critically acclaimed "Taxi Driver" (1976).

Up until the 2010s, Foster didn't try to completely hide her sexuality, but she wasn't open about it, either. Foster was in a known relationship with Cydney Bernard from 1993 to 2008, but they chose to avoid photographs and public events together; they had two children in 1998 and 2001. 

Foster publicly confirmed that she was gay at the 2013 Golden Globes during her acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille Award. "I already did my coming out about a thousand years ago back in the Stone Age, in those very quaint days when a fragile young girl would open up to trusted friends and family and co-workers and then gradually, proudly to everyone who knew her, to everyone she actually met," Foster said (via YouTube). Foster has been married to photographer and "L Word" actor Alexandra Hedison since 2014. 

Joel Grey's career started in the 1950s, but it wasn't until the 1970s that he shot to international fame. In 1972, Grey starred in Bob Fosse's movie adaptation of "Cabaret" as the master of ceremonies, and his performance earned him the 1973 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. While Grey has starred in plenty of movies since, he's best known for his theater contributions. Grey has appeared in productions of "Cabaret," "Chicago," "Anything Goes," and "The Cherry Orchard."

Grey married Jo Wilder in 1958 and had two children, "Dirty Dancing" star Jennifer Grey and chef James Katz. The couple divorced in 1982. In 2016, Joel Grey told Playbill, "I was totally in love with her. We were living totally a heterosexual life. I made a decision what I wanted in life: a family and a career." Grey came out to People the year before in 2015, when he was 82 years old. "I don't like labels, but if you have to put a label on it, I'm a gay man," he said.