List Of Lgbt People From New York City

It is home to one of the world's largest and most prominent LGBTQ populations. LGBT Americans in New York City constitute the largest self-identifying lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities by a significant margin in the United States. Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan was the site of the 1969 Stonewall uprising, and then spawned several foundational organizations in the emerging gay liberation movement. These events are widely considered to be crucial to the founding of the modern gay rights movement in the United States, as well as having worldwide impact. As of 2005, New York City was home to an estimated 272,493 self-identifying gay and bisexual individuals. The New York metropolitan area had an estimated 568,903 self-identifying LGBT residents. New York City is also home to the largest transgender population in the United States, estimated at 50,000 in 2018, concentrated in Manhattan and Queens.

Brian Silverman, the author of Frommer's New York City from $90 a Day, writes that the city has "one of the world's largest, loudest, and most powerful LGBT communities", and "Gay and lesbian culture is as much a part of New York's basic identity as yellow cabs, high-rises, and Broadway theatre". LGBT travel guide Queer in the World states, "The fabulosity of Gay New York is unrivaled on Earth, and queer culture seeps into every corner of its five boroughs". In 2022, LGBT advocate and entertainer Madonna stated metaphorically, "Anyways, not only is New York City the best place in the world because of the queer people here. Let me tell you something, if you can make it here, then you must be queer"/ Comedian Jerrod Carmichael joked, "That's actually why I live here... if you say you're gay in New York, you can ride the bus for free and they just give you free pizza; if you say you're gay in New York, you get to host Saturday Night Live. This is the gayest thing you can possibly do. We're basically in an Andy Warhol fever dream right now." In 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced a billboard campaign to woo Floridians to a significantly more supportive environment for LGBTQ+ residents in New York.

The following represents a partial list of notable LGBT New Yorkers.

List of LGBT New Yorkers

Architecture

Charles Renfro – architect, partner at Diller Scofidio + Renfro, faculty member at School of Visual Arts

Academia and research

Andrew Dolkart – co-founder, NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project; professor, historic preservation, Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP)
Kevin Nadal – professor of psychology and researcher at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and The Graduate Center of the City University of New York

Aviation and military

Robina Asti – late navy pilot who ran reconnaissance missions out of Midway Island in World War II. Born in Queens and a longtime Manhattan resident, Asti transitioned post-war, and remained a pilot her whole life. She became the Guinness world record holder for oldest active flight instructor in 2020 when she was 99.

Dance

Bill T. Jones – dancer and choreographer
Shen Wei – choreographer, artist, and director

Entrepreneurship and technology

Eva Kotchever – founder of Eve's Hangout in Greenwich Village, deported to Europe and assassinated at Auschwitz
Bradford Shellhammer – entrepreneur and designer, founding editor of Queerty
Joel Spolsky – software engineer

Fashion

Design

Thom Browne – fashion designer
Drew Elliott – creative director and consultant
Prabal Gurung – fashion designer
Marc Jacobs – fashion designer
Calvin Klein – fashion designer
Michael Kors – fashion designer
Derek Lam – fashion designer
Humberto Leon – fashion designer
Phillip Lim – fashion designer
Isaac Mizrahi – fashion designer
Todd Oldham – fashion designer
Zac Posen – fashion designer
Christian Siriano – fashion designer
Alexander Wang – fashion designer
Jason Wu – fashion designer

Modeling

J. Alexander – model and fashion designer
Leyna Bloom – fashion model and transgender activist
Cara Delevingne – supermodel and actress
Peche Di – transgender model; started the first transgender modeling agency in the U.S., in New York City
Dilone – model
Rain Dove – model and activist
Shay Neary – transgender model, the first transgender plus-size model featured in a major fashion campaign
Yasmine Petty – transgender model
Aaron Philip – transgender model
Teddy Quinlivan – transgender model
Miriam Rivera – late transgender model and the first openly trans reality television star
Geena Rocero – supermodel and transgender activist
Abby Stein – transgender model and rabbi

Film and television

Desiree Akhavan – film director, producer, and screenwriter
Ted Allen – television personality and author
Casper Andreas – director, writer, and actor
Brian Balthazar – co-executive producer, The View
Sandra Bernhard – actress, singer, and author
Matt Bomer – actor and director
Joel Kim Booster – actor, comedian, producer, and writer
Jerrod Carmichael – actor, comedian, and filmmaker
Candis Cayne – transgender actress
Margaret Cho – multi-hyphenate entertainer and social activist
Bill Condon – director, screenwriter, and producer
Laverne Cox – transgender actress
Lee Daniels – director, screenwriter, and producer
Casey Donovan – late gay pornography actor
Billy Eichner – actor, comedian, and writer
Fredrik Eklund – real estate broker, co-star of Million Dollar Listing New York
Rodney Evans – director and screenwriter
Frankie Grande – television personality, co-host of Style Code Live
Tim Gunn – fashion consultant, television personality and actor
Dominique Jackson – transgender actress and model
Punkie Johnson – actress, comedian, writer, Saturday Night Live
Jari Jones – transgender filmmaker and producer
Michael Patrick King – director, writer, and producer
Carson Kressley – television personality, former host of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
John Krokidas – director, writer, and producer
Jennie Livingston – documentary filmmaker
Chella Man – artist, actor, and transgender model
Rob Marshall – director, choreographer and producer
Kate McKinnon – comedian, actor
John Cameron Mitchell – director, writer, and actor
Janet Mock – TV host, writer, and transgender rights activist
Indya Moore – transgender actor and model
Lauren Morelli – screenwriter
Cynthia Nixon – actress
Wolé Parks – actor
Stacie Passon – director, screenwriter, and producer
Kal Penn – actor
Patrik-Ian Polk – director, screenwriter, and producer
Antoni Porowski – television personality, cook, actor, model, and author
Zachary Quinto – actor and producer
Dee Rees – director, screenwriter, and producer
Erik Rhodes (James Elliott Naughtin) – late gay pornography actor, amateur bodybuilder
Yoruba Richen – documentary filmmaker
Michaela Jaé Rodriguez – transgender actress
Harmony Santana – transgender actress
Greta Schiller – documentary filmmaker
Jonathan Van Ness – non-binary television personality
John Waters – director, actor, and writer
Rutina Wesley – actress
Samira Wiley – actress and model
Bowen Yang – writer and actor, Saturday Night Live

Law

Roy Cohn – late closeted lawyer who prosecuted those accused of being homosexuals and communists during the Lavender scare and Second Red Scare
Paul Feinman – first openly gay judge confirmed to the New York State Court of Appeals, in June 2017

Literature

Hilton Als – writer and theater critic
Ellis Avery – late author
James Baldwin – late novelist, playwright, essayist, poet, and activist
James Beard – late culinary author and chef
Bruce Benderson – author
Jennifer Finney Boylan – trans author and journalist
Augusten Burroughs – author, memoirist
Regie Cabico – poet and spoken-word artist
Michael Cunningham – author
Samuel R. Delany – author
Nicole Dennis-Benn – author
Thomas M. Disch – late author
Mark Doty – poet and memoirist
Martin Duberman – biographer and historian
Cyrus Grace Dunham – author
David Ebershoff – author and editor
Allen Ginsberg – late poet, philosopher, and writer
Paul Lisicky – author and memoirist
Jaime Manrique – poet, essayist, and translator
Eric Marcus – author
Darnell L. Moore – author
Lesléa Newman – author and editor
Frank O'Hara – late New York School (art) poet
Rakesh Satyal – author
Ariel Schrag – cartoonist and television writer
Sarah Schulman – author
Charles Silverstein – author, therapist, and gay activist
Susan Sontag – late writer, filmmaker, philosopher, teacher, and political activist
Colm Tóibín – author, journalist, critic
Edmund White – author, critic, and memoirist

Media

Jack Anderson – late dance critic and author
Rose Arce – journalist and producer
Michael Ausiello – journalist, multiple media platforms
Josh Barro – journalist and senior editor, Business Insider
Keith Boykin – syndicated columnist
Ben Brantley – journalist and chief theater critic, The New York Times
Kristen Browde – journalist, formerly of NBC 4 News and CBS News, and attorney
Frank Bruni – journalist and op-ed columnist, The New York Times
Sam Champion – meteorologist and television weather anchor
Andy Cohen – television personality
Anderson Cooper – journalist and television anchor, CNN
Angela Dimayuga – food critic for The New York Times, chef
George Dorris – editor and writer
David W. Dunlap – journalist, The New York Times
Ronan Farrow – journalist and lawyer
Stephanie Gosk – journalist, NBC News
Perez Hilton – blogger
Sally Kohn – journalist, political commentator
Steve Kornacki – writer and political correspondent with NBC News
Don Lemon – journalist and television anchor, CNN
Bryan Llenas – journalist, Fox News
Michael Lucas – journalist, The Advocate and HuffPost; director, businessman, actor, and activist
Rachel Maddow – journalist and television anchor, MSNBC
Stephen Morgan – meteorologist, Fox Weather
Adam Moss – writer and editor, New York magazine
Michael Musto – journalist
Jim Nelson – editor, GQ magazine
Rosie O'Donnell – television personality
Richard Quest – journalist, CNN International
Robin Roberts – journalist and television anchor, Good Morning America
Thomas Roberts – TV journalist and news anchor
Steven Romo – anchor, NBC News, MSNBC
Dave Rubin – political commentator, YouTube personality, talk show host, and author
Nate Silver – writer, statistician, and founder/editor of FiveThirtyEight
Shepard Smith – journalist and anchor, formerly of FOX News and CNBC
André Leon Talley – late fashion journalist, Vogue
Andy Towle – blogger, political commentator, and founder of Towleroad
Jann Wenner – co-founder and publisher, Rolling Stone
Jenna Wolfe – journalist and TV news host

Music

Adult Mom – singer and songwriter
Michael Alig – late musician, club promoter, convicted murderer
Angel Haze – rapper and songwriter
Azealia Banks – rapper/singer
Mykki Blanco – transgender rapper, performance artist, poet, and activist
Mal Blum – singer and songwriter
Dai Burger – rapper
Cakes da Killa – rapper
Cardi B – rapper
Cazwell – rapper
DJ Keoki – electronic musician
Frankie Knuckles – late house DJ and producer
House of Ladosha – rap duo (Antonio Blair and Adam Radakovich) and artistic collective
Lady Gaga – singer and songwriter
Le1f – rapper and producer
Larry Levan – late, pioneering house DJ and producer
Stephin Merritt – musician and songwriter with The Magnetic Fields, writer of the music and lyrics of Coraline
Jonte' Moaning – singer, songwriter, dancer, and choreographer
Princess Nokia – rapper and musician
Jake Shears – singer and songwriter
Will Sheridan – singer and musician
St. Vincent – singer-songwriter, musician
Brad Walsh – singer and music producer

Nightlife

Ballroom

Erickatoure Aviance – ballroom performer (House of Aviance)
Kevin Aviance – drag queen, musician, and performance artist (House of Aviance)
Mother Juan Aviance – ballroom performer (founder of the House of Aviance)
Crystal LaBeija – late drag queen (founder of the House of LaBeija)
Pepper LaBeija – late drag queen and fashion designer (House of LaBeija)
Leiomy Maldonado – transgender ballroom performer (House of Amazon)
Willi Ninja – late ballroom performer known as "the godfather of voguing" (founder of the House of Ninja)
Hector Xtravaganza – late dancer, choreographer, and voguer (House of Xtravaganza)
Venus Xtravaganza – late transgender performer and voguer (House of Xtravaganza)

Drag

Acid Betty – drag queen (contestant on the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race)
Aja – drag queen (contestant on the ninth season of RuPaul's Drag Race) and rapper
Alexis Michelle – singer and drag queen (contestant on the ninth season of RuPaul's Drag Race)
Aquaria – drag queen and performance artist (winner of the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race)
Joey Arias – drag queen and performance artist
Bianca Del Rio – drag queen (winner of the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race)
Bob the Drag Queen – drag queen and performance artist (winner of the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race)
Lee Brewster – late drag queen, homophile, transvestite activist, founder of Queens Liberation Front
Brita Filter – drag queen (contestant on the twelfth season of RuPaul's Drag Race), actor, and star of Shade: Queens of NYC
Dallas DuBois – former drag queen
Dusty Ray Bottoms
Hedda Lettuce – drag queen and singer
Honey Davenport – activist, singer, and drag queen (contestant on the eleventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race)
Jackie Cox – drag queen (contestant on the twelfth season of RuPaul's Drag Race)
Jan Sport – drag queen (contestant on the twelfth season of RuPaul's Drag Race)
Jasmine Kennedie – drag queen (contestant on the fourteenth season of "Rupaul's Drag Race" )
Jiggly Caliente – transgender singer, actress, activist, and drag queen (contestant on the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race)
Kandy Muse – drag queen, contestant on the thirteenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race
Lady Bunny – drag queen and founder Wigstock event
Lypsinka – drag queen, writer, musician, and performance artist
Manila Luzon – drag queen (contestant on the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race and the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars)
Milk – drag performer (contestant on the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race) and fashion model
Miss Fame – drag queen (contestant on the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race)
Miz Cracker – drag queen (contestant on the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race)
Monét X Change – drag queen (winner of the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars)
Murray Hill – drag king and performance artist
Paige Turner – drag performer and star of Shade: Queens of NYC
Pearl – drag queen (contestant on the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race)
Peppermint – drag queen (contestant on the ninth season of RuPaul's Drag Race) and star of Head Over Heels
Rosé – drag queen, contestant on the thirteenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race
RuPaul – drag queen and star of the RuPaul's Drag Race series
Sahara Davenport – late singer and drag queen (contestant on the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race)
Sasha Velour – drag performer (winner of the ninth season of RuPaul's Drag Race)
Shequida – drag artist, writer, and opera singer
Sherry Vine – drag queen and musician
Shuga Cain – drag queen (contestant on the eleventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race)
Tina Burner – drag queen (contestant on the thirteenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race and star of Shade: Queens of NYC)
Yuhua Hamasaki – drag queen (contestant on the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race)

Other

Juliana Huxtable – transgender performer, artist, and writer
Amanda Lepore – transgender performance artist
Klaus Nomi – late countertenor and nightlife performance artist

Politics

Erik Bottcher – member of the New York City Council (January 2022 to present)
Tiffany Caban – elected to the New York City Council representing western Queens (2022 to present)
David Carr – first openly gay Republican member of the New York City Council
Daniel Dromm – member of the New York City Council (January 2010 to January 2022)
Thomas Duane – the first openly gay member of the New York State Senate, in which he served from 1999 to 2012 and former New York City Council member (1991 to 1999)
Sarah Kate Ellis – CEO, GLAAD
Deborah J. Glick – member of the New York State Assembly, the 66th Assembly District in Manhattan (1991–present)
Brad Hoylman – Democratic Senator for the New York State Senate in Manhattan's 27th district (2012–present)
Crystal Hudson – elected to the New York City Council representing Brooklyn (2022 to the present)
Corey Johnson – Speaker of the New York City Council (January 2018 to January 2022) and member of the NYC Council (January 2014 to January 2022)
Kristin Richardson Jordan – elected to the New York City Council representing northern Manhattan (2022 to present)
Ed Koch – late Mayor of New York City, 1978 to 1989
Margarita López – first openly lesbian and female Puerto Rican elected to the New York City Council, serving from 1998 through 2006
Carlos Menchaca – member of the New York City Council (January 2014 to January 2022) and first Mexican American elected to a statewide New York political office
Rosie Méndez – member of the New York City Council (January 2006– January 2018)
Daniel J. O'Donnell – first openly gay male elected as a member of the New York State Assembly (January 2002 to present), the 69th district in Manhattan
Chi Ossé – youngest ever member of the New York City Council to be elected, in 2021 at age 23
Antonio Pagán – first openly gay male and Puerto Rican elected to the New York City Council, serving from 1994 through 1998; former New York City Commissioner of Small Businesses (1998–2002)
Christine Quinn – first female and first openly lesbian or gay Speaker of the New York City Council (January 2006 to January 2014) and member of NYC Council (1999 to 2014)
Phil Reed – first openly gay male and African American elected to the New York City Council (1998–2006)
George Santos – U.S. congressman from New York's 3rd district (2023–2023)
Matthew Titone – elected Richmond County Surrogate Court Judge of Staten Island in 2018 and member of the New York State Assembly (2006 to 2018) from the 61st District, on Staten Island
Ritchie Torres – U.S. congressman from New York's 15th district (2019–present); City Councilor (2014–2019)
James Vacca – former member of the New York City Council
Jimmy Van Bramer – Majority Leader of the New York City Council
Randi Weingarten – president, American Federation of Teachers

Social activism

Stormé DeLarverie – Drag king, M.C., security worker, believed by many to have instigated the Stonewall uprising
Brian Ellner – LGBT rights activist and executive vice president for public affairs at Edelman
Marsha P. Johnson – late gay liberation activist, Stonewall combatant, member of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF), co-founder of Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR)
Rose Montoya – transgender activist
Sylvia Rivera – late gay liberation and trans activist, participant in GLF actions, co-founder of Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries

Sports

Brian Anderson – skateboarder

Theatre

Michael Arden – director, actor, and singer
Jon Robin Baitz – playwright, screenwriter, and producer
Anne Bogart – director
David Burtka – Broadway and television actor, chef
Charlie Carver – Broadway and television actor
Jenn Colella – actress
Roberta Colindrez – actress and writer
Gavin Creel – actor and singer
Quentin Crisp – late stage actor, raconteur, and writer
Mart Crowley – late playwright
Jim David – comedian, actor, playwright
Robin de Jesús – actor
Harvey Fierstein – actor, playwright, and screenwriter
Jason Forbach - actor and singer
Richard Greenberg – playwright and screenwriter
Jonathan Groff – Broadway and television actor, co-star, Glee
Jeremy O. Harris – actor and playwright
Neil Patrick Harris – Broadway and television actor, producer, singer, comedian, magician, and television host
Brian Hutchison – actor
Cheyenne Jackson – actor and singer
Larry Kramer – late playwright, author, producer, and LGBT rights advocate
Tony Kushner – playwright and screenwriter
Matteo Lane – comedian
Nathan Lane – actor and comedian
Joe Mantello – director and actor
Keith McDermott – actor, director and memoirist
Danny McWilliams – actor and comedian
Andy Mientus – actor, Broadway musicals
Dylan Mulvaney – transgender actress and comedienne
Javier Muñoz – actor, singer, and HIV/AIDS activist
Rory O'Malley – actor and singer
Lee Pace – actor
Jim Parsons – Broadway and television actor, co-star, The Big Bang Theory
Billy Porter – actor and singer
Conrad Ricamora – multiple-award winning Broadway and screen actor
Ben Levi Ross – actor
Jordan Roth – majority owner, Jujamcyn Theaters on Broadway
Michael Rupert – actor, singer, composer, and director
Wesley Taylor – actor and writer
Taylor Trensch – actor
Tuc Watkins – stage and screen actor

Visual arts

Cass Bird – photographer and artist
Andrew Bolton – head curator, the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute
Anthony Goicolea – artist chosen in June 2017 to design the official New York State LGBT monument
Keith Haring – late artist
Annie Leibovitz – photographer
Robert Mapplethorpe – late photographer
Larry Rivers – late painter, sculptor
Carter Smith – fashion photographer
Sam Wagstaff – art curator
Andy Warhol – late artist