6 Lesbian Actresses Who Came Out, and How It Affected Their Careers
When Canadian cutie Ellen Page came out last week as a lesbian, the former Best Actress nominee was hailed for her bravery and showered, appropriately enough, with love from fans of all stripes. But making a public announcement about a private matter leads to the question of whether Page’s preferences will affect her acting career. For some perspective, here’s a list of gay actresses and a snapshot look at their careers before and after coming out.
Before: Tomiin, a brilliant actress, comedian, writer, and producer, never had a "coming out" moment. But she wasn’t secretive about her sexuality, and would openly acknowledge her partner (and now wife) Jane Wagner whenever asked about her personal life.
Career Impact? It's impossible to know what roles Tomlin might not have been offered, due to her sexuality. With a room full of awards, however, including Emmy, Tony, and Grammys, as well as and the Mark Twain Award for Humor, it is hard to imagine a more respected talent in in Hollywood.
Before: Played Darlene Conner, the daughter on hugely popular 80’s-90’s sitcom Rosesanne.
After: Appeared on multiple episodes of the hugely popular sitcom The Big Bang Theory; is the co-Creator and co-host of CBS daytime show, The Talk.
Career Impact? None.
Before: Successful comedian, sitcom star.
After: Hosted Oscars, Judged American Idol, has top rated talk show, wrote bestselling books.
Career Impact? Are you kidding? None. Zip. Zero. She's one of America's most popular entertainers.
Before: There was no “before.” Lynch has been out forever.
Career Impact? Again, as with all gay actresses, there's no way to know what opportunities, if any, Lynch missed, but as a star on Glee and roles in dozens of movies and TV shows, it's hard to see how being out has had any negative repercussions on her career.
Before: Big roles on TV’s Ally McBeal, Arrested Development and a number of TV Movies.
After: Appearances on Nip/Tuck and a full season on ABC's short lived sitcom Better Off Ted. Not very much
Career Impact? It's hard to know whether de Rossi is just kicking back and enjoying life with one of America's favorite entertainers, or fallen victim to the Mysterious Curse of the Older Actress (which some might call industry ageism), or a possible backlash. But the actress's workload has definitely lightened since hooking up with Ellen.
Before: Successful movie, TV and Broadway career, most notably as a member of HBO's Sex and the City.
After: Nixon has had dozens of TV and theater rolls since coming out.
Career Impact? While Nixon has not had any role quite as big as her gig on Sex and the City, neither, really, have any of the other women on that series. The award-winning actress has also been very busy on other fronts. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006 and as been active in promoting breast cancer awareness.
1. Lilly Tomlin
Before: Tomiin, a brilliant actress, comedian, writer, and producer, never had a "coming out" moment. But she wasn’t secretive about her sexuality, and would openly acknowledge her partner (and now wife) Jane Wagner whenever asked about her personal life.
Career Impact? It's impossible to know what roles Tomlin might not have been offered, due to her sexuality. With a room full of awards, however, including Emmy, Tony, and Grammys, as well as and the Mark Twain Award for Humor, it is hard to imagine a more respected talent in in Hollywood.
2. Sara Gilbert
Before: Played Darlene Conner, the daughter on hugely popular 80’s-90’s sitcom Rosesanne.
After: Appeared on multiple episodes of the hugely popular sitcom The Big Bang Theory; is the co-Creator and co-host of CBS daytime show, The Talk.
Career Impact? None.
3. Ellen Degeneres
Before: Successful comedian, sitcom star.
After: Hosted Oscars, Judged American Idol, has top rated talk show, wrote bestselling books.
Career Impact? Are you kidding? None. Zip. Zero. She's one of America's most popular entertainers.
4. Jane Lynch
Before: There was no “before.” Lynch has been out forever.
Career Impact? Again, as with all gay actresses, there's no way to know what opportunities, if any, Lynch missed, but as a star on Glee and roles in dozens of movies and TV shows, it's hard to see how being out has had any negative repercussions on her career.
5. Portia de Rossi, a.k.a. Portia Lee James DeGeneres
Before: Big roles on TV’s Ally McBeal, Arrested Development and a number of TV Movies.
After: Appearances on Nip/Tuck and a full season on ABC's short lived sitcom Better Off Ted. Not very much
Career Impact? It's hard to know whether de Rossi is just kicking back and enjoying life with one of America's favorite entertainers, or fallen victim to the Mysterious Curse of the Older Actress (which some might call industry ageism), or a possible backlash. But the actress's workload has definitely lightened since hooking up with Ellen.
6. Cynthia Nixon
Before: Successful movie, TV and Broadway career, most notably as a member of HBO's Sex and the City.
After: Nixon has had dozens of TV and theater rolls since coming out.
Career Impact? While Nixon has not had any role quite as big as her gig on Sex and the City, neither, really, have any of the other women on that series. The award-winning actress has also been very busy on other fronts. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006 and as been active in promoting breast cancer awareness.