'It feels so good to talk about it’: These stars were inspired to come out as LGBTQIA

Better known as the world's most famous drag queen, RuPaul is considered one of the most important and relevant gay icons for the LGBTQIA community in recent years. Born in 1960, he has seen the gay rights movement grow in the United States. In addition, with his show 'RuPaul's Drag Race' he has promoted the art of drag and has highlighted the concepts of acceptance and tolerance.

Ellen came out as a lesbian in 1997 during a famous episode of her sketch show before going on to even greater success with daytime chat show 'The Ellen DeGenres Show'. Ellen - who has been married to Portia DeRossi since 2010 - recently ended her long running show after almost two decades on the air and admitted that she was warned that coming out would "ruin" her career but reflected on how things have changed for the gay community since starting her show in 2003. She said: "When I came out, people warned me that it was going to ruin my career. They were right for a while, for exactly three years I lost my career, but look at me now. It really goes to show how important it is to be yourself and how important it is to accept others as their authentic selves, too. A lot of people thought this show wouldn't work because I'm gay, but you proved them wrong. You did!"

Andy Cohen became the first openly gay host in an American late night with 'Watch What Happens Live'. With his show, the TV personality has elevated and defended the rights of the LGBTQIA community for more than a decade. He later said: "If I could offer advice to anyone watching my show who is afraid of coming out, I’d suggest they start by telling one person. Find your safe space. And if you don’t have one person, call the Trevor Project hotline at 1-866-488-7386. Let that be your one person. All it takes is one person, and that person can be your anchor. Then maybe you’ll have two people after. You will grow from there, and I promise that it will get better."

During her Golden Globes tribute to Ellen DeGeneres, one of 'Saturday Night Live's’ most long-running players thanked the comedian for paving the way LGBTQIA people on TV. In the speech - Kate - who has been dating artist Jackie Abbott since 2017 - said: "Ellen risked her entire life and her entire career in order, and she suffered greatly for it. Of course, attitudes change, but only because brave people like Ellen jump into the fire t make them change."

The proflifc TV creator behind hit shows such as 'Glee', who has two children with his husband David Miller, has devoted his career to telling the kinds of queer stories he never saw on TV while growing up. From ‘American Horror Story’ and ‘Pose’, Murphy has succeeded in building his own inclusive content universe, which has made it all to Netflix, where he has dropped successful shows like ‘The Politician’ and ‘Hollywood’. On his sexuality, he said: "I can’t believe my life and can’t believe that things have changed so radically in my lifetime. If you asked me then if I would be allowed to be married and have children like you, I never would have believed it."

Known by many as Sophia Burset - the transgender hairdresser on the hit series 'Orange is the New Black - Cox’s influence goes beyond cutting hair in prison. She is the first transgender actress to be nominated for an Emmy Award and more recently made history as the first transgender woman to be immortalised as the iconic Barbie doll. Upon the launch, she said: ""I can't believe it. I love her outfit! What excites me most about her being out in the world is that trans young people can see her and maybe get to purchase her and play with her, and know that there's a Barbie made by Mattel, for the first time, in the likeness of a trans person.."

After gaining public notoriety for his role as straight character Sheldon in the hit CBS series 'The Big Bang Theory', the actor came out as gay. Ever since, Parsons has leaned into telling LGBTQIA stories. On camera, he has appeared in 'The Boys in the Band' and 'Hollywood'. The TV star - who is married to Todd Spiewak - later explained that he "let the fear of coming out" go as he became known for playing a straight role. He said: "I do think I was afraid of not being able to play anything but gay parts, not only if I came out, but because I would appear effeminate. The irony is I think I discovered, obviously, how to let the fear go."

Since coming out as bisexuality in a 2018 Rolling Stone interview, the actress, singer and producer has given the world a number of references about diversity. Her influence lies not only in speaking openly about her sexuality, but in her support for normalizing what is different and respecting the rights of the community. Upon relfection, she noted how much happier coming out had made her. She said: "I'm being super present, I'm laughing more, I'm partying with my friends more, I'm really more relaxed as an artist and so I think that my music is probably going to be, without giving too much away, less heady and less about fighting against opposition."

The ‘Pose’ star became the first openly gay black man to win the dramatic lead actor Emmy in 2019, the year he turned heads when he turned up on the red carpet in a lavish ball gown. He went on to play the genderless Fairy Godmother in the ‘Cinderella’ remake. Porter has headlined multiple Pride specials on television and has been a vocal voice for the rights of the LGBTQIA community. He said: "We don’t need acceptance, we don’t need tolerance, we need respect for our humanity. We demand respect for our humanity and we will give respect for everyone else so that we can all move forward."

Former 'Twilight' star Kristen refused to smile, refused to talk about her private life for some time. However, the actress - who previously dated the likes of former co-star Robert Pattinson - eventually came out as bisexual but admitted there was always pressure to disclose her sexuality to the public. She said: "And it’s like, “The first time I ever dated a girl, I was immediately being asked if I was a lesbian. God, I’m 21 years old”. I felt like maybe there were things that have hurt people I’ve been with. Not because I felt ashamed of being openly gay but because I didn’t like giving myself to the public, in a way." Nowadays, Kristen is engaged screenwriter Dylan Meyer and joked that "she nailed it" when it came to the proposal.