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
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
Kathleen Freeman – character actor known for her work with Jerry Lewis, The Blues Brothers, and Naked Gun : 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 Lives 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

Daya Betty - drag performer, contestant of (fourteenth season)
Sigourney Beaver - drag performer, contestant of The Boulet Brothers' Dragula
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, fifth season, and seventh season
Denali – drag entertainer and ice skater who appeared on season 13 of RuPaul's Drag Race and the tenth season
Detox - drag performer, recording artist, contestant of fifth season and second season
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, season 2 of The Switch Drag Race, and season 4 RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars
Kahmora Hall - drag performer, contestant of the thirteenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race
Monica Beverly Hillz – drag queen and transgender advocate known for appearing on fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race and eighth season
Brooke Lynn Hytes - drag queen, ballet dancer, contestant of the eleventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race, host and judge of Canada's Drag Race
Tony Midnite – female impersonator, costume designer, and activist
Naysha Lopez - drag performer, beauty pageant winner, contestant of the eight season of RuPaul's Drag Race and eighth season
Laila McQueen -drag performer, contestant of RuPaul's Drag Race and makeup artist of We're Here
Phi Phi O'Hara - former drag queen (contestant of season 4 and season 2
DiDa Ritz - drag performer, contestant on the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race
Jade Sotomayor - drag queen, contestant of the first season of first season
The Princess - drag performer, contestant of the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race
Soju - retired drag queen, contestant of the eleventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race
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
Utica Queen - drag performer, contestant of the thirteenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, and on Project Runway
Willow Pill -drag queen, winner of the fourteenth season 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