Queer celebrities always make us smile, but in 2025, they didn’t just entertain us; they made us proud to call them fam.
We love to follow celebrities and become obsessed with their latest projects, but some years, these celebrities make us fall in love not just with their latest TV show or movie, but with the way they impact queer history.
These famous LGBTQ+ people spent the year breaking down barriers, winning awards, and making queer history!
1. Cole Escola takes home a Tony
This year, actor and comedian Cole Escola became the first nonbinary person to win a Tony Award for the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play category for their performance in Oh, Mary! In one night, Escola managed to cement their place in queer history and blow everyone away when they accepted the award in a red wig and ball gown.
2. Jonathan Bailey becomes the first gay Sexiest Man Alive
Jonathan Bailey made headlines this year not only for his stellar performance in Wicked: For Good, but for becoming the first out gay man in history to be named People’s Sexiest Man Alive.
3. Paige Bueckers won Rookie of the Year
Not only did WNBA star Paige Bueckers come out in 2025 and announce her love for UConn star Azzi Fudd, but she also managed to have a record-breaking rookie season. She averaged 19.2 points per game and earned a spot on the All-Star team, broke the Wings’ franchise rookie records, finished third all-time in both total rookie points and total rookie assists, finished tied for second for the most double-digit scoring games by a rookie, and took home the Rookie of the Year award.
4. Paul Reubens came out posthumously
Pee-wee Herman himself may not have been able to come out during his lifetime, but while he was still alive, he opened up about his experience being a closeted gay man trying to navigate Hollywood and managed to come out posthumously in his documentary Pee-wee as Himself.
5. Leisha Hailey and Kate Moennig wrote a memoir
Actresses Leisha Hailey and Kate Moennig met on the set of The L Word and became BFFs almost immediately. Fast forward to 2025, and the pair released a memoir all about queer friendship, titled So Gay For You: Friendship, Found Family, & the Show That Started it All.
6. Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers went viral for the Las Culturistas Awards
What started as a small-scale award show connected to Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers’ Las Culturistas podcast became a cultural touch point in 2025. Huge celebs like Reneé Rapp, Sasha Colby, Gabby Windey, Quinta Brunson, Kristen Wiig, Allison Janney, Dave Franco, and Alison Brie all attended or presented awards, and countless moments went viral almost immediately — including Yang and Rogers performing Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra.”
7. Dan and Phil finally came out as a couple
After more than a decade of intense fan speculation, YouTubers Dan Howell and Phil Lester finally felt comfortable coming out as a couple after both men came out as gay back in 2019. The hard launch might have been the least surprising one of the year, but it takes courage to make your private life public, especially if you’re queer.
9. Lauren Chan made Sports Illustrated history
Model Lauren Chan made history in 2025 by becoming the first out lesbian to ever grace the cover of the famous magazine by appearing in the annual swimsuit issue.
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