Simon Amstell (1979 – ), UK comedian, television presenter, screenwriter and actor

b 29 November 1979.

BAFTA nominated,award-winning English comedian, television presenter, screenwriter and actor, best known for his roles as former co-host of Popworld, former host of Never Mind the Buzzcocks and co-writer and star of the sitcom Grandma's House.

Amstell also performs as a stand up comedian. He has performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe every August 2005–2007 and 2009. He has also appeared at the Carling Festivals in the Cabaret and Comedy tent.

He was named at number 26 on the DS list of the "50 Most Influential Gays", 2011

His groundbreaking quirky, funny, original interviewing technique on Channel 4’s Popworld is still the blueprint for T4’s presenting style. And being gay was not something comedian Simon kept quiet about for long once he became famous. In an interview with notoriously homophobic reggae star Beenie Man, Simon explained he’d just broken up with his boyfriend, and then asked him for a hug. And his role in the presenting seat for Never Mind The Buzzcocks brought him to a whole new audience. Simon used to feature a lot of gay jokes in his stand-up routine but later dropped them. “It feels really old,” he says. “No one cares any more. There are so many homos on TV. It’s why Matt Lucas ended up doing the only gay in the village. It was a twisted coming-out story because the old one is so boring.”

Ryan Murphy – Creator of Glee

b. November 9, 1965

American film and television screenwriter, director, and producer. He is best known for creating/co-creating the television series Nip/Tuck, Glee, and American Horror Story.

Murphy started his career in television in 1999 with the teen comedy series Popular. The show aired on The WB for two seasons. He is the Golden Globe-winning creator of Nip/Tuck, which aired on FX and was both a commercial and critical hit. One of Murphy's current projects is the FOX musical comedy-drama Glee, co-created with Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan. In 2011, Murphy and Falchuk co-created the FX horror series American Horror Story, in which the Harmon family moves into a haunted mansion, which debuted on October 5, 2011.

Also in October 2011, it was announced that Murphy, along with Glee co-executive producer Ali Adler, would be co-creating a new half-hour comedy pilot that "centers on a gay couple and the surrogate who will carry their child". According to Entertainment Weekly, there was a bidding war between ABC, NBC, and FOX for the project, with the show going to NBC.

Murphy Murphy grew up in a Catholic household and continues to go to church.He serves on the National Advisory Board of the Young Storytellers Foundation. On June 17, 2011, Murphy announced his engagement to a man he had known for 15 years.

He was named at number 13 on the DS list of the "50 Most Influential Gays", 2011

Not afraid to tackle controversial issues as the creator of Nip/Tuck, former journalist Ryan put the singalong back into mainstream American TV by creating Glee. After two seasons, it’s one of the most watched shows across the world and has spawned more than 100 entries into the American singles chart. Ryan created gay character Kurt and quickly forced him to deal with a crush on a straight guy, wrestle with his sexuality, come out to his father and friends, and then kiss his first love. Phew! Who knows how he’ll follow that up in season three, but we’ll be watching.

Steven Davies – Cricketer

b. 17 June 1986

English cricketer, a wicket-keeper-batsman who plays for Surrey. A stylish and aggressive left-handed batsman who can open the batting in both first-class and limited-overs cricket (though in the former he generally now bats in the middle order). He has played ODI and Twenty20 cricket for England.

Davies is openly gay. He came out publicly on 27 February 2011 in an interview with The Daily Telegraph. He had come out to his family five years earlier, and he was also already out to his teammates. He became the first international cricketer to announce his homosexuality.

He was named at number 12 on the DS list of the "50 Most Influential Gays", 2011

It’s been long assumed that the world of team sports has more closet cases than Ikea. It stood to reason there were many football fags and rugger buggers hiding away behind closed changing room doors and lingering in the team baths a little longer than everyone else. But what about the middle-class world of cricket? Few gave it any thought until Sussex batsman Steven Davies became the first professional cricketer to admit he literally batted for the other side too.

“If more people come out, the more acceptable it will become,” said the 25-year-old. “That must be a good thing. To speak out is a massive relief for me, but if I can just help one person to deal with their sexuality then that’s all I care about.”

Sia Furler, Australian. Singer/songwriter.

b. 18 December 1975

"I've always been honest if anyone ever asked me. Before I was actually successful I'd always said I've always dated boys and girls and anything in between. I don't care what gender you are, it's about people.

Pop, down tempo, and jazz singer and songwriter. In 2000, her single, "Taken for Granted" was a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom. Her 2008 album, Some People Have Real Problems peaked in the top 30 on the Billboard 200. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2009, she won the award for 'Best Music DVD' and received six nominations at the ARIA Music Awards of 2010 and won 'Best Independent Release' and 'Best Pop Release' for We Are Born and 'Best Video' for the song "Clap Your Hands".

In 2008, Furler discussed her bisexuality in interviews with Scotland on Sunday and AfterEllen.com. In June 2010, Furler expressed a wish to marry her then girlfriend JD Samson of electro-punk band Le Tigre. The couple have since broken up.

She was included on a list of gay entertainers in the June–July 2009 issue of The Advocate, and was nominated for the Australian "SameSame25" awards as among the 25 "most influential" gay and lesbian Australians in 2010, 2009

"My name is Sia Furler. I am a unicorn fart. I was born out of the butthole of a unicorn called Steve. Someday I'll die. Between now and then I'm going to keep my shit together and sing my fucking heart out."

Clap Your Hands for our favourite singing star! The mega-successful yet humble Sia had unprecedented success in 2010 as the Adelaide-born songbird returned to Australia to accept ARIAs for her latest tracks.

Based in New York, she's enjoying making key music industry contacts - and can now name-drop with the very best of them - but often says in interviews that she misses Australia and one day hopes settle back down here with her DJ partner JD Samson.

Last year she released her fifth album which includes singles Clap Your Hands, Bring Night and You've Changed. The album, which is noticeably more upbeat than her previous few, was honoured picked up three ARIAs, including Best Pop Release and Best Independent Album.

Sia is currently touring Australia and NZ as part of the Big Day Out line-up.

-SameSame 25, 2010 

Anton Hysen ( 1990 – ), Sweden. Footballer

b. December 13, 1990

Swedish football player who plays in the Swedish fourth division for Utsiktens BK, which is coached by his father Glenn Hysén. Anton is a former member of the Swedish national under-17 association football team and was given a trainee contract with BK Häcken from 2007 to 2009, but was hindered by injuries and instead joined Utsiktens BK, for whom he plays in his third season. He was previously a member of Torslanda IK. His older brothers are football players Tobias Hysén and Alexander Hysén.

He came out as gay to the Swedish football magazine Offside in March 2011. Daily Mail has described Anton as the "first high-profile Swedish footballer to announce that he is gay" and as the second active professional football player to come out, after English footballer Justin Fashanu in 1990. The BBC called him "a global one-off". He told the magazine: "It is fucked up that no other Swedish player had come out yet. I am a footballer. And gay. If I perform as a footballer, then I do not think it matters if I like girls or boys. People may call me anything they want, it will just make me even more psyched".

He was named at number 27 on the DS list of the "50 Most Influential Gays", 2011:

Twenty years ago the only openly gay footballer was the late, troubled Justin Fashanu. And then, nothing. Now in 2011, God has answered our prayers with Swedish Anton Hysen. The 20-year-old sportsman with model looks is the son of Liverpool defender and Swedish international Glenn Hysén. In 2007, his dad made a surprise appearance at Stockholm’s Pride march, and spoke with great empathy of ‘A 16-year-old who didn’t want to come out because he feared what his teammates would think.’ No one realised at the time, but he was referring to his son. Anton admits he’s still surprised no other professional footballers have stood up to be counted. “It is completely strange, isn’t it?” he says. “It’s all fucked up. Where the hell are all the others? No one is coming out.”

Gay marriage champion joins Vt. Supreme Court

A woman who pushed for Vermont's ground-breaking civil union and gay marriage laws has been sworn in as the first openly gay member of the state Supreme Court.

Beth Robinson took the oath Monday afternoon. Gov. Peter Shumlin said her story represented striking progress toward equality of gay and lesbian citizens.

Beth Robinson, right, gets a hug from Susan Murray
on Monday, Nov. 28, 2011 in Montpelier, Vt.

The 46-year-old Robinson was one of the lawyers who represented three couples in a landmark 1999 state Supreme Court decision that prompted the Legislature in 2000 to make Vermont the first state to offer marriage-like rights and benefits to same-sex couples.

She later led Vermont Freedom to Marry, which pushed for and won passage in 2009 of the country's first gay-marriage law that wasn't directly prompted by a court decision.

via: SF Gate