Parent article: List of gay, lesbian or bisexual people;

Siblings:

The historical concept and definition

Definition

A definition is a passage that explains the meaning of a term , or a type of thing. The term to be defined is the definiendum. A term may have many different senses or meanings...

 of sexual orientation

Sexual orientation

Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...

 varies and has changed greatly over time; for example the word "gay" was not used to describe sexual orientation until the mid 20th century. A number of different classification schemes have been used to describe sexual orientation since the mid-19th century, and scholars have often defined the term "sexual orientation" in divergent ways. Indeed, several studies have found that much of the research about sexual orientation has failed to define the term at all, making it difficult to reconcile the results of different studies. However, most definitions include a psychological component (such as the direction of an individual's erotic desire) and/or a behavioural component (which focuses on the sex of the individual's sexual partner/s). Some prefer to simply follow an individual's self-definition or identity

Identity (social science)

Identity is a term used to describe a person's conception and expression of their individuality or group affiliations . The term is used more specifically in psychology and sociology, and is given a great deal of attention in social psychology...

.

The high prevalence of people from the West on this list may be due to societal attitudes towards homosexuality

Societal attitudes towards homosexuality

Societal attitudes toward homosexuality vary greatly in different cultures and different historical periods, as do attitudes toward sexual desire, activity and relationships in general. All cultures have their own values regarding appropriate and inappropriate sexuality; some sanction same-sex love...

. The Pew Research Center

Pew Research Center

The Pew Research Center is an American think tank organization based in Washington, D.C. that provides information on issues, attitudes and trends shaping the United States and the world. The Center and its projects receive funding from The Pew Charitable Trusts. In 1990, Donald S...

's 2003 Global Attitudes Survey found that "[p]eople in Africa and the Middle East strongly object to societal acceptance of homosexuality

Homosexuality

Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...

. But there is far greater tolerance for homosexuality in major Latin American countries such as Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil. Opinion in Europe is split between West and East. Majorities in every Western European nation surveyed say homosexuality should be accepted by society, while most Russians, Poles and Ukrainians disagree. Americans are divided–a thin majority (51 percent) believes homosexuality should be accepted, while 42 percent disagree."

This is a partial list of confirmed famous people who were or are gay, lesbian or bisexual. Famous people who are simply rumored to be gay

Gay

Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....

, lesbian

Lesbian

Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...

, or bisexual

Bisexuality

Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...

 are not listed.

R

Name	Lifetime	Nationality	Notable as	Notes
	1940–2007	German	Composer	G
		American	Opera singer	L
Radclyffe Radclyffe Radclyffe is an American author of numerous lesbian romances. A 2003/04 recipient of the Alice B. award for her body of work as well as a member of the Golden Crown Literary Society, Pink Ink, and the Romance Writers of America, she lives with her partner Lee in Upstate New York...		American	Writer	L
	1876–1932	German	Publisher, writer	G
		American	Student	G
		American	Writer	G
	1882–1939	American	Blues musician	B
		American	Fashion designer	B
		American	Writer, actor	G
	1941–1994	American	Actor	B
	1948–1990	Puerto Rican	Writer	G
		Canadian	Artist	G
		Canadian American	Magician and Scientific Skeptic	G
		American	Pop/jazz musician	L
		Australian	Artist	L
		American	Talk show host	G
		American	Actor	B
		Canadian/British	Poet, screenwiter, filmmaker	G
	1911—1977	English	Playwright	G
		American	Writer	G
		American	Artist	G
		Norwegian	Rock musician, artist	G
	1944–2006	American	Art historian, writer	L
		American	Rock musician	L
	1927–1990	American	Pop musician	G
	1911–1979	American	Film director	B
	1908–1998	American	Actor	B
		American	Tennis player	L
		American	Folk-rock musician	L
		American	Writer	G
		American	Screenwriter	G
	1908–1985	English	Actor	B
	1864–1913	Austrian	Military officer, spy	G
		American	Strip club owner	G
		American	Zen sensei	B
	1949–2008	American	Politician	G
	1932–1992	American	Actor	G
		American	Mayor	G
		American	Writer, activist, legal scholar	G
	1875–1948	Irish	Writer	G
	1931–2007	American	Actor	G
	1950–1996	German	Rock musician	G
		American	LGBT rights activist	G
		American	Computer programmer, cartoonist, gender rights advocate	B
	1905–1983	English	Writer	L
	1923–2006	Dutch	Writer	G
		American	Writer	L
		American	Blues musician	G
		American	Writer	G
		American	Singer-songwriter	G
		American	Fashion designer	G
		American	Poet	L
		Canadian	Writer, radio personality	G
		British	Actor	G
	1928–1991	English	Film director	B
	1915–1997	Russian	Classical musician	G
	1866–1931	English	Artist, writer	G
		Irish	Author	G
	1957–1994	American	Filmmaker	G
	1854–1891	French	Poet	G
	1952–2008	Norwegian	Writer, historian	G
	1881–1921	Brazilian	Writer	G
	1952–2002	American	Photographer	G
	1918–1998	American	Choreographer	G
		American	Actor, LGBT rights activist	G
		Australian	Rugby League Footballer	G
		American	News anchor	G
		New Zealand	Politician	G
	1937–2000	American	Figure skater	G
		American	Filmmaker	L
		American	Writer	G
		American	Bishop	G
		Canadian	Politician	G
		English	Rock musician, DJ	B
		American	Writer, comedian	G
	1901–1942	Dutch	Nazi Nazism Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...  collaborator	G
		American	Writer	G
		American	Reality show host, actor, cabaret musician	G
		American	Writer	G
	1940–1993	American	Gay rights activist, organizer & writer.	G
		American	Filmmaker	G
	1954–2006	American	Writer	G
		American	Photographer, lawyer	G
	1967–2008	American	Soldier, LGBT rights activist	G
		Canadian	Filmmaker	L
	1887–1934	German	Military officer	G
	1860–1913	English	Writer	G
		American	Musician	G
		American	Executive Director of the ACLU	G
	1907–1994	Cuban	Actor	G
		Mexican	Actor	G
		Canadian	Politician	G
		British	DJ	B
		American	Filmmaker	G
	1868–1938	English	Suffragist	L
		American	Contemporary classical composer, diarist	G
		Canadian	Writer	G
		American	Writer	G
		American	Pop musician	G
	1920–1988	English	Tony Award winning actor	G
		American	Recording industry leader, TV commentator	L
		American	Politician	G
	1909–1985	American	Social scientist	G
		American	Politician	L
	1869–1918	Canadian	Journalist, art critic	G
	1908–1996	Canadian	Banker, writer	G
		American	Labor leader	G
		Welsh	Rock musician	G
		American	Writer, producer	G
		American	Politician	G
	1924–1996	American	Writer	L
		French	Footballer	G
	1903–1997	English	Historian, writer	G
		American	Screenwriter, playwright	G
		Canadian	Film director	L
Ruan Ji Ruan Ji Ruǎn Jí is one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. He is associated with the guqin melody, Jiu Kuang which was believed to be composed by him.- Historical background :...	210- 263	Chinese	One of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove were a group of Chinese Taoist Qingtan scholars, writers, and musicians who came together in the 3rd century CE. Although the individual members all existed, their interconnection is not entirely certain...	G
	1943–1989	American	Co-owner of Studio 54 Studio 54 Studio 54 was a highly popular discotheque from 1977 until 1991, located at 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan, New York, USA. It was originally the Gallo Opera House, opening in 1927, after which it changed names several times, eventually becoming a CBS radio and television studio. In 1977 it...	G
		American	Comedian	G
		American	Cultural anthropologist	L
		American	Writer, radio personality	G
		American	Film producer	G
		American	Writer, screenwriter	G
		American	Ethicist Ethicist An ethicist is one whose judgment on ethics and ethical codes has come to be trusted by a specific community, and is expressed in some way that makes it possible for others to mimic or approximate that judgement... , writer	L
		Canadian	Actor	G
		American	Politician, radio personality	L
		Canadian	Author	L
		American	Actor	G
		French	Journalist, TV and radio host	G
		German	Politician	G
		American	Actor	G
		American	Writer	L
	1863–1952	American	Actor	L
	1952–1992	American	Pop musician	G
		American	Comic artist	G
	1960–1996	Brazilian	Musician	G
	1946–1990	American	Activist, writer	G
	1912–1987	American	Civil rights activist	G
		Canadian	Writer	L
		Canadian	Politician	L
		English	Pop musician	G
		Canadian	Professor, McGill University McGill University Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...	G
		American	16th Poet Laureate of the United States	L
		American	Writer, librarian	B
	14th century	British	Transvestite prostitute	G
		Canadian- English	Writer	G