The 30 best actors and actresses who played gay/lesbian characters
by kosmoselis | created - 09 Feb 2012 | updated - 31 Dec 2012 | PublicNot in order. Actresses and actors and their best LGBT perfomances. Most of them are straight.
1. Hilary Swank
Actress | Million Dollar Baby
Hilary was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, to Judith Kay (Clough), a secretary, and Stephen Michael Swank, who served in the National Guard and was also a traveling salesman. Her maternal grandmother, Frances Martha Dominguez, was of Mexican descent, and her other roots include German, English, and ...
Brandon Teena, Boy's Don't Cry
2. Heath Ledger
Actor | Brokeback Mountain
When hunky, twenty-year-old heart-throb Heath Ledger first came to the attention of the public in 1999, it was all too easy to tag him as a "pretty boy" and an actor of little depth. He spent several years trying desperately to sway this image, but this was a double-edged sword. His work comprised ...
Enis Del Mar, Brokeback Mountain
3. Sean Penn
Actor | Mystic River
Sean Penn is a powerhouse film performer capable of intensely moving work, who has gone from strength to strength during a colourful film career, and who has drawn much media attention for his stormy private life and political viewpoints.
Sean Justin Penn was born in Los Angeles, California, the ...
Harvey Milk, Milk
4. Michael C. Hall
Actor | Dexter
Michael C. Hall was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, to Janice (Styons), a guidance counselor, and William Carlyle Hall, who worked for IBM. Michael is a graduate of NYU's Master of Fine Arts program in acting. He is known for the titular character "Dexter" in Dexter (2006) and as mortician "David ...
David Fisher, Six Feet Under.
5. Mia Kirshner
Actress | Not Another Teen Movie
Mia Kirshner was born in Toronto, Ontario, to Etti, a teacher, and Sheldon Kirshner, a journalist. Her father is of Polish Jewish descent and her mother is a Bulgarian Jewish immigrant. Mia had a middle class upbringing and graduated from McGill University with a degree in English Literature. She ...
Jennifer Schecter, The L word.
6. Gale Harold
Actor | Queer as Folk
Gale Harold was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. After studying photography and printmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute, Harold began studying acting at the suggestion of writer and producer Susie Landau Finch, who at the time was working at American Zoetrope. After three years of ...
Brian Kinney, QAF
7. Tom Hanks
Producer | Cast Away
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks was born in Concord, California, to Janet Marylyn (Frager), a hospital worker, and Amos Mefford Hanks, an itinerant cook. His mother's family, originally surnamed "Fraga", was entirely Portuguese, while his father was of mostly English ancestry. Tom grew up in what he has ...
Andrew Beckett, Philadelphia
8. Jake Gyllenhaal
Actor | Nightcrawler
Jake Gyllenhaal was born on December 19, 1980 in Los Angeles, California as Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal, the son of producer/screenwriter Naomi Foner and director Stephen Gyllenhaal, and the younger brother of actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. He is of Ashkenazi Jewish (mother) and Swedish, English, and ...
Jack Twist, Brokeback Mountain
9. Jennifer Beals
Actress | Flashdance
Jennifer Beals is an internationally renowned actress who has over 90 credits to her name, including critically acclaimed feature films and some of the highest rated television series to date. Beals is currently executive producing and returning as a lead cast member in the revival of her hit ...
Bette Porter, The L world
10. Kate Moennig
Actress | The Lincoln Lawyer
Born on December 29, 1977 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US as Katherine Sian Moennig, she is an American actress and producer, best known for the role of Shane McCutcheon in The L Word (2004). Her father was William H. Moennig III and her mother was Mary Zahn, a Broadway dancer. She is of Irish ...
Shane McCutcheon, The L Word
11. Rachael Stirling
Actress | Snow White and the Huntsman
Rachael Stirling was born on May 30, 1977 in St Marylebone, London, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), The Young Victoria (2009) and Tipping the Velvet (2002). She has been married to Guy Garvey since June 3, 2016. They have one child.
Nan Astley, Tipping the Velvet
12. Charlize Theron
Producer | Monster
Charlize Theron was born in Benoni, a city in the greater Johannesburg area, in South Africa, the only child of Gerda Theron (née Maritz) and Charles Theron. She was raised on a farm outside the city. Theron is of Afrikaner (Dutch, with some French Huguenot and German) descent, and Afrikaner ...
Aileen, Monster
13. Colin Firth
Actor | A Single Man
Colin Andrew Firth was born into an academic family in Grayshott, Hampshire, England. His mother, Shirley Jean (Rolles), was a comparative religion lecturer at the Open University, and his father, David Norman Lewis Firth, lectured on history at Winchester University College (formerly King Alfred's...
He played several gay characters, but his best is George, A Lonely Man
14. Lisa Ray
Actress | Water
Lisa Ray was finishing high school in Canada with aspirations of majoring in Journalism at University when a celebrated fashion magazine approached her to model for them, and she ended up on the cover. This catapulted her into a state of instant celebrity. Her high-profile career got her noticed by...
Tala, I Can't Think Straight
15. Sheetal Sheth
Actress | The World Unseen
Sheetal Sheth is an acclaimed actress, author, and producer, known for her provocative performances in a wide range of memorable roles on film and television. Sheetal burst onto the scene with raves in the groundbreaking films, 'ABCD' and Slamdance winner, 'American Chai.' She broke out and won ...
Amina, The World Unseen
16. Leisha Hailey
Actress | The L Word
Born on July 11, 1971 in Okinawa, Japan, she is an American actress and musician, best known for the role of Alice Pieszecki in The L Word (2004) and for being one half of the electropop duo Uh Huh Her. She was born to American parents in the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands...
Alice Pieszecki, The L Word
17. Nicole Kidman
Actress | Moulin Rouge!
Elegant Nicole Kidman, known as one of Hollywood's top Australian imports, was actually born in Honolulu, Hawaii, while her Australian parents were there on educational visas.
Kidman is the daughter of Janelle Ann (Glenny), a nursing instructor, and Antony David Kidman, a biochemist and clinical ...
Virginia Woolf, The Hours
18. Gina Gershon
Actress | Bound
Since making her uncredited debut as a dancer in Beatlemania (1981), Gina Gershon has established herself as a character actress and one of the leading icons of American camp. For it was fourteen years after her movie debut that Gina made movie history as the predatory bisexual who was the leading ...
Corky, Bound
19. Ruta Gedmintas
Actress | A Street Cat Named Bob
Ruta Gedmintas was born on August 23, 1983 in Canterbury, Kent, England, UK. She is an actress, known for A Street Cat Named Bob (2016), The Strain (2014) and The Lost Samaritan (2008).
Frankie, Lip Service
20. Robert Gant
Actor | 13 Reasons Why
With several decades of wide-ranging credits to his name, Robert Gant has become a well known actor and participant both in Hollywood and abroad. From television to film, dramatic to comedic, his portrayals have spanned all genres. In one of his most well known roles, Robert starred as Professor ...
Professor Ben Bruckner, QAF
21. Piper Perabo
Actress | Coyote Ugly
Piper Perabo is a Golden Globe nominated film, stage and TV actor. Born in Dallas, Texas, and raised in New Jersey, she graduated summa cum Laude from Ohio University. In 2000 she was cast in a breakout role in Coyote Ugly. Since then she has been seen in such films as Christopher Nolan's "The ...
Pauline 'Paulie' Oster, Lost and Delirious
22. Laurel Holloman
Actress | The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love
Laurel Holloman was born on May 23, 1971 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA. She is an actress, known for The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995), The L Word (2004) and Boogie Nights (1997). She was previously married to Paul Macherey.
Randy Dean, The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love
23. Ally Sheedy
Actress | WarGames
Ally Sheedy was born in New York City, to Charlotte (Baum), a press agent and writer, and John J. Sheedy, Jr., an advertising executive. She is of Russian Jewish (mother) and Irish and German (father) descent. While at New York's Bank Street School, twelve-year-old Ally Sheedy wrote about a ...
Lucy Berliner, High Art
24. Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Actor | Inception
Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt was born February 17, 1981 in Los Angeles, California, to Jane Gordon and Dennis Levitt. Joseph was raised in a Jewish family with his late older brother, Dan Gordon-Levitt, who passed away in October 2010. His parents worked for the Pacifica Radio station KPFK-FM and ...
Mysterious Skin
25. Lena Headey
Actress | 300
Lena Headey is a Bermudian-British actress. Headey is best known for her role as "Cersei Lannister" in Game of Thrones (2011) (2011-2019) and The Brothers Grimm (2005), Possession (2002), and The Remains of the Day (1993). Headey stars as "Queen Gorgo", a heroic Spartan woman in the period film, 300...
Luce, Imagine Me and You
26. Scott Bailey
Actor | Bank Roll
Scott Bailey was born in Florissant, Missouri, USA. Scott is an actor and director, known for Bank Roll (2012), Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight (2008) and Timeless (2016). Scott has been married to Adrienne Frantz since November 11, 2011. They have three children.
Prayers for Bobby
27. Lily Loveless
Actress | Skins
Lily Loveless was born on April 16, 1990 in London, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Skins (2007), The Cost of Living (2021) and The Fades (2011).
Naomi Campbell, Skins
28. Jessica Capshaw
Actress | Valentine
Jessica Capshaw was born in Columbia, Missouri, the daughter of actress Kate Capshaw (née Kathleen Sue Nail) and salesman Robert Capshaw. Her parents were both students at the University of Missouri. The family moved to New York to pursue Kate's modeling career. Her parents divorced when she was ...
Dr. Arizona Robbins, Grey's Anatomy
29. Rachel Shelley
Actress | Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India
Rachel Shelley was born in Swindon, England, UK. Rachel is an actor, known for Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001), Blank (2022) and The L Word (2004).
Helena Peabody, The L Word
30. Deanna Casaluce
Actress | Degrassi: The Next Generation
Deanna Casaluce was born on February 7, 1986 in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. She is an actress, known for Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001), Degrassi: Minis (2005) and Devil's Diary (2007).
Alex Nunez, Degrassi: The Next Generation
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