Gay icon

This article is about entertainers; for graphic symbols, see: gay iconography

A gay icon is a popular culture entertainer, usually a woman, who has a significant following among the gay community, particularly among gay men. The term dykon (dyke icon) is sometimes used in reference to gay icons that appeal primarily to lesbians.

Although icon entertainers usually embrace their homosexual fans, most of them are heterosexual in sexual orientation. Along with being entertainers, many gay icons have been subject to high-profile personal tragedy, come-from-behind success or an untimely, tragic death.

List of gay icons

• Dame Julie Andrews, UK singer and actress
• Tammy Faye Bakker, American singer, talk show host and television evangelist
• Talullah Bankhead, American actress and pundit
• Shirley Bassey, UK singer
• Laura Branigan, American singer
• Cher, American singer and actress
• Maria Callas, American-born Greek opera singer
• Margaret Cho, American comedian
• Joan Collins, UK-born American actress
• Patsy Cline, American singer
• Chanel Cole, Australian Musician
• Joan Crawford, American actress
• Bette Davis, American actress
• Marlene Dietrich, German-born actress and singer
• Céline Dion, Canadian-born American singer
• Mylène Farmer, Canadian/French singer
• Judy Garland, American actress and singer
• Audrey Hepburn, Belgian-born American actress
• Katharine Hepburn, American actress
• Eartha Kitt, American singer and actress
• Lucy Lawless, New Zealand-born American actress
• Madonna, American singer
• Imelda Marcos, Former Filipino First Lady, shoe collector
• Ethel Merman, American actress and singer
• Bette Midler, American actress and singer
• Liza Minnelli, American actress and singer, daughter of Judy Garland
• Kylie Minogue, Australian/UK singer and actress
• Marilyn Monroe, American actress
• Julie Newmar, American model and actress
• Edith Piaf, French singer
• Diana Rigg, UK actress
• Joan Rivers, American commedienne
• Diana Ross, American singer and actress
• Dusty Springfield, UK singer
• Barbra Streisand, American singer, actress and director
• Donna Summer, American singer, widely considered "queen of disco"
• Dame Elizabeth Taylor, UK-born American actress and AIDS activist
• Mae West, American actress and singer
• Betty Grable, American actress and pin-up girl
• Ava Gardner, American actress
• Eleanor Roosevelt, American First Lady
• Ella Fitzgerald, American jazz singer
• Vikki Carr, American singer
• Barbara Dickson, UK singer/actress
• Gwen Verdon, American dancer/actress/choreographer
• Anastacia, American singer
• Edith Piaf, French singer
• Pearl Bailey, American singer/actress/comedienne
• Doris Day, American singer/actress
• Romy Schneider, Austrian-born American actress
• Karen Carpenter, American singer/member of The Carpenters
• Barbara Stanywck, American actress
• Margaret Whiting, American singer
• Jean Harlow, American actress
• Lana Turner, American actress
• Megan Mullally, American actress/comedienne ("Will and Grace")
• Mary Martin, American actress and singer
• Gertrude Lawrence, UK actress and singer
• Lucille Ball, American comedienne/actress
• Shirley Manson, UK singer/lead vocalist for Garbage
• Selena, Tejano singer
• Patty Duke, American actress
• Lulu, UK singer/actress
• Elaine Paige, UK singer/actress
• Jaclyn Smith, American actress
• The Pointer Sisters, American singers
• Diahann Carroll, American actress/singer
• Rita Hayworth, American actress
• Enya, UK singer
• Nicole Kidman, Australian-born American actress
• Mandy Moore, American actress/singer
• Estelle Getty, American actress ("The Golden Girls")
• Petula Clark, UK singer/actress
• Eden Riegel, American actress ("All My Children")
• Sandra Bullock, American actress
• Pat Benatar, American singer
• Janis Joplin, American singer
• Tina Turner, American singer
• Sarah Bernhardt, French actress
• Patti LaBelle, American singer
• Susan Sarandon, American actress
• Kelly Ripa, American talk show host/actress
• Gina Gershon, American actress
• Angelina Jolie, American actress
• Betty Buckley, American actres/singer
• Alicia Silverstone, American actress
• Joanna Lumley, UK comedienne/actress ("Absolutely Fabulous")
• Ann-Margret, American actress/singer
• 'Mama' Cass Elliot, American singer/member of The Mamas and the Papas
• Sophia Loren, Italain-born American actress
• Bernadette Peters, American singer/actress
• Ginger Rogers, American actress/dancer
• Billie Holiday, American blues singer
• Sarah Michelle Gellar, American actress
• Rosemary Clooney, American singer
• Debra Messing, American actress ("Will and Grace")
• Linda Eastman McCartney, American activist/musician/wife of Paul
• Sarah Ferguson, UK Duchess of York
• Debbie Reynolds, American actress/singer
• Bea Arthur, American comedienne/actress
• Sharon Tate, American actress/victim of the Manson family murders
• Cyndi Lauper, American singer
• Mariah Carey, American singer
• Josephine Baker, American singer/dancer/actress
• Deborah Harry, American singer/lead vocalist for Blondie
• Tori Amos, American singer
• Tyra Banks, American model/TV host
• Vivien Leigh, UK-born American actress
• Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, American First Lady
• Kim Cattrall, American actress ("Sex and the City")
• Annie Lennox, UK singer/lead singer for The Eurhythmics
• Raquel Welch, American actress/model
• Ellen DeGeneres, American comedienne/talk show host
• Greta Garbo, American/Swedish actress
• Susan Hayward, American actress
• Olivia Newton-John, Australian-born American singer
• Hillary Clinton, American first lady/mayor
• Cleopatra, Egyptian pharaoh
• Faye Dunaway, American actress
• Barbara Parkins, American actress ("Valley of the Dolls")
• Sharon Osbourne, UK rock promoter/reality TV star/wife of Ozzy
• Madeline Kahn, American comedienne/actress
• Carmen Miranda, Brazilian-born American singer/actress
• Zsa Zsa Gabor, Hungarian-born American TV personality/sort of actress
• Phyllis Hyman, American singer/actress
• Reba McEntire, American country singer/TV star
• Gloria Gaynor, American singer
• Meredith Viera, American talk show host ("The View")
• Naomi Judd, American country singer
• Jayne Mansfield, American actress/model
• Cindy Williams, American actress ("Laverne and Shirley")
• Twiggy, UK supermodel/actress/singer
• Martha Graham, American choreographer/dancer
• Costance Holland, UK wife to Oscar Wilde
• Shania Twain, American singer
• Grace Kelly, American actress/Princess of Monaco
• Brigitte Bardot, French actress
• Dolly Parton, American country singer
• Helen Reddy, Australian singer
• Gloria Swanson, American actress
• Montserrat Caballe, Spanish opera singer
• Lynn Fontanne, American stage actress
• Bjork, Icelandic singer
• Miss Piggy, American Muppet
• Carol Burnett, American comedienne/actress
• Dannii Minogue, Australian singer
• Sarah Brightman, UK singer
• Angie Dickinson, American actress
• Princess Diana of Wales, UK Princess
• Molly Ringwald, American actress
• Suzanne Somers, American actress/infomercial advertiser
• Connie Francis, American singer
• Bessie Smith, American singer
• Melissa Etheridge, American singer
• Thalia, Latino singer/actress
• Winona Ryder, American actress/shoplifter
• Kathy Griffin, American comedienne
• Jody Watley, American singer
• Donatella Versace, Italian fashion designer
• Billie Jean King, American tennis pro
• Joy Behar, American comedienne/talk show host ("The View")
• Farrah Fawcett, American actress/model
• Condoleezza Rice, American Secretary of State
• Monica Lewinsky, American scandal starter
• Phyllis Diller, American comedienne
• Pamela Anderson, American model/actress(?)
• Norma Shearer, American actress
• Penny Marshall, American director/actress
• Gloria Vanderbilt, American fashion designer/heiress
• Rosalind Russell, American actress
• Carol Channing, American singer/actress
• Charo, Spanish-born American entertainer
• Nancy Reagan, American first lady
• Aretha Franklin, American singer
• Grace Jones, Jamaican-born American singer/actress
• Brigitte Nielsen, Danish-born American model/actress/reality TV star
• Paulina Rubio, Latino singer/actress
• Dalida, French singer
• Celine Dion, Canadian born American singer
• Cindy Crawford, American model
• Shirley MacLaine, American actress
• Katie Couric, American news anchor
• Chaka Khan, American singer
• Lil' Kim, American rapper
• Elizabeth Dole, American senator
• Linda Evans, American actress
• K.D. Lang, American singer
• Margaret Thatcher, former U.K. Prime Minister
• Sarah Jessica Parker, American actress ("Sex and the City")
• Madeline Albright, former American Secretary of State
• Demi Moore, American actress
• Meg Ryan, American actress
• Lisa Marie Presley, American singer/daughter of Elvis
• Chenoa, Argentinian singer
• Fran Drescher, American comedienne/actress
• Britney Spears, American singer
• Paris Hilton, American heiress/socialite/entrepreneur
• Christina Aguilera, American singer
• Star Jones, American talk show host ("The View")
• Oprah Winfrey, American talk show host
• The Weather Girls, American singers
• TLC American singers
• Cindy Crawford, American model
• Elizabeth Dole, American senator
• Katie Couric, American news anchor
• Alejandra Guzman, Mexican singer
• Julia Roberts, American actress
• Jessica Simpson, American singer
• Yoko Ono, Japanese-born American activist/wife to John Lennon/avant-garde singer
• Ivana Trump, American entrepreneur
• Barbara Walters, American interviewer
• Wynonna Judd, American country singer
• Chastity Bono, American activist
• Kate Jackson, American actress
• Whitney Houston, American singer
• Kelly Osbourne, UK-born American reality TV star/singer
• Anna Nicole Smith, American model/reality TV star
• Pink, American singer
• Cilla Black, UK singer/talk show host
• Kathie Lee Gifford, American talk show host
• Martha Stewart, American entrepreneur
• Courtney Love, American singer
• Ricki Lake, American talk show host/actress
• Janet Jackson, American singer
• Rosie O'Donnell, American comedienne/talk show host
• The Spice Girls, American singers
• Paula Abdul, American choreographer/singer/reality TV star
• Whoopi Goldberg, American comedienne/actress
• Phranc, American singer
• Bianca Jagger, American socialite
• Nicole Richie, American socialite
• Kelly Clarkson, American singer
• Missy Elliot, American rapper
• Nicki French, UK singer
• Sandra Bernhard, American comedienne
• Sweet Potato Queens, American beauty queens
• Hedy Lamarr, Austrian-born American actress
• Ingrid Bergman, Swedish-born American actress
• Mamie Van Doren, American model/actress
• Barbie, American doll
• Jennifer Lopez, American actress/singer
• Wallis Simpson, UK Duchess of Windsor
• Peggy Lee, American singer
• Tamara, Spanish vocalist
• LaToya Jackson, American singer
• Naomi Campbell, UK-born American model
• Christy Turlington, American model
• Elle MacPherson, Australian-born American model
• Claudia Schiffer, German-born American model
• Gwen Stefani, American singer

See also:

• Fag hag
• Teen idol
• Diva
• Sexual minority cultures
• Gay anthem