Happy April Birthdays!
Born This Way On This Day
Last Updated = 04-18-25
April isn’t just about blooming flowers and springtime vibes—it’s also a time to celebrate the birthdays of some LGBTQ historical heroes and Queer Pioneers:
04-01 = Rachel Maddow (1973- ) = American journalist and author
04-02 = Alec Guinness (1914-2000) = English actor
04-02 = David Bohnett (1956- ) = American philanthropist and tech entrepreneur
04-02 = Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) = Danish writer
04-02 = Linda Hunt (1945- ) = American actor
04-02 = R.W. Ketton-Cremer (1906-1969) = English biographer and historian
04-03 = Anne Lister (1791-1840) = English landowner and diarist
04-03 = Cat Cora (1967- ) = American chef and tv personality
04-03 = David Hyde Pierce (1959- ) = American actor
04-03 = Francesca Woodman (1958-1981) = American photographer
04-03 = Hayley Kiyoko (1991- ) = American singer and actor
04-03 = Marlon Brando (1924-2004) = American actor
04-03 = William Bast (1931-2015) = American screenwriter and author
04-04 = Anthony Perkins (1932-1992) = American actor
04-04 = Clive Davis (1932- ) = American record producer and executive
04-04 = Graham Norton (1963- ) = Irish actor and talk show host
04-04 = Robert Bauman (1937- ) = American politician and author
04-04 = Toddrick Hall (1985- ) = American singer, choreographer, and YouTuber
04-05 = Lukas Ridgeston (1974- ) = Slovak actor and director
04-05 = Nigel Hawthorne (1929-2001) = British actor
04-05 = Spencer Tracy (1900-1967) = American actor
04-05 = Thomas Hitzlsperger (1982- ) = German soccer player
04-06 = Gale Wilhelm (1908-1991) = American writer
04-06 = Leonora Carrington (1917-2011) = English-Mexican painter and author
04-06 = Monika Treut (1954- ) = German filmmaker
04-06 = Rick Cosnett (1983- ) = Zimbabwean-Australian actor and producer
04-06 = Rob Epstein (1955- ) = American filmmaker
04-07 = Billie Holiday (1915-1959) = American jazz and blues singer
04-07 = Christopher Wood (1901-1930) = British painter
04-07 = Harry Hay (1912-2002) = American activist and labor advocate
04-07 = Janis Ian (1951- ) = American singer-songwriter and musician
04-07 = Martha May Eliot (1891-1978) = American pediatrician
04-07 = Oreste Pucciani (1916-1999) = American academic
04-08 = Michael Bennett (1943-1987) = American dancer, choreographer, and director
04-08 = Roberta Cowell (1918-2011) = British driver and WWII fighter pilot
04-08 = Robin Tyler (1942- ) = Canadian comedian and activist
04-08 = Theresa Sparks (1949- ) = American business executive and politician
04-09 = Cynthia Nixon (1966- ) = American actor
04-09 = Drew Shafer (1936-1989) = American activist
04-09 = Harris Wofford (1926-2019) = American attorney and politician
04-09 = Kristen Stewart (1990- ) = American actor
04-09 = Lil Nas X (1999- ) = American singer-songwriter
04-09 = Marc Jacobs (1963- ) = American-French fashion designer
04-10 = Chyler Leigh (1982- ) = American actor, singer, and model
04-10 = Frances Perkins (1880-1965) = American workers-rights advocate
04-10 = Gro Hammerseng-Edin (1980- ) = Norwegian handball player
04-10 = Tom Spencer (1948-2023) = British politician
04-11 = Christine Hallquist (1956- ) = American politician
04-11 = Glenway Wescott (1901-1987) = American writer
04-11 = Joel Grey (1932- ) = American actor, singer, dancer, and director
04-11 = Michael Callen (1955-1993) = American singer-songwriter, author, and activist
04-12 = Amy Ray (1964- ) = American singer-songwriter
04-12 = Magda Szubanski (1961- ) = Australian actor, comedian and writer
04-12 = Slava Mogutin (1974- ) = New York-based Russian artist and author
04-12 = The Vivienne (1992-2025) = Welsh drag queen
04-12 = Willi Ninja (1961-2006) = American dancer, choreographer, and voguer
04-13 = Deborah Batts (1947-2020) = America lawyer and judge
04-13 = Lanford Wilson (1937-2011) = American playwright
04-13 = Ole von Beust (1955- ) = German politician
04-14 = André Boisclair (1966- ) = Canadian politician
04-14 = Ben Kimura (1947-2003) = Japanese-American painter
04-14 = Da Brat (1974- ) = American rapper
04-14 = John Gielgud (1904-2000) = English actor
04-14 = José María Mendiluce (1951-2015) = Spanish writer and politician
04-14 = Larissa França (1982- ) = Brazilian beach volleyball player
04-15 = Bessie Smith (1894-1937) = American singer and actor
04-15 = George Platt Lynes (1907-1955) = American photographer
04-15 = Henry James (1843-1916) = American writer
04-15 = Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) = Italian painter, sculptor, and architect
04-15 =Linda Perry (1965- ) = American singer-songwriter and producer
04-15 = Luke Evans (1979- ) = Welsh actor and singer
04-16 = Amelia Atwater-Rhodes (1984- ) = American writer
04-16 = Dusty Springfield (1939-1999) = English singer
04-16 = Essex Hemphill (1957-1995) = American poet and activist
04-16 = Merce Cunningham (1919-2009) = American dancer and choreographer
04-16 = Raymond Chan Chi-chuen (1972- ) = Hongkongese politician and host
04-16 = Robert Stigwood (1934-2016) = Australian-born British-resident music entrepreneur, film producer, and impresario
04-17 = Michal Jagelka (1977- ) = Czech actor and voice actor
04-17 = Thornton Wilder (1897-1975) = American playwright and novelist
04-18 = Alice Blinn (1889-1982) = American educator and efficiency expert
04-18 = Kenny Ortega (1950- ) = American director, producer, and choreographer
04-18 = Maria Bello (1967- ) = American actor
04-19 = Dick Sargent (1930-1994) = American actor
04-19 = Prince Edmond de Polignac (1834-1901) = French aristocrat
04-19 = Tim Curry (1946- ) = English actor and singer
04-20 = George Takei (1937- ) = American actor, author, and activist
04-20 = Henry de Montherlant (1895-1972) = French essayist and novelist
04-20 = Luther Vandross (1951-2005) = American singer-songwriter
04-20 = Toller Cranston (1949-2015) = Canadian figure skater and artist
04-21 = Alice Wu (1970- ) = American filmmaker
04-21 = Jessica Clark (1985- ) = English actor and model
04-21 = John Cameron Mitchell (1963- ) = American actor and filmmaker
04-21 = Ric Weiland (1953-2006) = American software developer, programmer, and philanthropist
04-23 = Ethel Smyth (1858-1944) = English composer and suffragist
04-22 = John Waters (1946- ) = American filmmaker and artist
04-23 = Charles Silverstein (1935-2023) = American psychologist and writer
04-23 = Chris Beckett (1955- ) = British science fiction writer
04-23 = Ethel Smyth (1858-1944) = English composer and suffragist
04-23 = Élisabeth de Gramont (1875-1954) = French writer and aristocrat
04-23 = Halston (1932-1990) = American fashion designer
04-23 = James Buchanan (1791-1868) = American lawyer and politician
04-23 = William Shakespeare (1564-1616) = English playwright, poet, and actor
04-24 = Jean-Paul Gaultier (1952- ) = French fashion designer
04-25 = Andy Bell (1964- ) = English singer-songwriter
04-25 = Anja Pärson (1981- ) = Swedish alpine skier
04-25 = Cy Twombly (1928-2011) = American painter
04-25 = Edward II (1284-1327) = King of England
04-25 = Graham Payn (1918-2005) = South African-born English actor and singer
04-26 = Lily Parr (1905-1978) = English athlete
04-26 = Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) = Austrian philosopher
04-26 = Ma Rainey (1886-1939) = American singer
04-27 = Jack Cole (1911-1974) = American dancer, choreographer, and theatre director
04-27 = Luis Zapata (1951-2020) = Mexican writer
04-27 = Prince Paul of Yugoslavia (1893-1976) = Yugoslavian (Serbian) royalty
04-27 = Rachel Morrison = American cinematographer and director
04-27 = Russell T Davies (1963- ) = British television producer and screenwriter
04-29 = Garrison Starr (1975- ) = American singer-songwriter
04-29 = Constantine P. Cavafy (1863-1933) = Greek poet
04-29 = Jim Toy (1930-2022) = American activist and educator
04-29 = Leslie Jordan (1955-2022) = American actor and comedian
04-29 = Rod McKuen (1933-2015) = American poet, singer-songwriter, and composer
04-30 = Alice B. Toklas (1877-1967) = American-born socialite
04-30 = Matilda Mary Hays (1820-1897) = British actor and writer
04-30 = Onir (1969- ) = Bengali Indian film director, editor, writer, and producer
04-30 = Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) = Japanese artist
BORN (THIS WAY) ON THIS DAY