Happy December Birthdays!
Born This Way On This Day
December isn't just a month of holiday celebrations and cheer—it’s also a time to celebrate the birthdays of some LGBTQ historical heroes and Queer Pioneers:
12-01 = Matthew Shepard (1976-1998) = American student and hate crime victim
12-01 = Janelle Monáe (1985- ) = American singer-songwriter and actor
12-01 = Richard Pryor (1940-2005) = American comedian and actor
12-01 = Takeda Shingen (1521-1573) = Japanese daimyō and monk
12-02 = Gianni Versace (1946-1997) = Italian fashion designer
12-02 = Jason Collins (1978- ) = American basketball player
12-03 = Del Shores (1957- ) = American writer and filmmaker
12-03 = Frederic Leighton (1830-1896) = British artist
12-03 = Michael Musto (1955- ) = American writer and culture critic
12-04 = Cornell Woolrich (1903-1968) = American crime writer
12-05 = Little Richard (1932-2020) = American singer-songwriter
12-05 = Margaret Cho (1968- ) = American comedian, actor, and author
12-06 = Tom Hulce (1953- ) = American actor and theater producer
12-06 = William II of the Netherlands (1792-1849) = Dutch monarch
12-07 = Hurd Hatfield (1917-1998) = American actor
12-07 = Jane Castor (1960- ) = American politician
12-07 = Wally Cox (1924-1971) = American actor
12-07 = Willa Cather (1873-1947) = American writer
12-08 = Brendan Burke (1988-2010) = Canadian hockey player
12-08 = Dan Hartman (1950-1994) = American singer-songwriter and producer
12-08 = Jim Morrison (1943-1971) = American singer-songwriter and poet
12-08 = Lucian Freud (1922-2011) = German-English artist
12-08 = Sinéad O'Connor (1966-2023) = Irish singer-songwriter
12-09 = Edith Craig (1869-1947) = British theatre director and suffragist
12-09 = Elvira Kurt (1961- ) = Canadian comedian
12-09 = Gilles Blanchard (1953- ) = French artist (Pierre et Gilles)
12-09 = Mario Cantone (1959- ) = American comedian, actor, and writer
12-10 = Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) = American poet
12-10 = Mark Takano (1960- ) = American politician
12-10 = Raven-Symoné (1985- ) = American actor and singer
12-10 = Tommy Kirk (1941- ) = American actor and businessman
12-11 = Alvin Baltrop (1948-2004) = American photographer
12-11 = Jean Marais (1913-1998) = French actor
12-12 = Brandon Teena (1972-1993) = American subject of Boys Don't Cry
12-12 = Ed Koch (1924-2013) = American politician
12-12 = Edvard Munch (1863-1944) = Norwegian painter
12-12 = Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) = French novelist
12-12 = José Sarria (1922-2013) = American drag queen and activist
12-13 = Anton Hysén (1990- ) = Swedish soccer player
12-13 = Jim Fall (1962- ) = American film and tv director-producer
12-14 = Amini Fonua (1989- ) = Tongan swimmer
12-14 = Bob Paris (1959- ) = American-Canadian bodybuilder and actor
12-14 = Herbert Tobias (1924-1982) = German photographer
12-14 = James Grauerholz (1953- ) = American editor and writer
12-14 = Jobriath (1946-1983) = American rock musician and actor
12-15 = Clementina Anstruther–Thomson (1857-1921) = Scottish author
12-15 = Jack Halberstam (1961- ) = American scholar, writer, and activist
12-15 = Nero (37-68 CE) = Roman emperor
12-16 = Charley Parkhurst (1812-1879) = American stagecoach driver
12-16 = Kanako Otsuji (1974- ) = Japanese LGBT rights activist, and politician
12-16 = Noël Coward (1899-1973) = English playwright and composer
12-17 = Deborah Sampson (1760-1827) = American soldier (disguised as a man)
12-17 = Gregg Araki (1959- ) = American filmmaker
12-17 = Jacqueline Wilson (1945- ) = English children's literature novelist
12-17 = Paul Cadmus (1904-1999) = American painter
12-17 = Sarah Paulson (1974- ) = American actor
12-18 = Billie Eilish (2001- ) = American singer-songwriter
12-18 = Brian Orser (1961- ) = Canadian figure skater and coach
12-18 = Christina, Queen of Sweden (1626-1689) = Swedish monarch
12-19 = Jean Genet (1910-1986) = French novelist and activist
12-20 = Elsie de Wolfe (1859-1950) = American actor and interior designer
12-20 = Prince George, Duke of Kent (1902-1942) = British royal
12-21 = Michael Tilson Thomas (1944- ) = American conductor and composer
12-22 = Jean–Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) = American artist
12-22 = Marc Allégret (1900-1973) = French screenwriter and film director
12-23 = Mary Rozet Smith (1868-1934) = American philanthropist and suffragist
12-24 = Brenda Howard (1946-2005) = American LGBT activist
12-24 = Galba (3 BCE-69 CE) = Roman emperor
12-24 = Lee Daniels (1959- ) = American filmmaker and tv producer
12-24 = Ricky Martin (1971- ) = Puerto Rican singer-songwriter and actor
12-25 = Albert Cashier (1843-1915) = Irish-American trans Union Army soldier
12-25 = Ismail Merchant (1936-2005) = Indian-English director and producer
12-25 = Quentin Crisp (1908-1999) = English author and illustrator
12-26 = David Sedaris (1956- ) = American comedian, author, and radio host
12-27 = Desiree Akhavan (1984- ) = American filmmaker, writer and actor
12-27 = Guido Westerwelle (1961-2016) = German politician
12-27 = Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992) = German-American actor and singer
12-27 = Wilson Cruz (1973- ) = American actor
12-28 = Lili Elbe (1882-1931) = Danish artist, model, and The Danish Girl subject
12-28 – Manuel Puig (1932-1990) = Argentine writer (Kiss Of The Spider Woman)
12-29 = Billy Tipton (1914-1989) = American musician and bandleader
12-29 = Dylan Mulvaney (1996- ) = American actor and social media personality
12-29 = Elsa Gidlow (1898-1986) = Canadian-American poet
12-29 = Katherine Moennig (1976- ) = American actor
12-29 = Lilly Wachowski (1967- ) = American filmmaker
12-29 = Paul Rudnick (1957- ) = American writer
12-29 = Paula Poundstone (1957- ) = American comedian and author
12-30 = Beauford Delaney (1901-1979) = American artist
12-30 = Paul Bowles (1910-1999) = American composer and writer
12-30 = Titus (39 BCE-81 BCE) = Roman emperor
12-31 = Diana Sacayán (1975-2015) = Argentinian activist
12-31 = Jennifer Higdon (1962- ) = American composer
12-31 = Orry-Kelly (1897-1964) = Australian costume designer
12-31 = Taylor Mead (1924-2013) = American actor and poet