Happy July Birthdays!

Born This Way On This Day

July isn’t just about summer fun and fireworks—it’s also a time to celebrate the birthdays of some LGBTQ historical heroes and Queer Pioneers:

• 07-01 = Charles Laughton (1899-1962) = English-American actor and filmmaker

• 07-01 = Dom Orejudos (1933-1991) = American artist (Etienne)

• 07-01 = Kiyoshi Kuromiya (1943-2000) = Japanese-American author and activist

• 07-01 = Louis Joseph (1654-1712) = French military commander (Vendôme)

• 07-01 = Orlando Cruz (1981- ) = Puerto Rican professional boxer

• 07-02 = Bruce Nugent (1906-1987) = American writer and painter

• 07-02 = Daniel Kowalski (1975- ) = Australian freestyle swimmer

• 07-02 = Johnny Weir (1984- ) = American figure skater and tv personality

• 07-02 = Liane de Pougy (1869-1950) = French dancer and courtesan

• 07-02 = Pierre Cardin (1922-2020) = Italian-French fashion designer

• 07-02 = Sylvia Rivera (1951-2002) = American activist

• 07-04 = Edmonia Lewis (1844-1907) = American sculptor

• 07-04 = Stephen Boyd (1931-1977) = British actor

• 07-04 = Steven Cojocaru (1970- ) = Canadian fashion critic and tv personality

• 07-05 = Cecil Rhodes (1853-1902) = British imperialist and mining magnate

• 07-05 = Hein Vos (1903-1972) = Dutch politician and economist

• 07-05 = Jean Cocteau (1889-1963) = French poet, artist, and director

• 07-05 = Megan Rapinoe (1985- ) = American athlete and activist

• 07-06 = Ethel Sands (1873-1962) = British painter and socialite

• 07-06 = Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) = Mexican artist

• 07-06 = Leonard Matlovich (1943-1988) = American veteran and activist

• 07-06 = Merv Griffin (1925-2007) = American tv host and media mogul

• 07-07 = Bruce Bellas (1909-1974) = American photographer (Bruce Of LA)

• 07-07 = George Cukor (1899-1983) = American film director

• 07-07 = Gottfried Von Cramm (1909-1976) = German tennis player

• 07-07 = Kirsten Vangsness (1972- ) = American actor

• 07-08 = Peter Orlovsky (1933-2010) = American poet

• 07-08 = Philip Johnson (1906-2005) = American architect

• 07-08 = Silvia Modig (1976- ) = Finnish politician, radio and TV journalist

• 07-09 = David Hockney (1937- ) = English painter and photographer

• 07-09 = Henry Geldzahler (1935-1994) = Belgian-American curator and critic

• 07-09 = Kelly McGillis (1957- ) = American actor

• 07-09 = Minor White (1908-1976) = American photographer

• 07-09 = Vanessa Selbst (1984- ) = American poker player

• 07-10 = Alexandra Hedison (1969- ) = American photographer and actor

• 07-10 = Angel Haze (1991- ) = American rapper and singer

• 07-10 = Fiona Shaw (1958- ) = Irish actor and theatre-opera director

• 07-10 = Marcel Proust (1871-1922) = French novelist

• 07-10 = Zoe Dunning (1963- ) = American naval officer and activist

• 07-11 = Dorothy Wilde (1895-1941) = English socialite and niece of Oscar Wilde

• 07-11 = Giorgio Armani (1934- ) = Italian fashion designer

• 07-11 = Leisha Hailey (1971- ) = American actor and musician

• 07-11 = Tab Hunter (1931-2018) = American actor, singer, and author

• 07-11 = Vito Russo (1946-1990) = American activist and author

• 07-12 = Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven (1874-1927) = German artist and poet

• 07-12 = Kyrsten Sinema (1976- ) = American politician

• 07-12 = Michelle Rodriguez (1978- ) = American actor

• 07-12 = Van Cliburn (1934-2013) = American pianist

• 07-12 = Julius Caesar (100 BC-44 BC) = Roman general and statesman

• 07-13 = Joan E. Biren (1944- ) = American photographer and filmmaker

• 07-13 = Mary Emma Woolley (1863-1947) = American educator and activist

• 07-14 = Ferdinando II de' Medici (1610-1670) = Italian aristocrat

• 07-14 = Jane Lynch (1960- ) = American actor

• 07-14 = Jim French (1932-2017) = American photographer (Colt Studio)

• 07-14 = Poliziano (1454-1494) = Italian classical scholar and poet

• 07-14 = Randy Boissonnault (1970- ) = Canadian politician

• 07-15 = Allison Brewer (1954- ) = Canadian activist and politician

• 07-15 = David Cicilline (1961- ) = American congressman

• 07-15 = Jody Dobrowski (1981-2005) = British hate-crime victim

• 07-15 = Olly Alexander (1990- ) = British singer

• 07-16 = Barbara Stanwyck (1907-1990) = American actor, model and dancer

• 07-16 = Reinaldo Arenas (1943-1990) = Cuban poet, novelist, and playwright

• 07-16 = Tony Kushner (1956- ) = American playwright and screenwriter

• 07-17 = Berenice Abbott (1898-1991) = American photographer

• 07-17 = Charles Lapointe (1944- ) = Canadian business executive and politician

• 07-18 = Elio Di Rupo (1951- ) = Prime Minister of Belgium

• 07-18 = Lillian Faderman (1940- ) = American scholar, historian and writer

• 07-19 = Jaiyah Saelua (1988- ) = Samoan international football player

• 07-19 = Joseph Hansen (1923-2004) = American crime writer and poet

• 07-19 = Zanele Muholi (1972- ) = South African photographer and artist

• 07-20 = Randal Kleiser (1946- ) = American filmmaker

• 07-20 = Roberta Achtenberg (1950- ) = American attorney and activist

• 07-20 = Rokas Žilinskas (1972-2017) = Lithuanian journalist and politician

• 07-21 = Rufus Wainwright (1973- ) = American/Canadian singer-songwriter

• 07-22 = Emily Saliers (1963- ) = American singer-songwriter (Indigo Girls)

• 07-22 = James Whale (1889-1957) = English director and actor

• 07-23 = Charlotte Cushman (1816-1876) = American actor

• 07-23 = F. Holland Day (1864-1933) = American photographer

• 07-23 = Ruth Ellis (1899-2000) = American activist and centenarian

• 07-24 = Anna Paquin (1982- ) = Canadian-New Zealander actor

• 07-24 = Gus Van Sant (1952- ) = American director

• 07-24 = Robert Graves (1895-1985) = English writer

• 07-25 = Christine Quinn (1966- ) = American politician

• 07-25 = Thomas Eakins (1844-1916) = American artist and photographer

• 07-26 = Nikki Sinclaire (1968- ) = English politician

• 07-27 = Troy Perry (1940- ) = American cleric and MCC founder

• 07-28 = Imke Duplitzer (1975- ) = German épée fencer

• 07-28 = Judy Grahn (1940- ) = American poet

• 07-28 = Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) = French artist (Rrose Sélavy)

• 07-29 = Dag Hammarskjöld (1905-1961) = Swedish economist and diplomat

• 07-29 = Paul Taylor (1930-2018) = American choreographer

• 07-29 = Prince Abdul Azim Of Brunei (1982-2020) = Bruneian royal

• 07-29 = Tim Gunn (1953- ) = American academic and tv personality

• 07-30 = Frank Coombs (1906-1941) = English artist, architect, and art dealer

• 07-30 = Pascal Smet (1967- ) = Belgian politician

• 07-30 = Sean Patrick Maloney (1966- ) = American politician

• 07-31 = Barbara Gittings (1932-2007) = American gay rights activist

• 07-31 = Susan Flannery (1939- ) = American actor