Happy May Birthdays!

Born This Way On This Day

Last Updated = 05-28-25

May isn’t just a month of blooming flowers and warmer days—it’s also a time to celebrate the birthdays of some LGBTQ historical heroes and Queer Pioneers:

• 05-01 = Andy Thayer (1960- ) = American Gay Liberation Network co-founder

• 05-01 = Calamity Jane (1852-1903) = American frontierswoman and scout

• 05-01 = Enoé Uranga (1963- ) = Mexican politician

• 05-01 = Katya Zamolodchikova (1982- ) = American drag queen, actor, author, recording artist, podcaster, and comedian

• 05-01 = Mary MacLane (1881-1929) = Canadian-American writer

• 05-01 = Michael Dillon (1915-1962) = British physician and author

• 05-01 = Romaine Brooks (1874-1970) = American-French painter and illustrator

• 05-02 = Catherine Opie (1961- ) = American photographer

• 05-02 = Lesley Gore (1946-2015) = American singer-songwriter

• 05-02 = Lorenz Hart (1895-1943) = American lyricist

• 05-02 = Mabel Hampton (1902-1989) = American activist and dancer

• 05-02 = Roscoe Lee Browne = American actor and director

• 05-03 = Mary Lambert (1989- ) = American singer-songwriter and spoken word artist

• 05-03 = May Sarton (1912-1995) = Belgian-American writer

• 05-03 = Raffi Freedman-Gurspan (1987- ) = American political activist

• 05-03 = Robert De Niro Sr. (1922-1993) = American artist

• 05-03 = Sandi Toksvig (1958- ) = Danish-British comedienne and TV personality

• 05-03 = William Inge (1913-1973) = American playwright and novelist

• 05-04 = Keith Haring (1958-1990) = American artist

• 05-04 = Lance Bass (1979- ) = American singer, dancer, and producer

• 05-04 = Lincoln Kirstein (1907-1996) = American writer, impresario, art connoisseur, philanthropist, and New York City Ballet co-founder

• 05-05 = Del Martin (1921-2008) = American feminist and gay rights activist

• 05-05 = James Beard (1903-1985) = American chef, author, and tv personality

• 05-05 = Robert Vano (1948- ) = Slovak photographer

• 05-05 = Tyrone Power (1914-1958) = American actor

• 05-06 = Jon Reed Sims (1847-1984) = American choir conductor

• 05-06 = Mary Lowndes (1857-1929) = British artist and suffragist

• 05-06 = Noah Galvin (1984- ) = American actor and singer

• 05-06 = Rudolph Valentino (1895-1926) = Italian actor

• 05-07 = Angélica Lozano Correa (1975- ) = Colombian lawyer and politician

• 05-07 = Gary Cooper (1901-1961) = American actor

• 05-07 = Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) = Russian composer

• 05-08 = Darren Hayes (1972- ) = Australian singer-songwriter

• 05-08 = Gary Snyder (1930- ) = American poet

• 05-08 = Henry Dunant (1828-1910) = Swiss businessman, activist, Red Cross co-founder, and first Nobel Prize laureate

• 05-08 = Jessica Platt (1989- ) = Canadian professional hockey player

• 05-08 = Nyle DiMarco (1989- ) = American model, actor, and activist

• 05-08 = Tom of Finland (1920-1991) = Finnish artist

• 05-09 = Alan Bennett (1934- ) = English writer and actor

• 05-09 = Marieke Wijsman (1975- ) = Dutch Olympic speed skater

• 05-09 = Wendy Crewson (1956- ) = Canadian actor and producer

• 05-10 = Andrea Jenkins (1961- ) = American politician, writer, and artist

• 05-10 = Scott Brison (1967- ) = Canadian politician

• 05-10 = Steve Gunderson (1951- ) = American politician and executive

• 05-11 = Bernice Bing (1936-1998) = American artist

• 05-11 = Christopher Bailey (1971- ) = English fashion designer and Burberry CEO

• 05-11 = Dick Leitsch (1935-2018) = American activist

• 05-11 = Eleanor Butler (1739-1829) = Irish aristocrat and socialite

• 05-11 = Salvador Dali (1904-1989) = Spanish artist

• 05-11 = Sarah Ponsonby (1755-1831) = Irish aristocrat and socialite

• 05-11 = Valentino (1932- ) = Italian fashion designer

• 05-12 = Edward Lear (1812-1888) = English artist, musician, and writer

• 05-12 = Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) = British nurse and social reformer

• 05-12 = Gerry Studds (1937-2006) = American politician

• 05-12 = Jared Polis (1975- ) = American politician and businessman

• 05-12 = Joan Nestle (1940- ) = American writer and Lesbian Herstory Archives founder

• 05-12 = Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003) = American actor

• 05-12 = Lola Flash (1959- ) = American photographer and activist

• 05-12 = Margaret Cuthbert (1887-1968) = Canadian-American radio broadcaster

• 05-12 = Robbie Rogers (1987- ) = American professional soccer player

• 05-13 = Alan Ball (1957- ) = American writer and director

• 05-13 = Armistead Maupin (1944- ) = American writer

• 05-13 = Cheryl Dunye (1966- ) = American filmmaker

• 05-13 = Réal Ménard (1962- ) = Canadian politician, political scientist, and lawyer

• 05-14 = Julian Eltinge (1881-1941) = American actor and female impersonator

• 05-14 = Magnus Hirschfeld (1868-1935) = German physician and sexologist

• 05-14 = Richard Deacon (1921-1984) = American actor

• 05-15 = Archduke Ludwig Viktor Of Austria (1842-1919) = Austrian royal

• 05-15 = Barbara Hammer (1939-2019) = American filmmaker

• 05-15 = Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu (1972- ) = Native Hawaiian activist

• 05-15 = Jackie Shane (1940-2019) = Canadian-American soul singer

• 05-15 = Jasper Johns (1930- ) = American artist

• 05-15 = Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689-1762) = English aristocrat and writer

• 05-15 = Richard Avedon (1923-2004) = American photographer

• 05-15 = Stella Maxwell (1990- ) = Belgian-New Zealander fashion model

• 05-16 = Adrienne Rich (1929-2012) = American poet and essayist

• 05-16 = Anya Gallaccio (1963- ) = British artist

• 05-16 = Cheryl Clarke (1947- ) = American poet, essayist, educator, and activist

• 05-16 = Erik Satie (1866-1925) = French composer

• 05-16 = Jill Johnston (1929-2010) = British-born American author and critic

• 05-16 = Joey Graceffa (1991- ) = American YouTuber

• 05-16 = Liberace (1919-1987) = American entertainer and pianist

• 05-16 = Tamara De Lempicka (1898-1980) = Polish-American painter

• 05-17 = Annise Parker (1956- ) = American politician

• 05-17 = Howard Ashman (1950-1991) = American playwright and lyricist

• 05-17 = Jill Johnston (1929-2010) = British-born American author and critic

• 05-17 = Lena Waithe (1984- ) = American screenwriter, producer, and actor

• 05-17 = Robin Maugham (1916-1981) = British writer

• 05-17 = Rose Troche (1964- ) = American filmmaker

• 05-18 = Charles Trenet (1913-2001) = French singer and songwriter

• 05-18 = Don Bachardy (1934- ) = American portrait artist

• 05-18 = Felicia Pearson (1980- ) = American actor, author and rapper

• 05-18 = John Koch (1909-1978) = American artist

• 05-18 = Miriam Margolyes (1941- ) = English-Australian actor and voice artist

• 05-18 = Patrick Dennis (1921-1976) = American author

• 05-18 = Pierre Balmain (1914-1982) = French fashion designer

• 05-19 = Charles Sorley (1895-1915) = British Army officer and Scottish war poet

• 05-19 = Gee Vaucher (1945- ) = British artist

• 05-19 = Grace Jones (1948- ) Jamaican-American singer-songwriter and actor

• 05-19 = Grethe Jürgens (1910-1997) = German painter

• 05-19 = John Vernou Bouvier III (1891-1957) = American stockbroker and socialite

• 05-19 = Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965) = American playwright

• 05-19 = Michael McConnell (1942- ) = American activist

• 05-19 = Pete Townshend (1945- ) = English singer-songwriter

• 05-19 = Peter Wildeblood (1923-1999) = British-Canadian writer and activist

• 05-19 = Sam Smith (1992- ) = English singer-songwriter

• 05-20 = Gregory Gray (1959-2019) = Northern Irish singer-songwriter

• 05-20 = Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) = French novelist and playwright

• 05-20 = Karl M. Baer (1885-1956) = German-Israeli author and social worker

• 05-20 = Omar Apollo (1997- ) = American singer-songwriter and actor

• 05-20 = Ted Allen (1965- ) = American television host and author

• 05-21 = Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) = German painter, engraver, and mathematician

• 05-21 = Anika Moa (1980- ) = New Zealander singer-songwriter

• 05-21 = Frank Kameny (1925-2011) = American astronomer, activist, and Mattachine Society co-founder

• 05-21 = Frederick of Hohenau (1857-1914) = German aristocrat

• 05-21 = Harold Robbins (1916-1997) = American author

• 05-21 = Kathleen Wynne (1953- ) = Canadian politician

• 05-21 = Raymond Burr (1917-1993) = Canadian-American actor and director

• 05-21 = Ron Buckmire (1968- ) = Grenadian-born mathematician and activist

• 05-21 = Tom Daley (1994- ) = British diver and television personality

• 05-22 = Barbara May Cameron (1954-2002) = Native American photographer, poet, writer, and activist

• 05-22 = Harvey Milk (1930-1978) = American lieutenant and politician

• 05-22 = Laurence Olivier (1907-1989) = English actor, director, and producer

• 05-22 = Mark Bingham (1970-2001) = American businessman

• 05-22 = Morrissey (1959- ) = English singer-songwriter

• 05-23 = Annemarie Schwarzenbach (1908-1942) = Swiss writer and journalist

• 05-23 = Guinevere Turner (1968- ) = American actor and screenwriter

• 05-23 = Lea DeLaria (1958- ) = American comedian, actor, and singer

• 05-23 = Lotte Hahm (1890-1967) = German activist

• 05-23 = Maya Keyes (1985- ) = American social and political activist

• 05-24 = Gene Anthony Ray (1962-2003) = American actor, dancer, and choreographer

• 05-24 = Greg Berlanti (1972- ) = American television writer, producer, and director

• 05-24 = Yoshiko Kawashima (1907-1948) = Japanese princess and spy

• 05-25 = Anette Trettebergstuen (1981- ) = Norwegian politician

• 05-25 = Anne Heche (1969-2022) = American actor

• 05-25 = Ian McKellen (1939- ) = English actor

• 05-25 = Robert Ross (1869-1918) = Canadian journalist and art critic

• 05-26 = Alan Hollinghurst (1954- ) = English writer

• 05-26 = Kim Coco Iwamoto (1968- ) = Hawaiian-American politician and activist

• 05-26 = Mathilde de Morny (1863-1944) = French noblewoman and artist

• 05-26 = Sally Ride (1951-2012) = American astronaut

• 05-26 = Ulrike Lunacek (1957- ) = Austrian politician

• 05-27 = Allan Carr (1937-1999) = American playwright and producer

• 05-27 = Chris Colfer (1990- ) = American actor and singer

• 05-27 = Marijane Meaker (1927- ) = American writer

• 05-27 = Siouxsie Sioux (1957- ) = English singer-songwriter

• 05-27 = Vincent Price (1911-1993) = American actor

• 05-28 = Corine Mauch (1960- ) = Swiss politician and Mayor of Zurich

• 05-29 = Beatrice Lillie (1894-1989) = Canadian-English actor and singer

• 05-29 = Gene Robinson (1947- ) = American Episcopalian bishop

• 05-29 = Laverne Cox (1972- ) = American actor activist

• 05-29 = Melissa Etheridge (1961- ) = American singer-songwriter

• 05-29 = Nancy Cárdenas (1954- ) = Mexican actor, writer, and activist

• 05-29 = Rupert Everett (1959- ) = English actor and novelist

• 05-30 = Bertrand Delanoë (1950- ) = French politician and former Mayor of Paris

• 05-30 = Christine Jorgensen (1926-1989) = American actor and singer

• 05-30 = Countee Cullen (1903-1946) = American poet and author

• 05-31 = Ellsworth Kelly (1923-2015) = American painter and sculptor

• 05-31 = Lissy Gröner (1954- ) = German politician

• 05-31 = Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1945-1982) = German filmmaker

• 05-31 = Walt Whitman (1819-1892) = American poet, essayist and journalist

  ---

  BORN (THIS WAY) ON THIS DAY

  • Happy January Birthdays!

  • Happy February Birthdays!

  • Happy March Birthdays!

  • Happy April Birthdays!

  • Happy May Birthdays!

  • Happy June Birthdays!

  • Happy July Birthdays!

  • Happy August Birthdays!

  • Happy September Birthdays!

  • Happy October Birthdays!

  • Happy November Birthdays!

  • Happy December Birthdays!