As Pride Month kicks off, a number of celebrity parents have a particuarly special reason to celebrate: Their kids are part of the LGBTQ community. Over the years, these stars have spoken out about how proud they are of their sons and daughters for being open about their sexuality and identity and for embracing their true selves. They've been their kids' champions and cheerleaders, and some have even taken on the mantle of advocacy and activism for LGBTQ rights in their kids' honor.
Sadly, not all LGBTQ people are fortunate to have this kind of support on their journey. Many experience hatred, discrimination, and even violence, not just from strangers but from the friends and family members who are supposed to love them unconditionally.
That's why it's so important that celebrity parents like these, who have powerful public platforms, continue to speak out and share messages of love, tolerance, acceptance, and understanding.
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Marcia Gay Harden
Jamie Lee Curtis
After Jamie Lee Curtis announced in 2021 that her daughter Ruby is transgender, the two opened up to People about how they've been navigating the journey together. Jamie said that for loved ones of an LBGTQ person, it's important to listen and learn. "It's speaking a new language. It's learning new terminology and words. I am new at it. I am not someone who is pretending to know much about it," she explained, adding that you need to give yourself grace as you adapt and evolve.
"You still mess up — I've messed up today twice. We're human. But if one person reads this, sees a picture of Ruby and me, and says, 'I feel free to say this is who I am,' then it's worth it."
Heather Dubrow
In March 2023, Real Housewives of Orange County star Heather Dubrow shared with fans that her youngest child had come out as transgender. Along with words of love and support for Ace, she wrote on Instagram: "Our job as parents is to give our kids a safe and supportive environment so they can grow up as healthy, happy, confident, independent humans. Since Ace is a 12-year-old child, with a long life ahead of him, we will let him tell his own story someday if he chooses to do so."
Heather has been incredibly supportive of all of her kids as they've explored their gender and sexuality. Her daughter Max came out as bisexual in 2020, and her daughter Kate revealed she's a lesbian in 2022.
Ally Sheedy
Ally Sheedy's son Beck, who is 29, came out as transgender in his teens. The Single Drunk Female star admitted to People in 2022 that as a mother, she sometimes worries about how the world will treat him. "I want him to be able to do what he wants to do with his life and have the freedom to make his own choices and surround himself with a loving, supportive community," she explained. "It's natural to have fears about your kids, no matter what. But in this case, Beck is in a really great place in his life. I give him the room to run, and I just really try to just watch."
Busy Philipps
Busy Philipps is a proud supporter of her 14-year-old daughter, Birdie, who came out as gay when she was 10. During a December 2020 episode of her podcast, Busy shared the news, noting that Birdie prefers they/them pronouns — something she admitted to not always getting right.
"I said, 'You know, Bird, I've been doing a bad job with the pronouns,'" she recalled telling her daughter (via People). "Because Birdie said that they would like their pronouns to be they/them, and I haven't been doing it, and I said because I have this public persona and I want Birdie to be in control of their own narrative and not have to answer to anybody outside of our friends and family if they don't want to."
After assuring listeners that Birdie gave her mom approval to talk about her journey, Busy added: "So Birdie, my out kid, prefers they/them. I f— up sometimes, but I'm trying my best at that, too."
Cynthia Nixon
And Just Like That star and LGBTQ activist Cynthia Nixon — whose son, Samuel, is transgender — shared some important advice for parents whose kids are struggling with their identity or sexuality. "Before I ever had an inkling my kid might be trans, I read a really extensive article [about] all of these parents of prepubescent kids who were really struggling with this. There was one dad who said, 'At a certain point, the decision seemed to me I could have a dead son or a live daughter,' and it's like, after you say that, what more is there to say?" she said while appearing on Alan Cumming and Chris Sweeney's Homo Sapiens podcast in 2018.
"You can make all the arguments that you want but the fact is, as a parent, as a human, you should listen to what people tell you about themselves. And if they want to make this really extreme change or move in that direction, people are not going to do this lightly."
Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron revealed in 2019 that her oldest child is transgender. At the time, she explained to The Daily Mail that Jackson, then 7, was assigned male at birth but told her four years prior that she's a girl. "I thought she was a boy, too. Until she looked at me at 3 years old and said, 'I am not a boy,'" said the Fast X star, who is also mom to daughter August.
"So there you go. I have two beautiful daughters who, just like any parent, I want to protect and I want to see thrive. They were born who they are and exactly where in the world both of them get to find themselves as they grow up, and who they want to be, is not for me to decide. My job as a parent is to celebrate them and to love them and to make sure that they have everything they need in order to be what they want to be."
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