Most parents want to see their children be happy and thrive, and that includes celebrity parents. A mom or dad's support can be everything to a kid — no matter their age — but when a child comes out as gay or trans, it's not always a given. But plenty of celebs are also their child's number one fan, despite how they identify. Some of those parents have become outspoken about championing their LGBTQ kids' rights at every opportunity.
In 2019, it can be hard to imagine that anyone wouldn't be tolerant of someone else's sexuality. Unfortunately, it's still all too common for LGBTQ people to face hatred and discrimination — sometimes from inside their own families. Every parent should unconditionally love their child, but a lot of people don't have that kind of love from their parents.
The decision to come out is personal, and for many members of the LGBTQ community, it can be especially difficult if they're worried about how their parents might react to the news. But when it comes to these celebrities, it seems like they're truly supportive of their kids sharing their truth and being who they are openly and without holding back.
Read on for celebrity parents who are huge supporters of their LGBTQ children. Even though many of these children are all grown up now, these parents have never stopped being vocal about their love and pride for their kids — and many of them have even joined in the fight for equal rights.
Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson's 26-year-old son EJ is openly gay — and he's become a star in his own right. Fortunately, it sounds like he can count on his dad (and his mom, Cookie) to support him, no matter what.
"It's all about loving them no matter who they are, what they decide to do, and when my son came out, I was so happy for him and happy for us as parents," Magic said during an interview on The Ellen Show. "We love him. EJ is amazing, so you've gotta support your child, because there are so many people who try to discriminate against them."
Marie Osmond
Marie is mom to Jessica Blosil, who's now 31 and open about being a lesbian. Although Marie does have a religious background, it seems like she's never let it get in the way of being her daughter's number one supporter — especially after what she said on Watch What Happens Live.
"Her constitutional rights are her constitutional rights," Marie said. "You have to know who you are as a person. She knows where I stand, and she knows I stand for her."
Billy Ray Cyrus
Although Billy Ray's daughter, Miley Cyrus, is married to Liam Hemsworth, she's been open about the fact that she's pansexual since she came out in a 2015 interview with Elle UK. The country singer has always been supportive of her, and in 2016, he shared a status on Facebook letting his followers know that he stood against discriminatory laws against the LGBTQ community.
Cybill Shepherd
One of Cybill's daughters, Clementine Ford, came out to The Advocate in 2009 (her daughter, Ariel Shepherd-Oppenheim, is also a lesbian). In a 2007 interview with Metro Weekly, Cybill opened up about how important equal rights for all is to her. Cybill has even been honored by GLAAD for her LGBTQ advocacy.
Sharon Osbourne
In 2017, Sharon's daughter, Kelly Osbourne, admitted she'd be open to dating women, coming out as queer for the first time. Just a year earlier, Sharon admitted that she would date women herself on The Talk if she wasn't already married.
Sounds like they have a lot in common!
Marcia Gay Harden
In a 2018 interview with Us Weekly, Marcia opened up about her 14-year-old son, Hudson, and why he is a big reason that she fights for rights for the gay community. "The cause is dear to me, yes," she said at the time. "My son is gay. I just want to make sure he gets to have a family when he wants one."
Cynthia Nixon
The former Sex and the City star is gay herself and has been married to Christine Marinoni since 2012. Her son, Seph, came out as transgender in 2018, and this year, she told Us Weekly how proud she is of him.
"I'm very proud of him," Cynthia Nixon said. "It's one of those things. I felt really weird using the other pronoun in public, but people didn't know yet … He was good with it, and it was really nice, actually, when we announced it. There was some general, you know, voicings of support but generally it was not a big deal."
Barbra Streisand
As the mother of an openly gay son, Jason Gould, Barbra has always been a champion for the LGBTQ community. And in an open letter published in Billboard in 2017, she shared a message about her love for them.
"Marriage equality is the law and that deserves a toast … to all of us, because we’re all unique and beautiful in our own way and entitled to love and be loved by whomever we choose," she wrote.
Sally Field
Sally has been so supportive of her son, Sam Greisman, that in 2012, he honored her with the Ally for Equality Award from the Human Rights Campaign. In his speech, he talked about how his mother had always been there for him, even from the day he came out.
"When I came out, she didn't bat an eye," Sam said. "In fact, she was overjoyed. Being gay was just one more thing she loved about me. She couldn’t be more supportive of me; if anything, I wish she was a little less supportive of me."
Isiah Thomas
While talking to Out in 2013, Zeke Thomas, the son of former NBA player Isiah Thomas, revealed that both of his parents have been very supportive of him when he told them he was gay while he was still in college.
"My parents like to say they always knew I was gay," Zeke said. "I came out to them, and they were very accepting. I always knew they would be accepting."
Gloria Vanderbilt
Although Gloria passed away in June 2019, she was always a huge supporter of son Anderson Cooper's sexuality. In a 2016 interview with People, Anderson said that though Gloria originally was upset about rumors that her mother was bisexual, she came to realize there was nothing to be upset about — and it seems it served her well for when her son came out.
"There's no difference. Love is love," Gloria said.
Sting
In 2015, Sting's daughter, Eliot Coco, came out as gay and gender fluid. It seems like he's never thought that what someone's sexuality or identity should be anyone else's business, even before his daughter came out.
"The whole business of sexuality is very strange to me. I mean, we have all the gay gene, don't we?" Sting said to The Advocate in 1996.
Alec Baldwin
Alec's daughter Ireland has dated women in the past, and it seems that as far as he's concerned, he's happy if his kid is happy. On a 2015 episode of his podcast, he opened up about a discussion he and Ireland had on the topic.
"As my daughter said to me — because she had a girlfriend for a while — she said to me, 'You don't sleep with a man or a woman,'" he said. "'You sleep with the person. I'm attracted to that person.' So she slept with somebody who was a woman. I was like, 'you know, wow, I've met men that I loved as much as anybody in my life.'"
Cher
Over her legendary career, Cher has been known for the LGBTQ fan base she's amassed, and it seems like she loves them right back — including her trans son, Chaz Bono. Back in 2018, she told Pride Source that although the idea of her son transitioning was hard for her to grasp at first, she finally truly understood what he was feeling.
"If I woke up tomorrow and I was a man, I would be gouging my eyes out," she said. "And so I know that if that’s what you feel then that must be so painful that it doesn’t make any difference what anyone else feels or what anyone else thinks. Chaz is so happy now and we get along better than ever."
Johnny Depp
Although Johnny Depp's daughter, Lily-Rose, tried to explain that she wasn't labeling herself as gay at the time, she did reveal that she was on the LGBTQ spectrum as a sexually fluid person. And in a 2015 interview with The Daily Mail, Johnny said he was behind her 100%.
"I already knew because she tells me everything — she’s not afraid to say anything to me," Johnny said at the time. "We're super-tight and I’m very proud of our relationship. Lily's really together — she's a sharp kid and one of the smartest human beings I have ever met."
Ally Sheedy
Ally is mom to a trans son, Beckett, and she's been open about fighting for his community — especially when it comes to living life under President Donald Trump. It seems like she speaks out for him every chance she gets.
"My beloved son is now scrambling to legally change his name for — as he puts it — “safety” and “jobs” reasons. ASAP," Ally tweeted in 2008. "We are all on collision with darkness."
Belinda Carlisle
After Belinda's son, James, came out at 14, she said it was incredibly difficult to keep the news a secret, especially since he wasn't ready to tell his father at the time. But now, she doesn't understand how anyone could not support their child through it.
"I've met people who have been rejected by their families or their church or have been through conversion therapy — there's a lot of sick stuff out there," Belinda told Metro in 2014. "How can you reject your own flesh and blood? I've met amazing parents who were Mormons and who were rejected by their church because they held firm and supported their gay son."
Anne Rice
Writer Anne Rice said she felt like she was involved in the gay community before her son, Christopher, came out to her. Since then, she has been an advocate, even admitting in 2010 to NPR that she'd left Christianity because of the homophobia that existed with some people who followed the religion.
"Even when Christopher was a little baby, I had gay readers and gay friends and knew gay people, and lived in the Castro district of San Francisco, which was a gay neighborhood," she said. "And so my experience with gay people long preceded Christopher coming out of the closet and becoming a gay novelist."
Annette Bening
Annette Bening and Warren Beatty's son, Stephen Ira, is openly trans, and his parents haven't been shy about sharing their pride for him.
"I'm super proud of him,” Annette told The Observer in 2017. "I leave it to him to say what he wants about his life. I don’t think it's fair for me to speak for any of my kids, quite frankly. Not that I wouldn’t like to!"
Charlize Theron
In April 2019, Charlize confirmed that her daughter is trans. At the time, she told The Daily Mail that now she has "two beautiful daughters."
"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," she said. "And I will do everything in my power for my kids to have that right and to be protected within that."
