Once dubbed Newsweek’s “Queen of Nice,” Rosie O’Donnell’s coming out couldn’t have been more blunt. “I’m a dyke!” she announced onstage as part of her act at New York City’s famed Caroline’s comedy club. Her timing was that of a comedian, but this was no joke. “I don’t know why people make such a big deal about the gay thing,” she told the crowd, which had gathered to benefit ovarian-cancer research. Her coming out coincided with the end of her six-year talk show, after which she cut her hair and proceeded to focus more on activism, marrying her now ex-wife Kelli Carpenter in 2004, just weeks after San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom allowed same-sex marriages in the city.
Anderson Cooper Comes Out: How Other Celebrities Did It
Some send e-mails. Some appear on magazine covers. Here's how 10 other celebrities shared their sexuality with their fans