15 Gay Actors Who Play Straight Characters
8. Lily Tomlin
There was a time when television and movie characters were not written with homosexual tendencies, and being openly gay was even less likely to occur.
Lily Tomlin is a modern day hero who was unafraid during those early eras of television to show her true personality and sexuality.
Though she never played a homosexual character on television or in film, Tomlin has been a major personality in the comedy scene in the United States since the 1960s.
During the early stages of her career she made an appearance on the icon talk show The Merv Griffin Show in 1965. That was the first of many television appearances for Tomlin.
Her other credits include roles in feature films such as Nashville, The Beverly Hillbillies, and I Heart Huckabees. On the small screen she had starring roles in TV series such as Murphy Brown and The West Wing. In 2001, well before it was popular to do so, Tomlin announced that she was homosexual.
For some it came as no surprise. Since 1971, Tomlin has lived with her partner Jane Wagner and shared a domestic partnership status with her. The couple married in 2013 following legalization of gay marriage.
