Celebrating 10 Out and Proud Celebs for Bisexuality Visibility Month
September is Bisexuality Visibility Month: A time to shine the spotlight on a queer identity that's often viewed with skepticism or shaded by stereotypes. A season to remind ourselves of the many talented bisexual celebrities who brighten our world, color our Instagram feed, and make the rainbow that is the queer experience a more wonderful, inclusive place to be. By being explicit about identifying as bisexual, these musicians and actors radiate the hope and welcoming spirit that all openly queer people do: Making sure that the closeted, the curious, and the young people still figuring themselves out, have a place to look and see what's possible when you know that queerness is whatever feels true to your heart.
This year marks 25 years since there's been an official effort to mark Bi Visibility Day. Each year since 1999, this has been an important and remarkable moment in the queer calendar because bisexual and biromantic people still face a lot of stigma and erasure simply by acknowledging the truth of who they are and who they love. So, join us in celebrating these bisexual celebrities, who have made the world a better, richer place by showing us who they are, and who pave the way for many more generations of bisexual people who will feel loved and seen because of them.
We thank these celebs for their catchy queer anthems and the unforgettable characters they've played on screen, for their sizzling thirst traps and their eclectic monthly Instagram photo dumps —because we love seeing bi pride being part of everyday life. It hasn't all been rainbow-colored roses: Some of these celebs have experienced pressure from fans to declare whether their sexuality aligns with the characters they play, and others still find their bisexuality erased by the public because of who they're dating. Which is why we're taking the time to celebrate their bisexuality, and showcase their diverse, radiant, very bisexual lives, whatever that looks like!
Kit Connor
"Heartstopper" breakout Kit Connor charmed us all in his performance as Nick Nelson, a young rugby player who realizes he's bisexual while falling in love with Charlie (Joe Locke). We'll forever remember the sweetness of Nick coming out to his mom (played by Olivia Colman) and the heartwarming storyline that has followed in each episode since. Unfortunately, Connor did not have the same luxury; At 18 years-old, the young actor felt pressured to come out as bi on Twitter, in response to misguided 'fans' of the Netflix adaptation who accused him of 'queerbaiting' for playing the role he was tasked with and embodied so beautifully. He has since attended London Pride with his castmates, collectively joyous and bold in the face of protestors, and flourished as a front-row staple at fashion shows, gaining confidence and agency in both his career and personal life. As we await the upcoming season of "Heartstopper," Connor is about to begin his run on Broadway, where he'll star as Romeo opposite Rachel Zegler's Juliet.
Halsey
The nonbinary singer-songwriter and actor has been open about their bisexuality for many years and several albums now. We've seen their female love interest in the music video for "Ghost," heard about lost lovers of their youth on "Bad at Love" and throughout "Hopeless Fountain Kingdom," and we got to enjoy the wonderfully-bi collab that was "Strangers" —a song about the relationship between two women, released with fellow out bisexual musician, Lauren Jauregui. We're so looking forward to the multilayered storytelling that will come with the songs and visuals of Halsey's upcoming album, "The Great Impersonator," which was written when the artist was in treatment for terminal illness, facing their core truths and identity, wanting desperately to tell the world who they are for what they feared was the last time.
François Arnaud
A man after our own awareness day-aligned heart, "Schitt's Creek" and "The Borgias" actor François Arnaud came out as bisexual in an Instagram story just in time for Bi Visibility Day. He has since also starred in out country musician Orville Peck's video "How Far Will We Take It?" We particularly love his firm, proud, unflinching stance on talking about his bisexuality, as it strongly counteracts the harmful stereotypes surrounding bisexuality: Arnaud made it very clear that he wasn't 'confused' and was sharing his truth as a bisexual man to help combat "assumptions of straightness" and bisexual erasure. "I've always considered myself bisexual," he said. "Not disloyal. Not ashamed. Not invisible." We love to see it!
Cynthia Erivo
"As I stand here in front of you: Black, bald-headed, pierced, and queer, I can say I know a thing or two about being the other," said Cynthia Erivo when accepting the Schrader Award at the Los Angeles LGBT Center Gala in May of this year. Erivo came out as bisexual to the public by way of British Vogue in 2022, and stars alongside Ariana Grande in the upcoming "Wicked" movie adaptation. "Beyond her artistic achievements," said Jada Pinkett-Smith proudly when presenting Erivo with the award, "Cynthia is a steadfast advocate helping bring visibility to the intersection of black and queer identity." In her acceptance speech, Erivo drew the parallels between her life and her "Wicked" character "darling, green" Elphaba: "Elphaba's story is the cautionary tale of what it can sometimes mean to have to stand in your individuality, your otherness, even when systems of oppression are set against you." A brave, outspoken champion for the 'other' can shift perspectives and change the world for good, so we're thankful to have Erivo on our team.
Hunter Schafer
In 2019, Hunter Schafer, the ethereal actress and model who took the world by storm when she played trans teen Jules on "Euphoria," told Dazed said that she was "closer to what you might call a lesbian." In 2021, she replied to someone on Twitter, saying that she "would like to vaguely clarify" that she's "like bi or pan or something." We're taking that as a win for the bi community! The actress, whose star has continued to rise in the years following the seemingly-unending hiatus from the show that catapulted her fame, has been publicly linked to "Euphoria" co-star and musician Dominic Fike, who she dated for about a year, as well as Spanish pop star Rosalía. This year, she confirmed to GQ that they dated for about five months in 2019, and remain close friends: "I have really beautiful friendships with people that I was once romantically involved with," she says. With Rosalía, "she's family no matter what."
Anitta
The Brazilian pop star came out as bisexual through her Netflix docu-series, "Vai Anitta." She goes hard representing her hometown, her country, and the young people who look up to her. Anitta's been vocal about knowing the influence an openly queer celebrity can have to help reflect reality and offer support to queer people, especially when the government is pushing for stricter laws that limit freedoms. Her recent single with fellow queer musician, Måneskin's Victoria De Angelis (titled "GET UP B*TCH! Shake ya ass"), is a very sexy, very queer summer song, with a very sapphic music video to match. Anitta also keeps it real when responding to comments about who she's dated before: "Some people say I am 'fake bi' because I never dated a girl like a long-term relationship," she told InStyle. "But come on, even my relationships with guys cannot last more than three months." A relatable queen!
Lil Nas X
Outspoken, wildly talented, groundbreaking artist Lil Nas X has inspired many scandalous responses to the daring creative choices in his music —and his playful attitude to marketing it. He's become famous as an openly gay rapper with gorgeous, also very openly gay visuals for each of his projects, but queerness (and the whirlwind of growing up in the limelight of superstardom) is about self-expression and exploration! Last year, Lil Nas X tweeted "be fr would y'all be mad at me if i thought i was a little bisexual...." He's well known for trolling his fans (and enemies) online so we'd understand if anyone decided to take this revelation with a pinch of salt. But the artist came back to follow-up that tweet, saying "that was my last time coming out the closet i promise," so we're taking him at his word, and celebrating another openly bisexual celeb to proudly support!
Dove Cameron
"I think there's this narrative where if you are a queer person and you speak about your identity," Dove Cameron told E! News in 2022, "it's as though you've been sitting on a secret your whole life and it's this big revelation. Where in my experience, it wasn't a revelation. I always knew who I was. Ever since I can remember, I knew I was queer." The former Disney star, "Schmigadoon!" performer, and pop music powerhouse first came out publicly in 2020 when she went on Instagram Live to confirm to her fans that she is "super queer." As a Gay Times cover star in 2021, she then clarified that she's bisexual. Her 2022 song "Boyfriend" (and its sexy music video) is a powerful, playful song that cleverly seduces its audience: a woman whose boyfriend doesn't deserve her; a woman who Dove Cameron wants to treat right. Cameron has shared that the song was inspired by a moment in her life when she felt that exact emotion about a girl she'd met —complaining that she "could be a better boyfriend than him", quickly realizing that would be an excellent hook for a song. And she delivered a sultry sapphic anthem!!
Victoria Monét
The "On My Mama" singer and songwriter of more hits than we can count has been openly bisexual in interviews and her interactions online, while also dropping some of the hottest songs about it. She sings "I swerve both ways, dichotomy / I like women and men" on the Ariana Grande duet "Monopoly"; On "Smoke," Monét sings "It's a bisexual blunt, it can go both ways." The "Touch Me" remix, which was about and features Monét's ex, queer musician Kehlani, has the exes singing about the intimacy of sapphic sex and the importance of keeping your nails short (to quote Monét, who spoke to Variety about this: "so that you can really use your fingers to the best of your abilities.") If you watched any of her Coachella performances this year, you'll know that Monét had the audience (at the festival, and watching online!) fanning themselves at the sensual, sexual, undeniably sapphic choreography she incorporated into her shows. We love a badass, boldly queer icon!
Nico Tortorella
This "Younger" and "City on Fire" star is an actor, children's' book author, musician, and podcaster who uses they/them pronouns. Nico Tortorella is bisexual, demisexual, and gender fluid, and they've been open about sharing their queer parenting style and sweet family to represent the endless possibility for what families can look like —and what love can look like, by simply being true to yourself. This quote about why they choose to identify publicly as bisexual hits particularly hard knowing the history of bi erasure in our society: "I've been so hesitant about using the word for so long," Tortorella told Vulture in 2016, "because it does have a negative connotation in our generation. People fought for so long for that 'B' in LGBT, and I refuse to be the person that's going to throw that away because I think I have a more colorful word."
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