25 Years of Coming Out: From Melissa Etheridge to Janelle Monae

Etheridge came out publicly at the Triangle Ball in Washington, D.C., in January 1993, saying, “I'm very proud to have been a lesbian all my life.”

Bearse, who played Marcy D'Arcy on the hit sitcom "Married With Children" from 1986 to 1997, came out publicly on National Coming Out Day in October 1993, according to the Associated Press.

The U.S. Olympic champion diver came out publicly in a video shown at the 1994 Gay Games in New York.

Following much speculation about his sexuality, the REM frontman publicly shared in 1994 that he's attracted to both men and women.

The Green Day frontman came out publicly in an interview with The Advocate, telling the magazine, "I think I've always been bisexual."

In perhaps one of the most famous coming-out announcements of all time, DeGeneres told Time magazine, "Yep, I'm gay," in April 1997. Her revelation earned her the publication's cover story.

The Scotland-born actor came out as bisexual in 1998 and has been a tireless LGBTQ activist ever since, according to The Advocate.

The British pop star came out in a CNN interview in April 1998 after being arrested for "engaging in a lewd act" in a public bathroom in LA with another man.

The former Major League Baseball player came out publicly in 1999 to a Miami Herald columnist. Since 2014, he has served as MLB's first Ambassador of Inclusion.

The Tony- and Emmy-winning actor came out in an interview with The Advocate in January 1999.

The Oscar-winning actress came out as bisexual in 2001 during an Interview with Movieline.

The award-winning talkshow host came out during a benefit event for Ovarian Cancer Research in 2002 stating, “I’m a dyke!”

The Hollywood actress said in a 2003 interview with Contact Music that she identifies as bisexual.

The Golden Globe-winning actor and author came out in his autobiography, "Shattered Love: A Memoir," at the age of 69.

Following threats of a sexual harassment lawsuit against him, the former New Jersey Govenor held a press conference in August 2004 and stated, "My truth is that I am a gay American."

The "Sex and the City" actor and former gubernatorial candidate “came out” when news of her relationship with Christine Marinoni broke in the New York Daily News in 2004, a year after she parted ways with longtime partner Danny Mozes, with whom she has two children.

The WNBA star and Olympic Champion came out as a lesbian in several interviews in 2005.

The "Star Trek" star and activist revealed he was gay in an interview with Frontiers Magazine.

The Hollywood actress and now wife of Ellen DeGeneres first acknowledged her sexual orientation to Details and The Advocate in 2005.

The "American Horror Story" star kissed her then-girlfriend, Cherry Jones, after winning a Tony in 2005.

The "Grey’s Anatomy" star confirmed to People in 2005 magazine that he's gay.

The former NSYNC singer came forward with his sexual orientation to People Magazine in 2006.

The Tony-winning actor and "How I Met Your Mother" star came out to People Magazine in 2006.

Best known for his role in TV's "Frasier," the award-winning actor came out in 2007 during his Tony Award acceptance speech.

Four years after his NBA retirement, the basketball star made history in February 2007 by becoming the first NBA player to come out as gay. He did so in his autobiography, "Man in the Middle."

In an interview with The New York Times Magazine in early 2007, the personal finance guru revealed she had been with her female partner for seven years and added, "I have never been with a man in my whole life. I'm still a 55-year-old virgin."

The former "American Idol" star came out as gay in a 2008 issue of People magazine.

The actress and comedian came out as a lesbian during a gay rights rally in Las Vegas.

The "Transformers" actress came out as bisexual to Esquire.

The former "American Idol" star stirred speculation about his sexuality while on the hit reality show in 2009 and came out shortly after the season ended in a June 2009 interview with Rolling Stone magazine.

The "Family Ties" star came out on NBC's "Today" show, saying, “I am a lesbian and it was a later-in-life recognition."

The "Top Gun" star came out as a lesbian publicly during an interview with SheWired.com.

In an interview with Chelsea Handler for the "Chelsea Lately" show, Colfer revealed that — like his character on the hit show "Glee" — he is gay.

In a 2009 interview with Rolling Stone, Lady Gaga said she consideres herself bisexual. She told the magazine some of her former boyfriends were uncomfortable with her sexuality, saying, "The fact that I’m into women, they’re all intimidated by it."

The child of legendary entertainers Sonny and Cher, Bono came out publicly as transgender in 2009, shortly after his 40th birthday.

The "Will and Grace" star confirmed to The Advocate in 2010 that he's gay.

The "Justice League" and "Aquaman" actor came out publicly as bisexual to People magazine in 2010, but in the November 2017 issue of Allure, she said she "resist[s] labels, noting, "It’s limiting, that LGBTQ thing."

The "True Blood" star and Golden Globe-winning actress came out as bisexual during a 2010 "Give a Damn" PSA campaign.

The country artist came out as a lesbian to People magazine and is considered country music's first openly gay singer.

The Grammy Award-winning Latin artist came out as gay via his official website.

Best known for her role in '90s sitcom "Roseanne," Gilbert confirmed publicly that she's a lesbian in July 2010, just before the premiere of her CBS show "The Talk."

The Golden Globe-nominated actress came out as bisexual to Esquire magazine.

The Olympic figure skater came out publicly as gay in his book "Welcome to My World."

The New Kids On the Block star came out as gay on the group's website after a pop star accidently outed him on Bravo's "Watch What Happens Live."

The "Star Trek" and "Heroes" actor came out publicly in an interview with New York magazine.

The award-winning journalist and CNN news anchor opened up about his sexulaity in his book "Transparent".

The "White Collar" and "American Horror Story" actor came out publicly as gay in February 2012 while receiving a Steve Chase Humanitarian Award for his efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

The award-winning journalist came out in an email to Andrew Sullivan, which was posted on The Daily Beast.

The hip hop musician came out on his Tumblr blog.

By 2012, the "Big Bang Theory" had already been with his now-husband for 10 years, but in an interview with The New York Times in May of that year, he publicly confirmed he is gay.

In an interview for Out magazine's July 2012 issue, the Olympic soccer star said, "For the record: I am gay.”

The former NFL player revealed to OutSports in 2012 that he's gay and was apprehensive about coming out to his teammates, saying, "Your biggest fear is that you’ll lose that camaraderie and family."

The "Fast and Furious" actress came out as bisexual in an October 2013 interview with Entertainment Weekly, saying, "I've gone both ways. I do as I please ... Men are intriguing. So are chicks."

The "Kyle XY" star came out as gay — and engaged — on Twitter in January 2013.

The legendary record producer came out as bisexual on Katie Couric's show, "Katie," and in his memoir, "The Soundtrack of My Life."

The NBA player came out as gay in a May 2013 issue of Sports Illustrated

The Oscar-winning actress came out while accepting the Cecil B. DeMille award at the Golden Globes in January 2013.

The "Prison Break" star came out publicly as gay in an August 2013 letter declining an invitation to the St. Petersburg International Film Festival. In the letter, he wrote, "As someone who has enjoyed visiting Russia in the past and can also claim a degree of Russian ancestry, it would make me happy to say yes. However, as a gay man, I must decline." The letter was made public by LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD.

The British Olympic diver came out in a video posted to his Youtube channel.

The "Good Morning America" anchor came out publicly at 53 in December 2013, acknowleding "my long time girlfriend, Amber" in a Facebook."

The Academy Award-nominated actress came out as gay at the 2014 Human Rights Campaign's Time to Thrive conference.

The college football star came out in February 2014 in an interview with ESPN, saying, "I am an openly, proud gay man." In May of that year, he became the first openly gay player to be drafted by the NFL.

The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter told Fader magazine that his song, In the Lonely Hour, "about a guy that I fell in love with last year, and he didn't love me back."

The "Game of Thrones" star came out publicly during an interview on a fan site. During the interview, Nairn said, "Well, in all honesty, when you talk about 'the gay community,' you are talking about MY community."

The Olympic figure skater came out as gay in a 2015 issue of Skating magazine.

The "Two and a Half Men" actor spoke publicly for the first time about her sexual identity at 72 in an interview with WNYC, according to lesbian blog After Ellen. During the interview, she said, " talked about her relationbship during an interview with WNYC, "I haven’t come out because I am out ... I live out."

After his character on "Empire" came out as gay, Smollett did so as well during an interview with Ellen DeGeneres.

The pop star came out as "pansexual" in an interview with Elle UK.

The Olympic freeskier came out as gay in a tweet in October 2015.

The Olympian and reality TV star came out as transgender in an interview with ABC News' Diane Sawyer.

The "Parks and Recreation" actor came out as bisexual in an interview with The Advocate, saying, "Girls are into me — that’s no secret. Hey, I’m into them too. I fall in love with girls and guys. I can’t help it."

The "Teen Wolf" and "Arrow" star publicly came out during an interview with Entertainment Weekly.

After a number of vague comments regarding her sexuality throughout the years, the "Twilight" star revealed to Elle UK in 2016 that she was dating a woman, saying, "I'm just really in love with my girlfriend."

The "Grey's Anatomy" star came out as bisexual during a speech given at the True Colors Fund's 40 to None Summit.

The "Walking Dead" actor came out as #OUTandPROUD on social media.

The rapper came out as gay on Twitter in January 2017.

The hip hop artist and brother of Chance the Rapper came out as bisexual on Twitter in January 2017.

The "Love, Simon" actor came out on Instagram, saying, "I like to change my hair, I like to take risks with how I dress, I like girls, & I like guys (yes), I like growing, I like learning, I like who I am and I really like who I'm becoming."

In April 2017, at the age of 73, the music legend came out publicly as gay and revealed he had been with his partner for nearly 40 years.

In an April 2018 interview with Rolling Stone, the actress and singer came out as a “queer black woman in America” who has “been in relationships with both men and women.”

The "Broad City" star came out as bisexual in an interview with Vanity Fair, telling the magazine, "I kind of go both ways; I date men and women."

The award-winning journalist confirmed he's part of the LGBTQ community while accepting an award in April 2018 from the Point Foundation.

The Major League Soccer player came out in a tweet, becoming the only openly gay male player in all the major North American sports leagues.