10 Famous Lesbians Who Were Once Married to Men

List of Famous Gay Women Who Were Married to Men ranked by fame and popularity. Several famous women who have come out as lesbians, have been married to men.

Some married before they fully recognized that they were gay, while others used their marriages to keep their sexuality a secret from the public.

Who is the most famous gay woman who was married to a man?

Wanda Sykes tops our list

The “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actress was married to Dave Hall from 1991-1998. In 2008, Sykes announced that she was gay.

She married her partner Alex Sykes later that year. Wanda Sykes frequently jokes about how gay marriage is better than straight marriage in her stand-up comedy routine.

Portia de Rossi was married to Mel Metcalfe from 1996-1999.

She publicly came out in 2005 and she has been married to Ellen DeGeneres since 2008.

Ellen DeGeneres was previously involved with the actress Anne Heche for 10 years. The “Cedar Rapids” star later married Coleman ‘Coley’ Laffoon and the couple have one child together, Homer (born 2002).

They divorced in 2007. Heche is currently in a relationship with James Tupper and they have one son together, Atlas Heche Tupper (born 2009).

One Tree Hill actress Sophia Bush was married to co-star Chad Michael Murray from 2005-2006 and to entrepreneur Grant Hughes from 2022-2023.

In April 2024, she revealed in an article for Glamour that she was dating former US women’s national team soccer player Ashlyn Harris.

Portia de Rossi was married to Mel Metcalfe from 1996-1999. She publicly came out in 2005, and she has been married to Ellen DeGeneres since 2008.

Wanda Sykes was married to Dave Hall from 1991-1998. In 2008, Sykes announced that she was gay. She married her partner, Alex Sykes, later that year.

“Family Ties” actress Meredith Baxter was married to three men before she came out as a lesbian.

She had two children with her first-husband, Robert Lewis Bush (m. 1966), and three with second-husband, David Birney (m. 1974).

In 2009, Baxter revealed on “Today” that she is a lesbian and had been living with partner Nancy Locke since 2006. The couple married in December 2013.

Anne Heche had a three year relationship with Ellen DeGeneres from 1997-2000.

She later married Coleman ‘Coley’ Laffoon, and the couple have one child together, Homer (born 2002). They divorced in 2007.

Heche is currently in a relationship with James Tupper, and they have one son together, Atlas Heche Tupper (born 2009).

The Color Purple author Alice Walker was married to Melvyn Rosenman Leventhal from 1967-1976. The couple had one daughter, the author Rebecca Walker (born 1969).

Walker later had a relationship with the singer Tracy Chapman.

Julie Cypher was married to La Bamba actor Lou Diamond Phillips from 1987-1990. From 1990-2000, she was in a relationship with musician Melissa Etheridge.

She has two children with Etheridge, Bailey Jean (born 1997) and Beckett (born 1998). David Crosby fathered both children, and Cypher gave birth. She has been married to current husband Matthew Hale since 2004.

Frida Kahlo twice married the painter Diego Rivera. She had several affairs with men and women during their relationship.Lauren Morelli

Screenwriter Lauren Morelli realized she was gay in fall 2012, while writing for the Netflix series “Orange Is the New Black.” She and her husband, Steve Basilone, had just been married five months prior.

In 2014, they divorced, and their documents indicated the split was amicable. After the couple announced their divorce, Morelli also announced she was dating “OITNB” star Samira Wiley.

Tennis player Billie Jean King was married to Larry King from 1965-1987.

Her former female personal assistant and lover brought a lawsuit against her in 1981, and King was inadvertently outed. She divorced her husband in 1987, and began seeing former player Ilana Kloss.