By Wonderwall.com Editors
10:30am PDT, Jun 1, 2023
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Hollywood stars come from all types of families! To honor the start of Pride Month — June 2023 — we've rounded up some of the celebrities who grew up with LGBTQ+ parents, starting with this athlete and movie star…
Wrestler-turned-movie star Dave Bautista's mother, Donna Raye, is gay. "I was always proud of who my mom was because she was always proud of who she was. In your face, f*** you if you don't like it, unapologetically loud and proud. And her son [paid] attention. BE LOUD, BE PROUD, BE YOU," he captioned a Pride Month post on Instagram in 2022, adding hashtags including #ProudSonOfALesbian. During Pride Month in 2019, the former WWE heavyweight champion — who's starred in everything from "Guardians of the Galaxy" to "Dune" to "Glass Onion" — praised his mama, writing on Facebook, "She never apologized for who she was or who she loved. Which is why I never did either. And never will! A strong lesbian raised a strong man … We lived in the Castro during the Harvey Milk years. She volunteered with every bit of strength and heartbroken energy she had with The Names Project. She still volunteers in San Francisco helping the homeless and mentally ill. She is the reason I am who I am. Every decent part of me as a human being is directly because of my mother."
In January 2022, Dave revealed that he had a tattoo of Filipino boxing champ Manny Pacquiao's team logo on his forearm covered up when he learned Manny was a bigot. "I was a part of a team of a person I considered a friend and someone I really looked up to. Then he later came out publicly with some anti-gay statements and turned out to be an extreme homophobe. And so I had a huge issue with it," Dave explained in a tattoo tour video for GQ. "It's a personal issue with me. My mom's a lesbian. And I just could no longer call him a friend. And so I had it covered up."
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Mandy Moore's mom, Stacy, divorced her father to be with another woman. The "This Is Us" star has said that she loves her "nontraditional," "extraordinarily close" family. "Nobody is hiding who they are. There are no secrets in our lives," the Emmy-nominated actress told People magazine of her mom, who identifies as a lesbian, and her two brothers, who are also gay. "I love and support my mom and my brothers with my whole heart. And nothing makes me happier than seeing anybody live their authentic self, and to choose love. If anyone can find love, I support it, I salute you and I celebrate that."
MORE: Stars who have LGBTQ+ kids
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JAY-Z was raised by a single mother who publicly came out as a lesbian in 2017. The rapper and businessman said he always knew his mom, Gloria Carter, was gay and cried with happiness when she finally told him the truth about her sexual identity. "Imagine having to live your life as someone else and you think you're protecting your kids. And for my mother to have to live as someone that she wasn't … [she] didn't want to embarrass her kids for all this time. And for her to sit in front of me and say, 'I think I love someone…' I mean, I really cried. That's a real story," Jay said on Netflix's "My Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman."
MORE: The most powerful LGBTQ movies
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MSNBC anchor Katy Tur's father is transgender. Zoey Tur — a pioneering helicopter pilot and journalist who famously captured the attack on Reginald Denny during the 1992 Los Angeles riots as well as O.J. Simpson's Bronco chase on the 405 freeway in 1994 — came out as a trans woman in 2013. "My dad said, 'I am a woman.' And I said, 'What? And my dad said, 'I'm a woman. I'm transitioning, I'm going to become a woman,'" Katy shared on "CBS Sunday Morning" in June 2022 while discussing her memoir, "Rough Draft." "And I remember being at first puzzled and saying, 'You gotta be joking. You're kidding, what are you talking about?' And my dad was adamant. 'I'm the wrong person. I'm going to become the right person. Don't you see? This is why I've been so angry.' And it was really just, it was a lot." Katy and Zoey became estranged, but Katy has denied claims it's because of her parent's transition. In her book and on CBS, Katy detailed "fits of anger" that her family endured from an often "abusive" Zoey when Katy was growing up. Zoey acknowledged the outbursts and behavior to CBS, admitting, "Throwing batteries? Probably, yeah. Punching walls? There were a couple. I was in the news business and I — we — were under … extraordinary pressure," Zoey said. "I could be very intimidating, for sure. And, you know, and if the kids felt I was intimidating, I apologize. I did the best I could." Zoey added that she accepts that her daughter is now sharing these stories. "If it takes an act of public humiliation, in front of a camera, to make Katy feel better, and feel vindicated, so be it," Zoey said. "I'm happy to do that. I love her that much."
MORE: Stars who came out
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"WandaVision" star Paul Bettany opened up to Total Film magazine in November 2020 while promoting his movie "Uncle Frank" — in which he plays a gay man in the 1970s who confronts his past — to share his experience with a gay parent. Paul said his late father, actor-dancer Thane Bettany, came out at 63 and entered what would be a 20-year relationship with love Andy Clark after divorcing Paul's theater teacher mother, Anne, following 25 years of marriage. After his partner died in 2015, Thane — who was in his 80s and ultimately passed away just months later — "decided to go back inside the closet and say that it had all been a big misunderstanding because he was a Catholic and concerned about getting past Peter through the pearly gates," the "Avengers" franchise star explained. "The shame he felt for his sexual identity was devastating. He was unable to mourn the person who I think was the love of his life."
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Robert De Niro's father, artist Robert De Niro Sr., divorced the actor's mother in 1945 and came out as a gay man. The "Taxi Driver" actor made a documentary about his dad, "Remembering the Artist: Robert De Niro Sr.," to commemorate his legacy. "About his homosexuality? Yeah, he probably was [conflicted], being from that generation, especially from a small town upstate. I was not aware, much, of it. I wish we had spoken about it much more," the two-time Oscar winner told Out Magazine. "My mother didn't want to talk about things in general, and you're not interested when you're a certain age. Again, for my kids, I want them to stop and take a moment and realize that you sometimes have to do things now instead of later, because later may be 20 years from now — and that's too late."
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Jodie Foster's mother, Evelyn "Brandy" Almond, was a lesbian who raised Jodie with her female partner after divorcing Jodie's father. The "Inside Man" actress and her siblings referred to her mom's girlfriend as Aunt Jo. Jodie herself publicly came out as a gay woman during her acceptance speech at the 2013 Golden Globe Awards.
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Rapper 50 Cent was raised by his mother, Sabrina, who was a lesbian and a drug dealer, according to the rapper. She died in a mysterious fire when he was 8 and he went to live with his grandparents.
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Liza Minnelli's father, Vincente Minnelli, was long rumored to be gay or bisexual. Biographers have said that he was openly gay while directing in New York but was pressured back into the closet after moving to Hollywood, where he met Liza's mom, Judy Garland, whom he married in 1945.
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Judy Garland's dad, Frank Gumm, was reportedly gay but was forced to live his life in the closet. Judy later married and divorced Vincente Minnelli, who was also rumored to be gay or bisexual.
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Ally Sheedy's mother, literary agent and activist Charlotte Sheedy, came out as a lesbian after divorcing Ally's father, John J. Sheedy Jr., when Ally was 9. "It's difficult for me to understand a family member judging or not loving or accepting another family member because they are gay," the "Breakfast Club" alum told the Windy City Times. Ally's adult son Beckett, who previously identified as queer and gender fluid, is a trans man. Acceptance, Ally has said, all comes down to one question: "Do you love that person or not?"
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The late Natasha Richardson and actress Joely Richardson's father, Tony Richardson, was bisexual but never acknowledged it publicly until after he contracted HIV. He died of AIDS-related complications in 1991. In 2011, Joely — whose mom is acclaimed actress Vanessa Redgrave — told The Telegraph, "My father's bisexuality is a foot note if anything, not a headline of what defined his great contribution to the arts."
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Natasha Richardson and Joely Richardson's mother, actress Vanessa Redgrave (right), and aunt, actress Lynn Redgrave (left), grew up with a bisexual father, actor-director Michael Redgrave. Their actor and activist brother, Corin, wrote a biography of their late father in 1995 that was inspired by Corin's memory of when his dad — who was unfaithful to their mother and once had a relationship with playwright Noel Coward, among other men — came out to him. "I think I ought to tell you, that I am, to say the least of it, bisexual," Corin recalled his dad sharing before dissolving into tears.
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Jennifer Grey's father, Academy Award-winning actor Joel Grey, came out as a gay man in 2015 at 82. "I feel very happy for my dad that he has come to a point in his life where he feels safe and/or comfortable enough to declare himself in a public way as a gay man," Jennifer told People magazine. "To love who you love," the "Dirty Dancing" star added, "I think it can only be a good thing."
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"The Hunger Games" actress Jena Malone was raised by her mother, Deborah Malone, and her mother's girlfriend, whom she's called her "godmom." "When I was younger, I didn't know it was any different. They never really came out as gay," Jena told LA Weekly in 2014. "My godmom was more open about it than my mom. My mom still renounces it. She doesn't like to talk about that. It was the only relationship she had with a woman. She found Christianity when they broke up, and she started dating men again."
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Andy Richter's parents divorced when he was 4 and his father, Laurence Richter, later came out as a gay man. The "Conan" comedian discussed the experience during a 2010 episode of Greg Fitzsimmons' eponymous podcast.
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Actress Dorothy Dandridge's mother, Ruby Dandridge, was bisexual. Ruby reportedly began dating her partner, Geneva Williams, after divorcing Dorothy's father.
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In a 2001 interview on "Larry King Live," Anne Heche said that her father, Donald Heche, died in 1983 after a secret battle with AIDS when she was 13. "We were told — he never admitted it. He was in complete denial until the day he died," she said. "We know he got it from his gay relationships. Absolutely. I don't think it was just one. He was a very promiscuous man, and we knew his lifestyle then." Anne also claimed her dad sexually abused her when she was a young girl.
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According to a 2014 report in the National Enquirer, Amy Adams' mother, Kathryn, filed to divorce the Oscar-nominated actress's father, Richard, in the mid-'80s after leaving him "for another woman."
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In an article published by New! magazine in June 2021, English singer-songwriter and TV personality Kerry Katona opened up about how her mother's sexuality affected her during her childhood. "A lot of my family members are gay," wrote the "Celebrity Big Brother" alum and former Atomic Kitten singer. "My mum was in an 11-year relationship with a woman and I was bullied at school because of it. I remember it was my 9th birthday and my mum threw me a little party. I was waiting for people to turn up and no one did. And it was because my mum was with a woman."
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Ana Matronic's father came out as a gay man after divorcing her mother. He died of AIDS-related complications when the Scissor Sisters singer was 15. "My mother told us she'd separated from my father because he was gay," she told Metro in 2013. "When I was 15, he became very ill, due to having HIV, and passed away."
