Laurel Hubbard (February 9, 1978) is a New Zealand weightlifter. Selected to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics, she was the first openly transgender woman to compete in the Olympic Games.
Prior to making her Olympic debut, Hubbard achieved a ranking of 7th in the IWF's women's +87 kg division.
Billy Porter (September 21, 1969) is an American actor and singer. He achieved fame performing on Broadway before starting a solo career as a singer and actor.
Porter won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical or his role as Lola in Kinky Boots. He credits the part for "cracking open" his feminine side to confront toxic masculinity. He starred in all three seasons of the television series “Pose,” for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and won the 2019 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor, becoming the first gay Black man to be nominated and win in any lead acting category at the Prime-time Emmy. Porter was included in Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2020.
Thomas Paul "Tom" Allen (June 14, 1983) is an English comedian, actor, writer and presenter. In 2005, Allen won the So You Think You're Funny contest. His latest book “No Shame” is a very funny, candid and emotional ride of a memoir by one of our most beloved comedians. The working-class son of a coach driver, and the youngest member of the Noel Coward Society, Tom Allen grew up in ‘90s suburbia as the eternal outsider. In these hilarious, honest and heart-breaking stories Tom recalls observations on childhood, his adolescence, the family he still lives with, and his attempts to come out and negotiate the gay dating scene. They are written with his trademark caustic wit and warmth, and will entertain, surprise and move you in equal measure. Here is a quote: “When I was 16 I dressed in Victorian clothing in a bid to distract people from the fact that I was gay. It was a flawed plan.”
Billy Eichner (September 18, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, Jewish, gay and producer. He is the star, executive producer, and creator of “Funny Or Die's Billy on the Street,” a comedy game show that aired on TruTV. Eichner was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Game Show Host" in 2013. In March 2021, Eichner announced that he is currently writing and starring in the film Bros, which tells the story of two gay men with commitment issues who decide to settle down with each other. Being produced by Universal Pictures, it is set to be the first adult-oriented LGBT movie ever produced by a mainstream film studio. In August of that same year, Amazon Studios announced that they had bought the rights to develop the film “Ex-Husbands,” starring Eichner and co-written by him and Paul Rudnick.
Thomas Carlyle Ford (August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched his eponymous luxury brand in 2005, having previously served as the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. Ford wrote and directed the Academy Award-nominated films “A Single Man” and “Nocturnal Animals.” In 2014, Ford released a new product, called the "Penis Pendant Necklace." The product caused some controversy, with Christians calling it offensive due to the pendant being shaped similar to a Christian cross. Ford replied that "it was not meant to be a cross, it was a phallus" and "people read into things what they want to." Ford married Richard Buckley in 2014, a journalist and former editor-in-chief of Vogue Hommes International; they had been in a relationship since meeting in 1986. The couple has a son, Alexander John "Jack" Buckley Ford, born in 2012 via gestational surrogate. Buckley died in 2021 after a long illness. Ford is a Democrat, he opposed the invasion of Iraq, stating that it made him feel "ashamed to be an American." His comment drew public criticism within America. He hosted a fundraiser for Obama and voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. Ford advocated for federal recognition of same-sex marriage. In a 2009 interview, he said he preferred the term "civil partnership" for both opposite-sex and same-sex partnerships, and to leave "marriage" to religion to decide. He maintains a policy of not dressing politicians regardless of party.
To view more LGBT History Month stories, visit sfgn.com/history2021.
Pier Angelo was born in Italy, moved to England at the age of 17 and learned English at the Nelson School of English. He attended college and graduate school in Manhattan. In 2009 he founded SFGN with Norm Kent. Now he’s retired with his husband Tom and his Affenpinscher Cabbage. He still enjoys writing his column Off The Wall for SFGN.
