Famous gay women
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Following Thea’s death, Edie started an arduous journey to fight for marriage equality in the US. The US federal government had imposed Edie on a federal tax bill totalling $363,053, which a straight widow would not have owed.
1. We are still living under the fear that our relationships with our partners are not recognised and protected by the law.
Billie Jean King: sportswoman and activist (1943-present)
Billie Jean King, born in 1943, is a tennis champion and social activist. After the divorce, Edie enrolled in a master’s degree in applied mathematics at NYU, and became a programmer at IBM, an environment with few women.
After IBM, Edie founded PC Classics, a consulting firm, which helped LGBTQ+ people become literate in technology.
She founded the Lorena Borjas Community Fund to support transgender immigrants and provide resources to those in need. Music-wise, she was one of the most celebrated musicians of the first half of the 1900s. We learn about these women to ensure their stories live on and continue to inspire.
Seeing yourself reflected in history is powerful.
Continuous visible support for the LGBTQ+ community enables individuals to reach their potential, knowing others will help on this journey, allowing industries to progress.
— China-Marie Kill (she/her) is an Intern at LGBT Great
4. Her contribution to the LGBTQ+ community reflected the importance of taking action to achieve what we deserve.
Along with Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) in 1970. Sally's story is a reminder that there are no limits to what you can achieve.
Notable Achievement: First American woman in space (1983)
Learn More: Sally Ride Biography
Nancy Valverde (1932–2024)
Field: Activism
Nancy Valverde was a Chicana lesbian activist who stood up to unfair laws that targeted people for dressing in gender-nonconforming ways.
Edie fell in love with Thea Spyer, a Dutch psychologist in 1965. I hope that King's legacy can continue to inspire LGBTQ+ people to take the opportunities in sports whilst pushing for change. She was an early member of the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance. Unfortunately, there is still a long way to go in other countries where LGBTQ+ people are openly denied access to social benefits and support.
Her 1983 journey aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger proved that women could do anything.
Sally kept her relationship with her partner, Tam O'Shaughnessy, private during her lifetime, but she is now remembered as a trailblazing astronaut and advocate for women in science.
Below, members of the LGBT Great team reflect on the LGBT+ women who have changed history and why their contributions to art, sport, politics, and LGBT+ rights and protections matter today.
She was beyond influential within the French arts, donating to the Paris opera and symphony. Let their stories inspire you to dream big and be fearless in chasing your goals.
Marsha P. Johnson (1945 - 1992)
Field: Activism
Marsha P.
Johnson, a Black transgender woman and drag queen, was one of the most important figures in the Stonewall Uprising of 1969, a major event that sparked the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. Aged 29, she won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award, the youngest playwright to do so.
She remained a prominent activist in the LGBTQ+ community until she died in 2017 at the age of 88. How can we make spaces more inviting for folks regardless of their race, class, and gender expression?