14 Hollywood Parents Who Have Been the Strongest Allies to Their Kids Coming Out

Being in the public eye doesn’t mean family comes second, and these amazing Hollywood celebrities are showing us all how it’s done. When their children came out to them as LGBTQ+, these Hollywood stars, musicians, and personalities stood by them, proud of their children’s choices. This is what a parent’s love is all about.

Bright Side brings to you some famous faces who accepted their children as they were, even if it meant going against their own beliefs at times.

1. Jamie Lee Curtis is officiating her transgender daughter, Ruby Guest’s, wedding.

It wasn’t easy for Ruby Guest, earlier known as Tom, to come out to her parents, Jamie Lee Curtis and Christopher Guest, as transgender. But she did and after a few tears and a lot of learning, both mother and daughter talk about it openly and hope that their story could go on and help others as well.

As the True Lies actress puts it, “I’m a grateful student. I’m learning so much from Ruby. The conversation is ongoing. But I want to know: How can I do this better?” Ruby is also getting married to her partner in a cosplay wedding, and Jamie Lee will officiate it, in costume.

2. Cher has stood by her transgender son, Chaz Bono.

Transgender man Chaz is Cher’s child, who she shares with her late husband and former singing partner, Sonny Bono. Cher admitted in a CNN interview that learning her “daughter” was hard enough, so it took a while for the trans bit to settle in. But she persevered, admitting, “but then you have one child, but you don’t really lose them — they just are in a different shape.”

Later, Chaz made a documentary about the transition process, Becoming Chaz which was released in 2011. He also became the first transgender person to compete in Dancing With the Stars in 2011.

3. Sade has been her transgender son’s biggest ally.

Singer Sade, best known for the song Smooth Operator, has a transgender son, Izaak, who opened up about his gender reassignment surgery. He has also credited his mother for being his strongest support. Born Mickalia “Ila” Adu in 1996, he came out as transgender in 2016.

On his Instagram account, he gave a shout-out to his parents, writing, “Big up to my Mumma, Pappa, family, and friends for all the support you give me on the daily. It’ll never be forgotten.”

4. Cybill Shepherd has two LGBTQ+ daughters.

Actress Cybill Shepherd has three children, daughter Clementine and twins daughter-son, Ariel and Cyrus. Clementine is an established actress herself and is bisexual, having been in relationships with both men and women. Currently, she’s married to actor Cyrus Wilcox and shares two children with him.

Younger daughter Ariel identifies as a lesbian and is married to her partner, and Cybill Shepherd could not be a prouder mom. Or a more ardent LGBTQ+ champion.

5. Miley Cyrus came out with her parent’s support.

While Miley Cyrus has been in relationships with men, she identifies as queer, and uses the term pansexual to describe herself. This simply means she’s attracted to both men and women, and basically anyone over the age of 18. She claims that when she came out to her mother, she was shocked, but eventually came around to give Miley all the support she needed.

Her father, Billy Ray Cyrus also admitted he was open about it, saying, “We’ve always been very open-minded. It’s all about love and light. Forget the negativity. She’s rocking and rolling and having a good time. What the world needs is love.”

6. Barbra Streisand stands by her son, Jason Gould who identifies as gay.

Singer and gay icon Barbra Streisand’s only son Jason, who she shares with actor Elliot Gould, knew he was gay since age 8. And when he came out to his mother, she was not surprised.

In fact, she supported him, publically, saying, “I would never wish for my son to be anything but what he is. He is bright, kind, sensitive, caring, and a very conscientious and good person. I have been truly blessed.”

7. Khary Payton took to social media to introduce his young transgender son.

Khary Payton, who plays King Ezekiel in The Walking Dead, took to Instagram to introduce his transgender son, writing, “This, my kid. One of the happiest, most well-adjusted individuals I’ve ever known. My son, Karter. Karter with a K because it reminded him of my name. He chose it. You see, he was born female but has always identified as a boy. He thought it would be cool if I announced it on social media.”

8. Sting and Trudie Sumner’s daughter Eliot never had to come out to the family.

Sting’s daughter Eliot never had to come out to her family, because they always knew. She does not believe in labels, but has dated women, including model Sarah Holt. There has always been acceptance from her family, as she works towards making music and goes by the stage name, Vaal.

9. Sally Field campaigns for LGBTQ+ rights with her son, Sam Griesman, who is gay.

Actress Sally Field knew her son Sam was gay even before he identified as one, or could publicly admit the same. He called her the world’s greatest mum, recalling how she would try to make him talk about it. He recalled a specific incident, when his mother said, “Hey, there’s this new movie called Brokeback Mountain — let’s go see it together? By the way, is there anything you wanted to tell me?”

10. Marlon Wayans is a proud papa to his daughter, Amai, who came out as gay.

Actor and comedian Marlon Wayans stand strong with his LGBTQ+ daughter as he wrote on Instagram, “Happy pride to my pride and joy. I wouldn’t change one thing about you. Love you to the moon around the sun through the galaxies and back again.” When someone on Instagram tried to tell him that his daughter may be too young to know her mind, Wayans shushed them, firmly.

11. Marcia Gay Harden accepted her son’s orientation in a loving, open letter.

Actress Marcia Gay Harden is an active LGBTQ+ champion, and openly advocates for equal rights for all. She admits after her son Hudson came out as gay, the cause has become even dearer to her heart, and she is one of the many celebrities who lovingly embraced their LGBTQ+ children.

12. Gospel Musician Robert Stafford is proud of his creative son, Lil Nas X.

Born Montero Lamar Hill, Lil Nas X of the “Old Town Road” fame became the first person to come out as gay while having a number-one record. Since then, he has become a vocal advocate for LGBTQ+ acceptance, even though he shocked his gospel singer father, R.L. Stafford, by coming out.

But admitting he is gay only brought father and son closer, enough for his dad to praise his controversial video, “Call Me By Your Name,” in a message Lil Nas shared on Twitter.

13. Gloria Vanderbilt joked about her son, Anderson Cooper coming out publically.

Anderson Cooper’s public coming out was via a friend’s website, post which he traveled to somewhere with no cell service. Once he back, one of the first messages on the phone was from his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, who berated him, jokingly, saying she would have appreciated a heads-up.

But Cooper had come out long ago to his mom, friends, and family, all of whom were as supportive as they could be.

14. Eugene Levy knew that his son Dan was gay even before he came out.

Eugene and Dan Levy, who play father and son on the Netflix hit series, Schitt’s Creek, are friends as much as they are related. Just like in the series, Dan Levy and his wife, Deborah Divine, always knew Dan was gay. In fact, she asked him if he was gay, and Dan said yes, and that was that.

Dan recalled, “My mom asked me over for lunch one day and I said, ’Yes.’ She almost knew. My mom and I have a very close relationship in that sense and it almost felt like she knew that I was ready.”

Which other celebrities have impressed you with the positivity in their family lives? Who do you admire the most?