Bisexual Visibility Day is about recognizing and celebrating the bisexual community and its history, including bisexual celebrities. Of course, we think bisexual people should be celebrated all year round, but September 23 is specifically dedicated to fighting biphobia of all kinds, including discrimination or stigma against all people under the bisexual umbrella. The bi umbrella encompasses all kinds of bi+ identities, from pansexuality to queer and beyond.
Nowadays, many public figures are becoming more open in talking about their sexuality, which can be difficult but super important. Bisexual celebrities offer important representation — if we’re more open about our identities, particularly those who are marginalized, the more normalized they are, and ultimately the more we can celebrate them. Of course, not everyone feels comfortable coming out, and not everyone cares to label their sexuality — and that’s okay! But for people who are out as bisexual or another identity under the bi umbrella, it’s rewarding to see others in the limelight be out and proud.
Here are some of your favorite celebrities who identify as bi+, and what that means to them.
Reneé Rapp
Reneé Rapp, who plays queer bombshell Leighton on Sex Lives of College Girls, has talked openly about identifying as bisexual. Earlier this year, Rapp talked about trying to come out in her small hometown, saying she was often laughed at. “I was just, like, laughed at every time I tried to come out. So then I never really talked about it,” she said on the podcast Call Her Daddy. “And I had always just said, 'I just was one of those people who never felt like they really had to come out.'” Instead, Rapp said being on the TV show sort of served as a coming out moment, because “now that part of me is on display.”
Kit Connor
After fans accused him of queerbaiting on Heartstopper, Kit Connor used social media to let people know they were essentially pressuring him to come out. "I’m bi. Congrats for forcing an 18-year-old to out himself. I think some of you missed the point of the show. Bye," he wrote in November 2022. Playing Nick on the hit show offered some catharsis, as he watched his character come out on his own terms. During filming, Connor said he found himself thinking, "this is good, this is how it should be. This is the message that we want to be sending.”
While Connor told Teen Vogue that the way he came out wasn't ideal, he's still happy he did. “It's regrettable what happened to me. I think it was a bit disappointing," he said for Teen Vogue's August 2023 cover. "The reaction that I got in just trying to be myself and trying to discover myself and putting boundaries up. But despite that, I was still happy.”
Aubrey Plaza
Aubrey Plaza came out in 2016 and has since become a bi icon. It just makes perfect sense that April Ludgate would be down for some sapphic romance! Plaza came out during an interview with The Advocate. “Girls are into me — that’s no secret. Hey, I’m into them too. I fall in love with girls and guys. I can’t help it," she said. Relatable!
Auli'i Cravalho
We all got into TikTok in 2020, and Auli’i Cravalho used her time during COVID lockdown to come out as bisexual on the social media platform. The star mouthed along to a TikTok sound saying, “Seriously though, jokes aside, how you doin’? You straight? She said: 'No, I’m bi.'” Fans were immediately accepting, celebrating Cravalho as part of the community.
Demi Lovato
While Demi had spoken about fluidity with their sexuality for years, they came out as pansexual in April 2021. “I’m so fluid now,” Demi told podcaster Joe Rogan. Before placing that label on themself, Demi told Glamour in March that they started coming into their queerness more as they grew older. "When I started getting older, I started realizing how queer I really am,” Demi said. "This past year, I was engaged to a man and when it didn't work, I was like, ‘This is a huge sign.’ I thought I was going to spend my life with someone. Now that I wasn't going to, I felt this sense of relief that I could live my truth.”
Jojo Siwa
In January 2021, Jojo Siwa came out as queer, saying that while she'd thought about exactly where she falls on the LGBTQ spectrum, she wasn't quite sure exactly how she identifies. In April, Jojo explained further to People that she likes the label “queer,” but also identifies as pansexual. “Technically I would say that I am pansexual because that's how I have always been my whole life is just like, my human is my human,” Jojo said.
Halsey
One of the celebrities who has been most openly bisexual and has frequently talked about what it means to be bisexual is Halsey. In a video for GLAAD, Halsey reiterated that bisexuality is not a phase, saying, “I’ve spent a large part of my life trying to validate myself — to my friends, to my family, to myself — trying to prove that who I love and how I feel is not a phase; it’s not part of some confusion that’s going to change or could be manipulated.”
Mae Whitman
In August 2021, actor Mae Whitman announced she is pansexual Twitter while voicing appreciation for the queer representation in Disney’s animated series The Owl House. “Just taking a moment to say I am SO proud to be even a small part of a show like The Owl House. Being pansexual myself, I wish I had such incredible characters like Amity and Luz in my life when I was growing up. Queer representation is sososo important :,) keep it up world! #TOH,” Mae wrote. On the series, Mae voices the character Amity Blight, a lesbian witch.
Janelle Monáe
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Janelle Monáe clarified that she identifies with parts of pansexuality and bisexuality, which falls under the bi+ umbrella. Monáe explained her sexuality as “being a queer black woman in America…someone who has been in relationships with both men and women — I consider myself to be a free-ass motherf*cker. But then later I read about pansexuality and was like, ‘Oh, these are things that I identify with too.’ I’m open to learning more about who I am.”
Dove Cameron
Dove Cameron came out publicly as “super queer” in an Instagram Live in 2020, but she said she feels like no one really knew until she appeared on the cover of Gay Times nearly a year later. “People need me to have a f*cking megaphone,” she said. “I came out a year ago and thought that was going to be it. I didn’t realize that nobody f*cking knew,” Dove told Refinery29. While not everyone may have known, Dove has spoken openly about her bisexuality.
Tyler Blackburn
Famous for his acting as Caleb on Pretty Little Liars, Tyler Blackburn recently came out as bisexual after feeling pressure to remain binary and choose straight or gay. Such a well-known actor coming out as bisexual has the potential to be a source of inspiration for other men, who often face serious stigma about being bisexual tied to toxic masculinity. After Tyler came out he talked about his coming to terms with his bisexuality during an interview with Playboy, saying he struggled to accept himself. “Once I decided to date men, I was like, ‘Please just let me be gay and be okay with that, because it would be a lot f*cking easier. At times, bisexuality feels like a big gray zone. I’ve had to check myself and say, ‘I know how I felt when I was in love with women and when I slept with women. That was true and real. Don’t discredit that, because you’re feeding into what other people think about bisexuality.”
Lauren Jauregui
Following the 2016 election, Lauren Jauregui penned an inspiring op-ed for Billboard in which she came out publicly as bisexual. In the piece, she wrote, “I am a bisexual Cuban-American woman and I am so proud of it. I am proud to be part of a community that only projects love and education and the support of one another.” Since then, she’s partnered with fellow pop bi legend Halsey for the track “Strangers,” and has cemented her place in the hall of queer pop stars proudly being themselves.
Keiynan Lonsdale
The breakout star of the queer rom-com Love, Simon and The Flash’s Keiynan Lonsdale came out as queer on Instagram in 2017 saying, “I like to change my hair, I like to take risks with how I dress, I like girls, & I like guys (yes). I like growing, I like learning, I like who I am and I really like who I'm becoming.” Keiynan continued, "Spent way too many years hating myself, thinking I was less valuable because I was different, which is just untrue.” In a 2018 interview with Billboard, Keiynan opened up about being more fluid with sexuality, but not minding the label of bisexual. “I’m happy with all of it ’cause it all sort of represents me, in a way,” Keiynan said.
Willow Smith
On an episode of the Facebook web series Red Table Talk, Willow told her mom that she’s open to dating people of more than one gender, as well as polyamory. “I love men and women equally, and so I would definitely want one man, one woman. I feel like I could be polyfidelitous with those two people. I’m not the kind of person that is constantly looking for new sexual experiences,” she said. Adding, “I focus a lot on the emotional connection and I feel like if I were to find two people of different genders that I really connected with and we had a romantic and sexual connection, I don’t feel like I would feel the need to try to go find more.”
Jason Mraz
In June of 2018, Jason Mraz, who’s known for his upbeat music, wrote a poem to the LGBTQ community for Billboard, writing “I am bi your side.” Later, the singer said this was his way of coming out as bisexual.
Shannon Purser
While the posts are now deleted, actor Shannon Purser first came out publicly in 2017 just after a Twitter fight with Riverdale fans angry about alleged queer-baiting. After a Twitter exchange, Shannon shared a note saying they felt it only fair to let fans know about her sexuality. “I don’t normally do this, but I figure now is just as good a time as any to get personal. I’ve only just recently come out as bisexual to my family and friends. It’s something I am still processing and trying to understand and I don’t like talking about it too much. I’m very very new to the LGBT community,” the actor said.
This story was originally published in 2019 and has since been updated.
