WORLD PRIDE POWER LIST 2013
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In 2013 we asked you, the LGBT community, to nominate those people who you feel have been most influential, not only in your own life, but also in those areas of the world where being gay is more difficult.
After receiving the nominations the list was adjudicated by a panel of esteemed judges who came up with the final rankings. This list was published in an exclusive Guardian supplement on the day of the London's Pride parade, Saturday 29th June and was compiled by Square Peg Media, the leading diversity publishing and events company in the UK, in association with The Guardian newspaper. |
Top 10 World Pride Power List 2013
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1 Ellen DeGeneres – chatshow host
Multi Emmy award winning actor, writer and stand-up comedian, Ellen came out in 1997 and faced down criticism to reposition herself as the host of one of America's most successful chat shows, The Ellen DeGeneres Show. DeGeneres moved into the mainstream by hosting the Emmy Awards in 2001, the Academy Awards in 2006 and American Idol in 2010. In 2011, Hilary Clinton named her a special envoy for global Aids awareness. DeGeneres lives in Beverly Hills, California, and married her partner, the Australian actor Portia de Rossi, in 2008, when the ban was lifted on gay marriage. DeGeneres and De Rossi are ethical vegans. |
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2 Stephen Fry – polymath Stephen Fry – actor, author, playwright, journalist, poet, screenwriter, TV presenter, film director, comedian and a director of Norwich City FC – is openly gay, and, together with Clare Balding, was named broadcaster of the year at the recent Out/G3 awards. This year, he is shooting a documentary for the BBC called Out There, about being gay around the world, which has taken him to North and South America, Africa, Asia and Russia to meet with gay men and women, and talk about what it means to be gay in different corners of the world. Fry has also made documentaries on HIV and Aids, and the reality of being gay in prison. |
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3 Jane Lynch – actor
It was as US TV comedy Glee's ruthless cheerleading squad leader Sue Sylvester that award-winning US actor, comedian and author Jane Lynch entered our affections. She has never shied away from her sexuality and is a vocal advocate for gay rights, marrying psychologist Lara Embry in 2010 (though recent reports suggest the pair may divorce). She is currently making her Broadway debut as Miss Hannigan in Annie at the Palace Theatre, New York. Later this year she will host a new NBC game show, Hollywood Game Night, in which members of the public play party games with minor celebrities and compete for a cash prize. |
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4 Clare Balding – sports presenter
Cambridge-educated TV and radio presenter Clare Balding is at the top of her career. Having conquered thyroid cancer in 2011, she went on to front top-notch BBC coverage of the Olympics and Channel 4 coverage of the Paralympics in 2012, for which she was honoured with a special award at the 2013 Baftas and received an OBE in this year's Queen's birthday honours. The sports presenter, who was a leading amateur flat jockey before becoming a journalist, is out and proud. She formed a civil partnership with Radio 4 newsreader Alice Arnold in 2006. She told the Radio Times in an interview: "Personally, I'm a much better broadcaster for not hiding who I am. Not necessarily trumpeting it, but not hiding it." |
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5 Tim Cook – CEO Apple
Following Steve Jobs as CEO of Apple, one of the world's most valuable companies, was always going to be tough. But Cook is putting his stamp on the company. The son of a shipyard worker, he worked at Compaq and IBM before arriving at Apple to become Jobs's chief operating officer, and is credited with helping to turn a once-ailing company into the £500bn powerhouse it is today. Despite not publicly saying he is gay, Cook has topped Out magazine's power list of gay people for three years. He is currently defending Apple's use of tax loopholes in the Supreme Court. |
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6 Sir Elton John – musician
Singer-songwriter Elton John has been funnelling money into his Aids Foundation since 1992. Every year, he opens his house to hundreds of celebrities and invited guests for a ball to raise money for the foundation, and also holds post-Grammy and Oscar parties as fundraisers. He has two sons with his civil partner David Furnish: Zachary, who was born in 2010; and Elijah, who was born in January. Both boys were born to the same surrogate mother in California. Recently, Elton John has been involved in campaigns for the legalisation of gay marriage in the UK. |
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7 Lord Alli – Labour peer and entrepreneur
Media entrepreneur, businessman and the youngest and first openly gay peer in the House of Lords, Waheed Alli works for gay rights at the highest levels. Having left school at 16, he went from being a £40-a-week researcher on a magazine to co-founding Planet 24, which went on to make some of Channel 4's best-known programmes. He was instrumental in getting the age of consent for gay sex lowered from 18 to 16, and in the repeal of Section 28, which forbade the promotion of homosexuality by local authorities. He is patron of Oxford Pride and campaigns globally for gay rights. |
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8 Tammy Baldwin – US politician
Tammy Baldwin, the Democratic senator for Wisconsin, has chosen to ignore those she calls "the naysayers, the cynics, and the keepers of the status quo; those who say 'you can't, you shouldn't, or you won't'". Her career is a perfect illustration of that philosophy. She's a fearless champion of equal rights, clean energy and universal healthcare, and is the first openly gay US senator. Along with Barney Frank, she established the Congressional LGBT Equality caucus in the US House of Representatives in June 2008, which works for the rights of LGBT people in the US and around the world. |
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9 Gok Wan – TV presenter
Few British TV personalities are as universally recognised and loved as Gok Wan. Shy and obese as a child, and now passionate about having a healthy body image, he found his calling in fashion styling. He is out, proud and unashamedly flamboyant. Earlier this year, he presented an episode of The Secret Millions in which he helped London charity Kids Company. |
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10 Sir Ian McKellen – actor
His roles in blockbuster films have made McKellen a global superstar. But he's also one of the most charismatic actors working in film, TV and theatre, rising from humble beginnings in Burnley to the heights of his profession. He came out in 1988 – during a Radio 3 discussion on Section 28 – and, from that moment, has brought all his star power to bear on the cause of equality, co-founding Stonewall and regularly speaking and writing on gay issues. |
