Angelina Jolie, Cher, Barbra Streisand – celebrity parents vocally supportive of their LGBT children

Mar 4 , 2020

Can you guess who their celebrity are parents? Photo: Instagram

Coming out – the process of disclosing one’s minority sexual orientation and identity – remains a sensitive topic and a taboo for conservative families. It is a crucial step towards self-acceptance – and supportive families play a huge role in a person’s mental health and well-being, according to a study conducted by Northwestern University’s Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority.

The British royal family is helping to change the narrative when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights and self-expression – especially Prince William, who last year declared during a visit to a youth charity that he would stand by his children if any of them came out. Such a pronouncement was a major vote of confidence in the LGBTQ+ community at a time when its increased visibility is being questioned.

Prince William represents a number of celebrity parents who are not just supportive of their LGBTQ+ children but have used their fame as a platform to champion civil rights. Below are five celebrity parents who are supportive of their children’s lifestyle and the wider LGBTQ+ community.

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Angelina Jolie

Shiloh, Angelina and Brad’s oldest biological child, already knew her identity when she was three, and has preferred wearing suits and short haircuts. She told her parents that she wanted to be addressed as John in 2014.

Jolie, who is openly bisexual, has expressed her strong support for her daughter’s identity and embraced her choice of clothing. In 2010, she told Vanity Fair: “She wants to be a boy. So we had to cut her hair. She likes to wear boys’ everything. She thinks she’s one of the brothers.”

The incredible transformation of Shiloh Jolie-Pitt

Barbra Streisand

Streisand’s son, Jason Gould, came out to his parents in the 80s, and soon after, tabloids speculated about his sexuality and outed him. Streisand told LGBTQ+ magazine The Advocate that she supported her son. In November 2018, she released her 36th album Walls as a response against Trump’s anti-LGBTQ+ policies. On her website, she dedicated the album to “the millions of young people in the United States and around the world who have found their collective voice and are demanding to be heard”.

Angelina Jolie and Nicole Kidman tackle mental health issues on screen

Cher

Cher admitted that she had a difficult time accepting Chaz Bono’s transition in 2008. She had a strained relationship with him when he came out as lesbian in 1995 before he transitioned to male. Both of them have reconciled in the past years. In an interview with PrideSource, she said, “Chaz is so happy now and we get along better than ever.”

As one of the first female and most prominent LGBTQ+ icons, the Oscar and Grammy winner said she became aware of her LGBTQ+ audience during the run of The Sonny and Cher Show in 1976, The Huffington Post reports. For more than four decades, she has treasured her LGBTQ+ fans. She is also an outspoken critic of President Trump.

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Dwyane Wade

This month, 12-year-old Zaya, child of retired NBA star Dwyane Wadee and actress Gabrielle Union, came out as transgender. Wade opened up about Zaya’s identity in his new documentary D. Wade: Life Unexpected.

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Sally Field

Sally Field, two-time Oscar award-winning actress, went viral in 2018 when she attempted to set her own son, Sam Greisman, on a date with Olympian Adam Rippon.

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Field has long been a vocal supporter of LGBTQ+ rights, and she has won the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Ally for Equality Award in Washington DC in 2016. Variety reported that she also joined the HRC Americans for the Equality Act, which was launched last year. In the debut video, she talked to her son about his own journey in accepting his sexuality.

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LGBTQ

These celebrity parents are putting their influence to good use by supporting their kids fighting for LGBT rights and equality