Meredith Baxter Joins Other Stars Who Came Out Later in Life

By Tricia Romano Posted Dec 3rd 2009 04:00PM

On Wednesday, 'Family Ties' mom Meredith Baxter dropped a bomb on the TV world when she announced that she now identifies herself as a lesbian. This may have come as a surprise to fans since she's been married three times and has five kids. Her announcement was an attempt to preempt a tabloid report revealing her relationship with building contractor Nancy Locke. But Baxter joins other celebrities who came out relatively late in life. PopEater decided to take a look at some more memorable surprises.

Ellen DeGeneres
The comedian had been tossing off rumors for years, and her questionable roles as the lead in romantic comedies always seemed a little suspect. So, DeGeneres stuck her neck out in 1997 on behalf of all gay and lesbian public figures in one of TV's momentous occasions, an all-star tongue-in-cheek "coming out" episode that featured Oprah Winfrey as her shrink, Laura Dern as her love interest, and cameos from K.D. Lang, Demi Moore, Gina Gershon, and Melissa Etheridge. Of course, after Ellen came out, she stepped out with her first high-profile romantic partner, Anne Heche, who had not previously identified herself as gay. Their whirlwind romance ended when Heche left her for a man. After that, Ellen took up with Portia De Rossi -- another high-profile actress who came out in her thirties -- who she later married.

Cynthia Nixon
Cynthia NIxon's character on 'Sex and The City,' Miranda, was always the tough, no-nonsense girl on the show. Indeed, the writers picked up on her butch qualities and even wrote an episode where Miranda was mistaken as a lesbian by her boss at the law firm, and she faked it to help her make partner, but decided she wasn't really a lesbian. In real life, it turned out exactly the opposite; she had been married with two kids for 15 years, when she met Christine Marinoni and fell in love at the age of 38, causing a scandalous tabloid to-do.

George Takei
Back in the 60s and 70s, during the heyday of 'Star Trek,' stars didn't come out. George Takei's place as an Asian character on a major television show had already put him in the annals of TV history; later he made history for another reason, when he come out to Frontiers magazine in 2005 when he was 68. But Takei told Frontiers, that after being essentially open with his life and in a relationship for 18 year years, "It's not really coming out, which suggests opening a door and stepping through. It's more like a long, long walk through what began as a narrow corridor that starts to widen."

Rosie O'Donnell
Rosie was one of those celebs who lived in a so-called "glass closet" for the duration of her career. It was an open secret in Hollywood and the gossip mags, but the issue was never directly addressed (or deflected for that matter). After her colleague Ellen paved a path for her, Rosie made it official in 2002 when she was 40. In 2004, she married Kelli Carpenter in San Francisco. They have three adopted children and one born to Carpenter. However, O'Donnell recently disclosed that the pair had split up.

Kelly McGillis
Best remembered for her September-May romance in 'Top Gun' with Tom Cruise, McGillis was married twice, and had two children before she came out in April 2009 ... at 51. Like Rosie, after her marriages, McGillis had been the subject of rumors in the showbiz world, and had even toyed with the idea of playing a closeted Army colonel on the 'L Word' before telling the truth.

Comments

(49)

Friday 04 December

By jim

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And yet, she has a lot more money then you! In the pathetic and greedy USA that makes her a MUCH better person than your pathetic ass will ever be. Jealous much?

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By bill

Why is it that these no talent idiots "turn gay" when their career tanks? Don't they have ANY morals?Hollywood is a cesspool of sick, perverted, psychos that think main stream America actually cares about them. I won't watch any of these losers.
Born that way. lolololol yeah, right. Keep making that stupid argument.

I know as a dumb american, you are used to having other people tell you what to think since your education was so poor. Here's a real deep thought for you....maybe since her career tanked, she no longer has to care what losers like you think of her and she was finally able to stop victimizing innocent straight people (her spouses) using them to hide who she is? Is that really so difficult for you to realize? Honestly, are Americans really this shallow and stupid?

By rt

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who cares, who cares, who cares!!! Why do people feel the need to announce this kinda stuff!

Then stop talking about your family, take the pictures of your family home from the office!! Nobody wants to hear about your family either! She was about to be 'outed' by a magazine, that's why she said this. I'm sure she doesn't give a damn what you think anyway (nobody does for that matter)

Obviously, "jim" you must share the same moral system that these perverts do. As you seem to defend their sick lifestyle. I DO NOT CARE what you think "jim". Your probably as sick in the head as they are. Go get some morals "jim", you'll be a better "man" for it. LOL

By mark

When is Mike Waltrip going to admit he is gay????

Thursday 31 December

By SndncZeet

Yes, SHARON, they are born that way. It is not a choice. Baxter has evidently been a lesbian all her life, she's just now admitting it. Do some research on the subject. Then maybe you won't sound so dumb.

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