legends only

8 history-making LGBTQ+ comedians who set the stage for modern queer comedy

By · Updated on January 26, 2024
Wanda Sykes, Leslie Jordan, Margaret Cho
credit: Shutterstock

It’s impossible to imagine comedy without queer culture. But while one has never existed without the other, the latter used to be forced to conform to the blandness of a cis white straight audience. It was a dark time when every comedian looked like they could be the host of American Idol. 

Enter the queer individuals who distinguished themselves from funny people to trailblazers by refusing to draw a line between their jokes, sexuality, and politics, risking fame for authenticity. They proved the art of stand-up cannot thrive without fearlessness and vulnerability and turned the tide for a community that was made the butt of the joke to leading the wave of groundbreaking comedy. 

We’re paying tribute to the brazen shoulders of 8 legendary funny individuals that the new generation of LGBTQ+ comedians stand on, and who have never stopped from making us laugh themselves.

Lily Tomlin

Bow down to the lesbian sensation that is Lily Tomlin, and kiss her seven Emmys, two Tonys, and Grammy for Best Comedy Recording while you’re at it. Before starring in the beloved Netflix sitcom Grace and Frankie, the comedian tripped out a stoned generation voicing Mrs. Frizzle on The Magic School Bus in 1994, which must have been what drove her into our urethras all the way to our hearts. Nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for the 1975 film Nashville, some may not realize that Tomlin started her career as a standup comedian and created hysterical characters like telephone operator Ernestine and precocious 5-year-old Edith Ann. She was also one of the few out celebrities in the 1970s (though choosing a mum’s the word approach) and has been with her wife Jane Wagner for more than 50 years. In gay years, Tomlin has been making us laugh from 9 to 5 for several lifetimes.   

Leslie Jordan

Leslie Jordan played many funny roles since he first came onto the comedic scene in 1986, but his path to becoming a gay icon wasn’t apparent until 2001 when he starred as wealthy New York City socialite Beverley Leslie in the groundbreaking queer sitcom Will & Grace during its 3rd season (winning him an Emmy), and later for its reboot in 2017. But Jordan didn’t need to be on television to take on the proverbial role of the flamboyant gay uncle that made America laugh. He proved this during the lockdown in 2020, when he basically invented the front-facing camera aesthetic for comedy, creating plenty of absolutely hilarious viral videos unhinged with gayness, which gained him over 5 million followers. Sadly, 67-year-old Jordan died in a car accident in October 2022, but his spirit undoubtedly lives on, encouraging every gay to live, laugh, and f**k.

Margaret Cho

Margaret Cho said she has come out repeatedly in her life, at first as a lesbian who wore “long, denim shorts and a messenger bag and a bike chain and big boots,” then as a straight woman, and eventually a bisexual, until the comedian eventually labeled herself “a fruit.” Still, her sense of humor has always preceded her identity, and she channels the multitudes of her sexuality and her Korean-American heritage to make people laugh to the point of urination. The 5-time Grammy Comedy Album nominee weaponizes her talents for social activism and has a unique knack for making you care as much as smile. Cho’s wit and vulnerability stood bright amid a sea of white men during her early days doing stand-up and on her short-lived 1994 sitcom All-American Girl, and she never lost that spark. 

Lea DeLaria

The queer community embraces raunchy comedy like no other, and the only snowflakes Lea DeLaria knows are the conservatives she wipes her ass with during her standup routines. She became one of the first openly gay comics to appear on American television in 1993 and rocked Broadway with hilariousness throughout the years, resulting in Entertainment Weekly proclaiming “a star is born” regarding her performance in the 1998 revival of On the Town (to a scorned baby Gaga). DeLaria later taught us & mainstream audiences the delicate art of fingerbanging when she starred as Boo in Orange is the New Black. Throughout her career she’s never shied away from loving women, referring to herself as a “Big Dyke,” and has recently put her money where her mouth typically is by executive producing “The Lesbian Bar Project” documentary in 2022.   

Related:

Judy Gold draws the line and crosses it in her solo show ‘Yes, I Can Say That!’

Both funny and cautionary, Judy Gold warns of cancel culture in her new solo play, directed by BD Wong.

Sampson McCormick

In a 2011 interview, Sampson McCormick said that an 11th-grade teacher told him he’d either become a stand-up comedian or a drag queen. For a Black gay man back then, not even Robert Frost could’ve told you which was the road less traveled. But as much as McCormick loved heels, he said he wasn’t a fan of stockings and decided to embrace his comedic chops. In 2013, he became the first openly gay Black comedian to headline Washington D.C.’s legendary Howard Theatre and made history again in 2018 as the first LGBT comic to perform at the Smithsonian Institute. McCormick has said, “If you laugh at something, you can survive it,” and he has helped the next generation of marginalized folks learn to laugh at hardship and overcome anything. 

Wanda Sykes

Few people master facial expressions, physical comedy and land every punchline like Wanda Sykes. Although she won a Primetime Emmy award for her writing on The Chris Rock Show in 1999, her words are especially hysterical when they come out of her mouth. In 2009, Sykes made history becoming the first African American woman and the first openly LGBT person to be the featured entertainer at the annual White House Correspondents Association dinner. (Fox News questioned if she went too far, which just shows another reason why we adore her.) Since publicly coming out 15 years ago, her career has continued to soar starring on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Bad Moms, The Other Two, and co-hosting the Academy Awards the night of the infamous Will Smith slap. Sykes has proven there’s no role she can’t handle!

David Sedaris

You’re going to say David Sedaris is not a comedian, and to be fair, he has said that he doesn’t identify as one. And yet, the essayist is to humor what Donald Trump is to Cheetos. (So stop heckling this list, Karen!) Queer literature can feel saturated with stories about struggle and hardship, so he has been the North Star in finding laughs in the mundane. But that doesn’t mean Sedaris doesn’t know how to get dark real quick! Plus, comedians struggle to get a mainstream audience to want to listen to routines with gay life at the focal point, so it’s more of a feat getting people to read about it. Since releasing his first collection on short stories in 1994, the author’s uncanny sense of humor has sold more than 7 million books and he was later elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2019. Sedaris has said, “Sometimes the sins you haven’t committed are all you have left to hold onto,” and we hope to keep up with those sins for years to come.

Ellen DeGeneres

Regardless of your personal feelings about Ellen DeGeneres, the talk show host received 34 Daytime Emmy Awards and was most likely the first (and only) lesbian that conservative households fangirled over ever since the launch of The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2003. Back in 1982, the comic was also crowned Showtime’s Funniest Person in America and years later broke ground for the queer community with her very public coming out in 1997. Unfortunately, that watershed moment also lead to the abrupt cancellation of her ABC series months before the premiere of Will & Grace. 25 years later, DeGeneres found she wasn’t immune to the jadedness of fame and saw her talk show canceled in 2022. But we’re not going to get into the gritty details of controversy and, instead, appreciate the road of visibility, resilience, and queer comedic excellence DeGeneres leaves behind. And let’s not forget, what Jennifer Aniston’s “The Rachel” hairstyle was to a generation of bubbly women, the comedian’s trademark ‘do echoed with certain queers and the Justin Biebers of America. 

Related:

From her iconic talk show, to Anne Heche, to Madonna, Rosie O’Donnell dishes on literally EVERYTHING

Rosie has always been fearless. It’s part of why we love her so much.

Don't forget to share:

Help make sure LGBTQ+ stories are being told...

We can't rely on mainstream media to tell our stories. That's why we don't lock Queerty articles behind a paywall. Will you support our mission with a contribution today?

Once Monthly Annually

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated