This profile is part of Queerty’s 2020 Out For Good series, recognizing public figures who’ve had the courage to come out and make a difference in the past year, in celebration of National Coming Out Day on October 11.
Name: Taylor Schilling, 36
Bio: Schilling is best known for her starring role as Piper Chapman in the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black, a performance that earned her Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. She also starred in the NBC medical drama Mercy and in the films Atlas Shrugged: Part I and The Lucky One.
Coming Out: Schilling effectively came out to her fans during Pride 2020 when she went Instagram-official with her girlfriend Emily Ritz. The same day, she paid tribute to LGBTQ+ legend and Stonewall activist Marsha P. Johnson on Instagram.
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“Here because of women like you,” she wrote at the time, captioning a photo of Johnson. “Happy Pride, my friends. #happypride #marshapjohnson #blacklivesmatter #blacktranslivesmatter #loveislove.”
Breaking Down Barriers: Before this year, Schilling spoke cryptically about her love life — but she did allude to same-sex attractions in a 2017 Evening Standard profile, which mentioned that she reportedly dated actor-musician Carrie Brownstein.
“I’ve had very serious relationships with lots of people, and I’m a very expansive human,” she said at the time. “There’s no part of me that can be put under a label. I really don’t fit into a box — that’s too reductive. I’m working all the time — I don’t really have anything else going on. But I’ve had wonderful relationships.”
Words of Wisdom:
“I’ve had a lot of love, and I don’t have any qualms about where it comes from.” – Taylor Schilling to the Evening Standard
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Those who came out to make a difference
