Queer stars and historical figures the world lost too soon -

Pride month is a time for celebration, for joyous expression, and for enjoying the freedoms that the queer community has worked so hard to earn but has always deserved. At the same time, it is important to remember all of the fighters, advocates, and shining stars that helped society reach the place it is today, and also to remind us of how much room there still is to improve. Far too often, queer folk are taken from us tragically early. Today, and every day, let's keep in mind the heroes who have left us, and celebrate pride with their memories in our hearts.

Read on the learn the stories of the LGBTQ+ leaders who've paved the way for our pride today.

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SOPHIE -

Sophie Xeon, professionally known as SOPHIE, was one of the most groundbreaking and revolutionary figures in trans visibility. Fearlessly addressing and embracing her identity through her music and performances, SOPHIE rose to superstar status almost overnight, becoming a favorite collaborator of artists such as Lady Gaga and Charli XCX. She released her debut album, 'Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides,' in 2018.

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SOPHIE -

On January 30, 2021, the Scottish artist accidentally fell off a roof in Athens, Greece, and died in the hospital shortly afterward, at the age of 34. Countless artists took to the internet to express their condolences and heartbreak, and some months later the International Astronomical Union announced that a previously-unnamed distant planet would be officially dubbed Sophiexeon.

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Keith Haring -

Keith Haring still stands today as one of the most popular and instantly recognizable artists in the world, with his work still regularly being exhibited and his classic iconography constantly repurposed.

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Keith Haring -

Haring, who was openly gay throughout his life, was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988. His work took a focus on promoting awareness for the illness and shining a light on the work that needed to be done to prevent it. Haring died from AIDS-related complications two years later, at the age of 31.

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Marsha P. Johnson -

Marsha P. Johnson was a drag queen and gay rights icon widely credited with catalyzing the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, the riot against queer oppression that gave birth to the modern concept of Pride.

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Marsha P. Johnson -

A fervent activist, Johnson was a founding member of the Gay Liberation Front, as well as a frequent collaborator with the ACT UP AIDS activist group. In 1992, at the age of 46, Johnson's body was found floating in the Hudson River in New York City. Officially ruled a suicide, it is widely believed that foul play was involved with the revolutionary's death, mainly due to testimonies that Johnson was in no way suicidal and the presence of a massive wound in the back of Johnson's head found during her autopsy.

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Freddie Mercury -

One of the most famous performers in history and most outspoken advocates for AIDS awareness and prevention, the openly gay Queen frontman became the face of an epidemic for years after his tragic and untimely death. 

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Freddie Mercury -

Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987, although he did his best to keep his illness private, continuing to record and perform with Queen frequently. It wasn't until the day before his death, in 1991, that he announced his diagnosis. The superstar was 45 years old.

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Leslie Cheung -

Leslie Cheung, frequently hailed as the godfather of Cantopop, was one of Hong Kong's biggest stars of the stage and also led an illustrious film career. While passing as straight during his rise to fame during the 1970s and 1980s, Cheung announced in the 1990s that he was bisexual, and in 1997 dedicated a song on stage to his life partner, Daffy Tong.

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Leslie Cheung -

Cheung became a queer icon for people not just in Hong Kong, but across the globe. Loved by millions, it was a global tragedy when, in 2003, at the age of 46, Cheung threw himself from the 24th story of a Hong Kong hotel. Cheung's partner, Tong, later revealed that Cheung had struggled with clinical depression for years. For the 10th anniversary of the singer's death, mourners set a Guinness World Record for the largest display of origami cranes, folding nearly two million of the paper birds in his honor.

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Alan Turing -

Alan Turing, an English serviceman in World War II famous for creating the Turing machine which enabled allied forces to decode Axis transmissions, kept his sexuality a secret for as long as possible since homosexuality was a crime in mid-century England.

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Alan Turing -

During an investigation originally regarding Turing's apartment being burgled, it became apparent to the police that Turing is gay, and despite his inconceivably important contributions to the Allied powers, democracy, and to computing, Turing was convicted of gross indecency and subjected to chemical castration. In 1954, Turing was found dead in his home, poisoned by cyanide at the age of 41. Whether the cyanide was self-administered or not remains up for debate.

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Pedro Zamora -

Born to Cuban refugees, Pedro Pablo Zamora was an openly gay television personality famous for his participation in the MTV reality show 'The Real World.' Zamora also made television history when he and his life partner Sean Sasser (not pictured) had their commitment ceremony, the first of its kind to ever be televised, aired in 1994.

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Pedro Zamora -

Pedro Zamora was diagnosed with AIDS when he was 17, and at the time his only wish was to graduate high school before death. Once this was accomplished, Zamora became an advocate not just on television but in the halls of churches and community centers as well. After dedicating his life to raising AIDS visibility, Zamora died from complications related to the illness at the age of 22. The street of his middle school was named after him, and a park was also built in his name.

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Sophie Gradon -

Sophie Gradon, former Miss Great Britain in 2009, made television history when the openly bisexual model formed English dating reality show 'Love Island's first same-sex pairing with fellow model Katie Salmon.

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Sophie Gradon -

Throughout her life on and off the stage and screen, Gradon said she was harassed and bullied by strangers on the internet for her identity and her line of work. In 2018, she was found hanging in the bedroom of her parents' house at the age of 32.

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Ari Gold -

Ari Gold, the dance music artist best known for his frequent collaborations with 'Ru Paul's Drag Race,' was throughout his career a beacon of hope for other gay and queer musicians who worried about the effect their identity could have on their career.

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Ari Gold -

Openly gay and outspoken regarding his experience as a gay Jewish man, Gold released seven records, countless singles, and even an autobiographical play for the stage before his life was cut short by a battle with leukemia at the age of 47.

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Jean-Michel Basquiat -

Jean-Michel Basquiat, the caustic and controversial crown prince of 1980s and '90s New York City, changed high art forever with his politically charged, abrasive, and disorienting creations. He further confused the public with his ambiguous sexuality, finding it unimportant to share his private life with the press, although all those closest to him confirmed his sexuality was as free-flowing as his artistic sensibilities.

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Jean-Michel Basquiat -

Basquiat struggled with poverty and addiction throughout his short life, despite his fame and popularity. On August 12, 1988, Basquiat was found dead from a heroin overdose, believed to be accidental, in his Manhattan apartment.

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Sahara Davenport -

Sahara Davenport, a singer, classically trained dancer, and beloved drag queen, rose to fame in 2010 when she competed on the second season of 'Ru Paul's Drag Race.'

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Sahara Davenport -

Born in Dallas, Texas, Davenport was able to travel doing drag after her appearances on 'Drag Race,' but with the fame also came a dependence on drugs, which is believed to have caused the performer's heart failure in 2012, at the young age of 27.

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Miriam Rivera -

Mexican-born transgender activist and television star Miriam Rivera rose to fame through her participation in the English reality show 'There's Something About Miriam,' which aired in 2003. 

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Miriam Rivera -

Rivera spent most of her life advocating for transgender rights and working towards the destigmatization of her identity. In 2019, she was found dead in her Sonora, Mexico, apartment at the age of 37. Although officially ruled a suicide, her husband, Daniel Cuervo, has stated he believes Rivera was the murdered due to a death threat received in the days after her death, telling Cuervo not to return to Mexico or organize a funeral for his wife.

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Dora Carrington -

Dora Carrington was a painter from 19th-century England who was almost entirely neglected during her life, but has now been recognized as one of the most original creators of her time. 

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Dora Carrington -

Though the most meaningful romance of her life was her platonic relationship with the gay English writer Lytton Strachey, most of her sexual experiences seemed to be with other women. Alas, letters and biographers tell us that Strachey was the truest love in Carrington's life, and the artist shot herself when she was 38, just two months after Strachey's death.

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Ellen Joyce Loo -

Beloved in Hong Kong not so much for her short-lived music career as for her position as a trailblazer of the destigmatization of homosexuality and mental illness, Ellen Joyce Loo spoke openly about her struggles with bipolar disorder, and proudly shared her marriage to Taiwanese cinematographer Fisher Yu, whom she married in Canada.

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Ellen Joyce Loo -

Despite acting as a beacon of hope and understanding to others, Loo tragically fell to her death out of her Hong Kong apartment window in 2018 at the age of 32.

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Isabel Torres -

Spanish actress and activist Isabel Torres first made history in 2005, when she became the first openly transgender candidate for Queen of Carnival of Las Palmas, the largest and most popular carnival celebration in Spain.

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Isabel Torres -

After a wonderful life as an actress and television news presenter, Torres's life was tragically cut short when she developed lung cancer in 2020. In 2022, Torres succumbed to the disease in her hometown of Las Palmas at the age of 52.

Sources: (Variety) (Gay Star News) (Them)

See also: The best LGBTQ athletes around the world

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