Singer-songwriter, 51, photographed in London
Boy George was sitting in jail on 20 January 2009, watching the inauguration of Barack Obama. “I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God, I should be there! How did I get here?’” It was a pivotal moment for the singer. Through his addiction, arrests and redemption, the Culture Club idol has continued to make music. “I’ve been struck by the number of people who’ve said, ‘You’re the reason I came out.’ In the past I might have taken that a bit lightly, now I feel it’s a real responsibility" Photograph: M Sharkey
Artist, 75, photographed at his studio in London
From the start of his career, when homosexuality was still illegal in England, the artist hasrefused to airbrush his sexuality from his work. At 75, he is not only as relevant but as busy as ever – witness last year’s Royal Academy exhibition, which attracted 650,000 visitors Photograph: M Sharkey
Singer-songwriter and activist, 65, and producer, 50, photographed at their home gallery in London
In his new memoir, Sir Elton describes how his friendship with a young boy from Indiana, ostracised after contracting HIV, inspired him to get involved in the fight against Aids. With his husband David Furnish, the musician has raised $275m to support global HIV/Aids programmes Photograph: M Sharkey
Actor, singer and comedian, 52, photographed in West Hollywood, California
The actor/comedian “spent many, many, many years saying yes – to everything,” she says. One of those yeses led her to Christopher Guest, and his improv mockumentary films (Best in Show, A Mighty Wind) helped make her just-off-centre character work cultishly desirable. Then she found a new level of fame as Sue Sylvester, Glee’s amoral cheerleading coach. She's won basically every trophy they give to a funny lady on TV, peppering her acceptance speeches with heartfelt thanks to her wife since 2010, Lara Embry, and their two children. “It’s of course very normal and natural for me to talk about because it’s, you know, my life,” she says Photograph: M Sharkey
Director, 41, photographed at Mother at the Trampery in London
It took a while to tell my mum,” says John Tiffany. “I think she’s about forgiven me, now.” He’s talking about the moment he came out – as a theatre devotee who would not become the doctor his mother had wanted. “She loves it now,” he adds. Tiffany was studying chemistry and biology at Glasgow University when he saw Tectonic Plates by Robert Lepage, and found himself transfixed. “I thought, ‘I want to do that.’” And he has, with numerous hit productions, including the visceral Iraq drama, Black Watch, and his Broadway hit, Once. “I think people who tell stories or have that objectivity often have a sense of alienation when they grow up, and that might have something to do with sexuality,” he says. “You get used to watching people because you get used to feeling slightly other” Photograph: M Sharkey
Designer, 28
Altuzarra translates to “old man on the mountain” in Basque, but at 28, he’s very much a young man scaling new heights as his inventive and thoughtful work beguiles an ever-increasing circle of admirers. In June 2012, he cemented his newfound stature by walking away with the CFDA Swarovski award for womenswear barely seven months after winning the CFDA/Vogue fashion award for emerging talent in womenswear Photograph: M Sharkey
The grandson of legendary Doctor Zhivago actor Omar Sharif has been the face of Coca-Cola for the Arabic world and appeared in a major Calvin Klein print campaign in Egypt. But this past March he made his biggest – and most commendable – statement yet when he published a letter in The Advocate, in which he came out as gay and half-Jewish and castigated Egypt’s government for denying its citizens basic human rights. "I anticipate that I will be chastised, scorned, and most certainly threatened," he wrote. "From the vaunted class of Egyptian actor and personality, I might just become an Egyptian public enemy." Or, to some, a hero Photograph: M Sharkey
Last spring, President Obama declared his official support for marriage equality. While it’s taken a while for him to get there, many in politics have long been out and proud. This portrait of 14 dedicated government employees – from a special advisor in the US Department of State to the director of specialty media in the White House Office of Communications – symbolises the full breadth and diversity of the LGBT staff under the Obama-Biden administration. Back row, left to right: Ashlee Davis, Ven Neralla, Kathleen Hartnett, Fred P Hochberg, Pamela S Hyde, Anthony Bernal, Shin Inouye.
Front row, left to right: Ana M Ma, Carlos E Elizondo, Mira Patel, Dylan Orr, Gautam Raghavan, Lisa Kohn, Monique Dorsainvi Photograph: M Sharkey
Will Behrens, 35, and Erwynn Umali, 34, photographed at home in New Jersey
Will Behrens and Tech Sgt Erwynn Umali were both brought up in strict religious households and raised to despise homosexuals. This past June they were the first gay couple to be officially married on a military base. Umali, who worked as a gunner in Afghanistan, met Behrens at the Solid Rock Baptist Church in New Jersey, and the two began a cautious courtship through emails. For Umali, who had divorced his wife in 2005, the situation was complicated by the army’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, but that was repealed in 2011 and the two became engaged soon afterwards. Umali inquired about being married at his base: “They had to approve it all the way to the Pentagon.” At their wedding, the military chaplain blessed their union, and Umali’s military colleagues mingled with their friends. Neither set of parents attended Photograph: M Sharkey
