The top 100 LGBTIQ+ artists in the world

Pop culture as we know it does not exist without LGBTIQ+ artists. From 70s glam to hyperpop, from arthouse cinema to mainstream drag, these are the 100 figures — all publicly out or historically documented — who drew the map. The list is ours, debatable, and that's the point: debate it at the FEL!ZA bar.

Music: pop, rock and everything else

1. Elton John — British pop legend
2. Freddie Mercury — Queen
3. George Michael — pop
4. Ricky Martin — Latin pop
5. Sam Smith — pop
6. Lil Nas X — rap / pop
7. Frank Ocean — R&B
8. Troye Sivan — pop
9. Olly Alexander — Years & Years
10. Hayley Kiyoko — pop
11. King Princess — indie pop
12. girl in red — indie
13. Janelle Monáe — funk / R&B
14. Kehlani — R&B
15. Halsey — pop
16. Demi Lovato — pop
17. Miley Cyrus — pop / rock
18. Lady Gaga — pop
19. Tegan Quin — Tegan and Sara
20. Sara Quin — Tegan and Sara
21. St. Vincent — art rock
22. Christine and the Queens — synth-pop
23. Rufus Wainwright — singer-songwriter
24. Melissa Etheridge — rock
25. k.d. lang — country / pop
26. Brandi Carlile — folk / americana
27. Adam Lambert — glam pop
28. Jake Shears — Scissor Sisters
29. Boy George — Culture Club
30. Jimmy Somerville — Bronski Beat
31. Neil Tennant — Pet Shop Boys
32. Michael Stipe — R.E.M.
33. Bob Mould — punk / alternativo
34. Mika — pop
35. Kim Petras — pop
36. SOPHIE — electronic
37. Arca — experimental electronic
38. Big Freedia — bounce
39. Perfume Genius — art pop
40. Orville Peck — country
41. Omar Apollo — R&B
42. Steve Lacy — funk / R&B
43. Chappell Roan — pop
44. Billie Eilish — pop

Latin America and the world

1. Chavela Vargas — ranchera (México)
2. Pabllo Vittar — pop (Brasil)
3. Liniker — MPB (Brasil)
4. Villano Antillano — rap (Puerto Rico)
5. Ana Gabriel — balada (México)
6. Christian Chávez — pop (México)
7. Javiera Mena — electropop (Chile)
8. Álex Anwandter — pop (Chile)
9. Mon Laferte — pop / rock (Chile)
10. Holland — K-pop (Corea)

Film and TV

1. Pedro Almodóvar — director (Spain)
2. Xavier Dolan — director (Canada)
3. Gus Van Sant — director
4. John Waters — director
5. Lana Wachowski — director (The Matrix)
6. Lilly Wachowski — director (The Matrix)
7. Elliot Page — actor
8. Kristen Stewart — actor
9. Sarah Paulson — actor
10. Jodie Foster — actor and director
11. Ian McKellen — actor
12. Neil Patrick Harris — actor
13. Jim Parsons — actor
14. Zachary Quinto — actor
15. Matt Bomer — actor
16. Ben Whishaw — actor
17. Colman Domingo — actor
18. Billy Porter — actor (Pose)
19. Laverne Cox — actor (Orange Is the New Black)
20. Hunter Schafer — actor (Euphoria)
21. MJ Rodriguez — actor (Pose)
22. Indya Moore — actor (Pose)
23. Bella Ramsey — actor (The Last of Us)
24. Emma D'Arcy — actor (House of the Dragon)
25. Cynthia Nixon — actor (Sex and the City)
26. Wanda Sykes — comedian
27. Ellen DeGeneres — comedian and host
28. Jonathan Bailey — actor (Bridgerton)
29. Andrew Scott — actor (Fleabag)
30. Murray Bartlett — actor (The White Lotus)

Drag

1. RuPaul — drag
2. Trixie Mattel — drag
3. Bianca Del Rio — drag
4. Sasha Velour — drag

Writing and visual arts

1. Oscar Wilde — writer (classic)
2. Virginia Woolf — writer (classic)
3. Federico García Lorca — poet (classic)
4. Ocean Vuong — poet and novelist
5. Alison Bechdel — cartoonist (Fun Home)
6. David Hockney — painter
7. Keith Haring — visual artist
8. Andy Warhol — pop artist
9. Frida Kahlo — painter
10. Robert Mapplethorpe — photographer
11. Catherine Opie — photographer
12. Zanele Muholi — visual artist (South Africa)

Did we miss someone? For sure. Top-100 lists always leave number 101 out. Come argue about it in person: this music plays at FEL!ZA every week, this cinema gets screened and this drag takes the stage.