Love is love and these ladies know how to celebrate it. Join Wonderwall.com as we highlight Hollywood's most well-known lesbian couples, starting with Portia de Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres. The stars met at a party in 2000 but didn't strike up a romance at first. According to Portia, she immediately felt a connection to Ellen, but the "Ally McBeal" actress was still hiding her sexuality at the time and didn't feel ready to confess her feelings. In 2005 — after reconnecting with Ellen a year prior — Portia came out as a gay woman and the pair went public as a couple. They tied the knot in 2008 and have remained loving and committed partners ever since. Keep reading to see more of Hollywood's greatest lesbian couples…
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"Juno" star Ellen Page and her wife since early 2018, dancer-choreographer Emma Portner, began dating in 2017 after Ellen saw Emma dancing online and immediately felt a connection to her creative spirit. Back in 2014 at the Las Vegas Time to Thrive conference, Ellen famously came out as a lesbian, telling the audience, "I'm tired of lying by omission."
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Thanks to her performances on the shows "Orange Is the New Black" and "The Handmaid's Tale," the world has fallen in love with actress Samira Wiley. In 2016, Samira shared a heartfelt Instagram post revealing that her girlfriend, screenwriter-producer Lauren Morelli — whom she met on the set of "OITNB" — had asked for her hand in marriage. The pair exchanged vows in 2017 in a beautiful ceremony in Palm Springs, California, each wearing custom looks by designer Christian Siriano. Back in 2018, Samira revealed that she was devastated when one of her "OITNB" co-stars (she didn't say who) outed her in an interview before she was ready to do so herself. Lauren had more control over her own coming-out experience: In 2014, she explained in a piece she wrote for Identities.Mic that she realized she was gay while writing "OITNB," leading her to amicably divorce her then-new husband.
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Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor's love story is so sweet, it might make you forget about their 32-year age difference. They met in the mid-aughts at a dinner party when Sarah was still dating actress Cherry Jones. Years later, they reconnected after seeing one another at a PSA taping and, as Sarah tells it, Holland slid into her Twitter DMs. Sarah told The New York Times that she was slayed by Holland's looks, calling her "probably the most exquisitely beautiful woman I'd ever seen." Today, fans are awed by their enduring devotion to one another.
Legendary screen actress Jodie Foster is an icon in her own right, but for years, the ultra-private star refused to talk about her sexuality. In 2013, Jodie teasingly came out as a gay woman — mocking years of speculation about her sexual identity — while accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award during the Golden Globes. The same year, the world learned that Jodie had a new special someone in her life — photographer (and Ellen DeGeneres ex) Alexandra Hedison — whom she fell for after splitting with longtime partner Cydney Bernard. The Oscar winner, who was raising two sons with Cydney, married Alexandra in 2014.
Model-actress Cara Delevingne met actress Ashley Benson on the set of their 2018 movie "Her Smell." "[My love life is] sacred," Cara told ELLE magazine in September 2019. Of publicly confirming their romance earlier in the summer around the time of their one-year dating anniversary, she added, "We had gotten to the point where we had kept it a secret, or at least not wanted attention, and now I feel like I'm not going to not be proud. Which isn't the same thing as wanting to pose on a red carpet together, either."
In 2013, "Good Morning America" anchor Robin Roberts took to Facebook to publicly come out as a gay woman, making a point to thank her longtime partner, massage therapist Amber Laign, for her support during Robin's grueling battle with the blood and bone marrow disease myelodysplastic syndrome. A few months later, Robin sat down with talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and revealed that she and Amber met on a blind date nine years earlier. Robin also praised Ellen for being a "trailblazer" and paving the way for other people like her to come out. "You have helped a lot of people like myself to have that discussion with their families because you are so well respected and loved and it's really helped a lot of us and I thank you for that," Robin said.
We got to know Sara Gilbert as Darlene Conner on the sitcom "Roseanne" and Linda Perry as the lead singer of 4 Non Blondes. Years after both ladies left those day jobs — Sara added producer and TV host to her resume while Linda's famously worked as a songwriter with artists like Pink, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, Faith Hill and more — they began dating, confirming their relationship to the world in 2011. In 2014, Linda and Sara married; in 2015, Sara — who also has two kids with ex-partner Ali Adler, a TV producer — gave birth to their son.
Lily Tomlin is one-half of a hilarious duo of senior citizens on the Netflix comedy "Grace & Frankie," which co-stars Jane Fonda. But there's another important Jane in Lily's life: her wife, writer Jane Wagner. Though Lily was openly gay among her circle of friends and colleagues for decades, she never made a big statement about her sexual identity and many fans didn't know she was gay until later in her career. Although Jane and Lily — who've been Emmy-winning collaborators for most of their lives — married in 2013, the pair have actually been a couple since 1971.
"Saturday Night Live" star Kate McKinnon is the long-running show's first openly out cast member. The actress and comedian, who's appeared in films including "Ghostbusters," "Rough Night" and "The Spy Who Dumped Me," first stepped out with her girlfriend, actress Jackie Abbott, at the 2017 Emmys, where she won the award for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series. Because Kate's super-private, the world still doesn't know a whole lot about her romantic relationship.
Just one month before actress-comedienne Wanda Sykes publicly came out as a lesbian in 2008, she quietly married her girlfriend of two years, granite countertop saleswoman Alex Niedbalski, who's French. Alex, who gave birth to their twins in 2009, often joins her famous wife at Hollywood red carpet events like the 2019 Creative Arts Emmys, where Wanda was up for two awards.
Former "Sex and the City" star Cynthia Nixon first met her love, activist Christine Marinoni, in 2004. Five years later, the couple got engaged and eventually married in 2012 — a year after Christine gave birth to their son, Max. Christine more recently supported Cynthia as the star tried a new but short-lived career as a politician: She ran for governor of New York in 2018.
World champion tennis player Billie Jean King had the awful experience of being outed by reporters in 1981 before the majority of the world was ready to accept or embrace members of the LGBTQ community. Instead of hiding the truth, however, Billie chose to confirm the reports and thus began her life as an out and proud lesbian athlete. In the mid-1980s, Billie met the woman who would become the love of her life, South African tennis star Ilana Kloss. Though the couple never married, they've remained a solid team since their days on the tennis court.
Emmy-nominated actress, comedienne and writer Tig Notaro met her future wife, actress Stephanie Allynne, while filming the 2013 comedy "In A World." By the time the movie wrapped, Tig and Stephanie were in love. They got engaged on New Year's Day in 2015 and just 10 months later exchanged vows in Tig's hometown of Pass Christian, Mississippi. In 2016, the ladies became proud parents to twin boys who were born via surrogate.
Four years before Ellen DeGeneres' groundbreaking public coming out, rock singer Melissa Etheridge said "Yes I Am" (and released an album with that title) in response to rumors that she was a lesbian. Although Melissa was in long-term relationships with Julie Cypher and Tammy Lynn Michaels for years, it wasn't until 2014 that the Grammy-winning musician finally said "I do," marrying "Nurse Jackie" creator Linda Wallem. The couple — who happen to share the same birthday — began dating in 2010 but were friends for years before their relationship took a romantic turn.
In 2010, singer Chely Wright made the brave decision to come out to the world as lesbian, becoming the first woman in country music history to do so. Overcoming suicidal ideations and depression, Chely found a new sense of freedom by owning her sexuality. Two weeks later, that revelation would lead her to meet Sony Music Entertainment Marketing Director Lauren Blitzer. By 2011, the ladies had cemented their relationship by getting married. Today, they're still going strong and are the parents of twin boys, George and Evan Wright.
Former "Family Ties" actress Meredith Baxter made headlines when, in 2009, she revealed that she was a lesbian. Her coming out was a powerful step toward embracing her identity and her happiness with general contractor Nancy Locke, whom she met through a mutual friend. The couple initially began their relationship over the phone, waiting months to meet. Once they did, it was love at first sight. Meredith and Nancy married in Los Angeles in December 2013.
"NCIS" star and Oscar-winning actress Linda Hunt has — by Hollywood standards — enjoyed an incredibly long romance with her wife, Karen Klein. The couple got together back in 1987 and have remained committed to each other (and their dogs!) ever since. After more than two decades as a couple, they went from long-term girlfriends to wives in a beautiful 2008 ceremony.
Financial guru and TV host Suze Orman found love at 50 with her now-wife, TV producer Kathy Travis. The couple met in 2001 and quickly formed a powerful bond — Suze has said Kathy (whom she calls KT) is "truly the light of my life." They made their union official by marrying in 2010 and in 2017, the couple semi-retired to a private island in the Bahamas. Although they're kicking up their heels and enjoying the tropics, Suze still hosts the popular podcast "Women & Money."
Tony- and Emmy-winning actress Cherry Jones has spent the entirety of her Hollywood career out and proud, making her an early trailblazer in the LGBTQ community. After a long romance with actress Sarah Paulson, Cherry is now happily married to Swiss actress and filmmaker Sophie Huber. The couple tied the knot in 2015.
In-your-face comedienne and actress Sandra Bernhard, who identifies as bisexual, has been in a long-term relationship with Hollywood screenwriter Sara Switzer for many years. The couple met when Sara was an editor at Harper's Bazaar and asked the former "Roseanne" star to write for her. Together, they've raised Sandra's daughter, Cicely.
You probably first saw Heather Matarazzo as geeky Lilly Moscovitz in the "Princess Diaries" film franchise, or as the star of "Welcome to the Dollhouse." The actress has been open about her sexuality since the early 2000s. In January 2018, Heather revealed that she'd popped the question to her writer-actress girlfriend, Heather Turman.
Journalists Stephanie Gosk and Jenna Wolfe are a lesbian supercouple who met while both were working at NBC. Though they got together in 2010, it wasn't until 2013 that Jenna came out to viewers on "Today" in a sweet way by announcing that she was pregnant with her and Stephanie's first child together. Today, the Manhattan-based couple share two kids. Although Jenna left "Today" in 2015, she can still be seen as the host of the sports talk show "First Things First." Stephanie remains a news correspondent for "Today" and also contributes to "NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt."
MSNBC host Rachel Maddow (right) met longtime girlfriend Susan Mikula (left) while working on her doctorate in 1999 — Susan hired Rachel, who needed money to pay her education bills, to do lawn work. They soon fell head-over-heels in love and have been together ever since. Rachel revealed in 2015 that although same-sex marriage had finally been legalized, they were in no rush to tie the knot.
Former "Glee" star-turned-"Hollywood Game Night" host Jane Lynch has something to smile about. Since at least 2016, she's been in a committed partnership with girlfriend Jennifer Cheyne. The couple live together in Jane's eclectic Laurel Canyon home, which was originally purchased as a log cabin but rebuilt into a comfy, creative two-story modern oasis. Along with more than a handful of beloved dogs, Jane and Jennifer are raising Jennifer's son, Harry, and Jane's nephew, Danny.
DJ Samantha Ronson, whom many might remember as one of Lindsay Lohan's exes, has been in a loving relationship since 2018 with Cassandra Grey — the widow of late Hollywood producer Brad Grey. The couple moved in together in 2019.