The fascinating, but less than impressive, LGBTQ+ history of the Oscars

Pioneering LGBTQ+ films at the 78th Academy Awards in 2005 Brokeback Mountain It made history by winning three Oscars from eight nominations.

The Oscars, Hollywood’s most glamorous night of the year, was a shocking moment for LGBTQ+ films. Up until that point, films that celebrated the beauty and complexity of the queer experience had largely been notable, bar a few exceptions. Brokeback Mountain It brought queer cinema into the mainstream in a spectacular way.

Another turning point came in 2017. moonlight ‘ won Best Picture, making it the first LGBTQ+ film and the first film with an all-black principal cast to win the award.

Emilia Perez.

Unfortunately, this significant achievement was overshadowed by an equally significant controversy, when many of Gascón’s old, now-deleted tweets resurfaced, some expressing anti-Islam sentiment and others taking aim at the Oscars for promoting diversity. She later apologized for her comments.

Aside from these exceptions, queer films and the LGBTQ+ people who create notable them are underrepresented at the Oscars, if not outright overlooked. Only three LGBTQ+ films have received nominations, largely buried in a sea of ​​extremely cishet films.

LGBTQ+ Oscar Winners

Over the past two decades, straight actors who have played LGBTQ+ roles have regularly won awards from the Academy. Sadly, queer actors often find themselves on the outside looking in.

Many actors have won Oscars after coming out late in life or being posthumously labeled as queer.

Marlon Brando, who is generally considered to be bisexual, won two Best Actor Oscars during his career. The first award was in 1954 for on the waterfront And his second purpose is godfather In 1972 (although he is famous for I declined the prize (due to Hollywood’s mistreatment of Native Americans). A few years after his second major victory, he told a French journalist that he had had a “homosexual experience.”

In the 1990s, another queer actor won two Oscars – one for leading actor and one in the supporting category – but his sexuality was a closely guarded secret at the time. He eventually came out as gay after being accused of being gay by actor Anthony Rapp and many other men. sexual assault.

Notably, until 2024, Ian McKellen was the only gay actor to be nominated for an acting Oscar after coming out. At the time of both nominations, he had come out as gay. Speaking in 2016, he wondered whether the lack of openly gay men getting Oscar nominations in the acting categories was down to “prejudice or chance”.

In 2024, Colman Domingo made history by becoming the second gay man ever to be nominated for an Oscar for playing a gay character in a movie. rustin. He is aiming for the Best Actor Oscar again this year. Sing Sing.

Things weren’t much better in the Best Actress category. To this day, Jodie Foster is the only queer woman to win the lead role, and she has won twice, once for the leading role. accused in 1988 and again silence of the lambs Again, she wasn’t out at the time. Lady Gaga was nominated for the gong in 2019, but lost.

Queer actors have fared a little better in the supporting roles category. Joel Gray wins cabaret in 1972, although at that time he did not appear in public. John Gielgud won arthur He was arrested in 1981, even though he had been arrested and exposed for having sex with another man in the 1950s. Kevin Spacey also won in this category. The Usual Suspects In 1995.

Tatum O’Neal won in the supporting actress category. paper moon Linda Hunt won in 1973. Year of living dangerouslyAnna Paquin won this award in 1993. piano. Again, none of them were out when they received the award. Angelina Jolie’s bisexuality wasn’t a closely guarded secret when she was elected. girl, interrupted in 2000 – but by the time she was nominated again changelingin 2008, she went on record about her queerness.

Queer people have fared better in other categories at the Oscars. Elton John, Melissa Ethridge, Stephen Sondheim and Howard Ashman won in the Best Original Song category. There was a small controversy when Sam Smith won in 2016, but argued in their speech milk In 2008.

Other queer people who have won Oscars outside of acting categories include Bill Condon, who won Best Adapted Screenplay for “Movie.” gods and monstersAlan Ball won the screenplay award for “. american beautyJohn Schlesinger won the Best Director award for “. midnight cowboy.

Queer films tend to do well at the Oscars these days, but only in certain types of films.

Queer actors may not have a huge track record at the Oscars, but that doesn’t mean queer films don’t get noticed. In fact, over the last few decades, the Academy has shown that it loves LGBTQ+ films – as long as their queer characters are being played by straight and cis actors.

This trend started in 1985 when William Hurt won an Academy Award. spider woman’s kiss. In 1993, Tom Hanks’ performance in the film instantly made him a front-runner for the Best Actor Oscar. philadelphiais a film that tackles the AIDS epidemic through one gay man’s anti-discrimination fight. His win was seen as an historic moment for queer representation in Hollywood, but some LGBTQ+ activists were unhappy with its approach and were dissatisfied with the idea of ​​a straight man winning awards for playing gay.

Despite being successful, philadelphiaIt would be another decade before queer films were firmly established in the Oscar mainstream. Nicole Kidman won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as Virginia Woolf. time 2003. 2 years later, Brokeback Mountain was removed from the Best Picture award in favor of crash. But its box office success, critical acclaim, and the fact that it was nominated for eight Oscars (winning Best Director for Ang Lee), made an impact in Hollywood.

Things started to change and major studios finally started making queer films with greater regularity, presumably with the hope of cashing in on the Oscars’ newfound love of a certain kind of queer film. Sean Penn won an Oscar for his performance as Harvey Milk. milk In 2008, screenwriter Dustin Lance Black won the award for Best Original Screenplay.

Since then, numerous straight actors have been nominated and won Oscars for playing queer characters. Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Natalie Portman and Olivia Colman have all scooped the Best Actress prize for playing queer characters, while Rami Malek won in 2018 for bohemian rhapsody.

In 2017, moonlight It won Best Picture, one of three awards won on the night.

like Brokeback Mountain Before that, Mr. Moonlight The effects could be felt across the industry, with studios increasingly favoring films with Black leads that aren’t rooted in trauma. Still the only LGBTQ+ film to win the best gong.

Where are all the queer actors?

One of the most troubling trends is the Academy’s tendency to reward cis actors who play transgender characters. Eddie Redmayne, Hilary Swank and Jared Leto have all picked up nominations for taking on trans roles – the impact of those casting decisions has been explored in-depth in the acclaimed Netflix documentary disclosure.

No trans actor has ever won an Oscar for playing a trans character.

vanity fair In January. “LGBTQ+ actors have long faced blatant employment discrimination and have felt forced to hide their sexual orientation and/or gender identity if they hoped to work at all.”

That doesn’t mean it was all bad. The Academy has a problem with fawning over films with straight actors playing gay, but it’s also recognized some truly great queer films over the years.

In 2025, things seemed to be starting to change. LGBTQ+ actress Cynthia Erivo was nominated for an award for her stardom. evil. Gay star Colman Domingo nominated for Best Actor Sing SingDisney+ Documentary Elton John: It’s never too late Not to mention the fact that it’s a musical about the Trans Cartel, and it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Emilia Perez It was nominated in at least 13 categories.

Unfortunately, it looks like this year’s Oscars will be much more “straight.” Will 2027 be even better? Only time will tell.