Valentina, RuPaul's Drag Race Alum, Comes Out as Transgender
Liev Schreiber Speaks Out on 16-Year-Old Daughter Kai Coming Out as Trans
is sharing her journey.
The RuPaul's Drag Race alum—who competed on season nine, as well as the competition's fourth All Stars season—celebrated her 34th birthday with an emotional Instagram post in which she came out as transgender.
"Hello everyone, it’s me Valentina Xunaxi. Today is my bday. I turn 34," Valentina wrote May 14. "For some time now I’ve been in transition, I’ve been doing it privately but today I wanted to open and share with you all."
"Along the way I’ve felt pressure to come forward so I’ve decided and wanted to take today to declare myself as a transgender woman," she continued. "I welcome all the love, support and protection from my dear fans. Thank you so much."
She ended the post, which included three photos of her wearing a white tank top, by adding emojis of a pink heart and the transgender flag.
In the comments of her post, the Drag Race Mexico host received an onslaught of love from fellow icons from the drag community.
wrote, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY! LOVE, NANA," while commented, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY MI AMOR TE AMOOOOO TE AMOOOOO."
The winner of Drag Race season 12 also showed Valentina some love, writing, "Happy birthday beautiful!!! Love you!"
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The In The Heights actress had previously come out as nonbinary back in 2019.
"I identify as nonbinary," Valentina told Out in an interview at the time. "I don't completely feel like a man, I don't completely feel like a woman. I feel like a goddess. I feel like I'm my own gender."
That same year, she took on the iconic character of Angel, whose gender identity has been subject to speculation for years.
"I get to bring that aspect to my Angel character," Valentina said of the role, "and really have an idea of like, 'Why is she so happy and so confident in her armor, in her drag?'"
She added, "I do take the responsibility of being a gay nonbinary drag queen person taking on a really important iconic role like Angel and I hope [audiences] tune in for it."
Keep reading for more stars who have shared their coming out stories...
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The Dance Moms alum didn't give it a second thought when she came out in a 2021 Instagram story.
"I came out when I was 17 but I didn't understand at the time what a big deal that was," she told People in October 2023. "I didn't understand why that was scary."
"Of course there was a lot of positivity and love and acceptance but then there was a lot of negativity, and I did lose a lot," she continued. "I didn't care, and I still don't care [about] the things I lost and the people that I lost and if I lost a chunk of fans...because it's who I am."
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While the "Flowers" singer was never a big fan of labels, she came out as pansexual in 2016.
"My whole life, I didn't understand my own gender and my own sexuality," she revealed to Variety in October 2016. "I always hated the word 'bisexual,' because that's even putting me in a box. I don't ever think about someone being a boy or someone being a girl."
She continued, "Also, my nipple pasties and s--t never felt sexualized to me. My eyes started opening in the fifth or sixth grade. My first relationship in my life was with a chick."
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For Matt, coming out to his conservative Christian family marked the start of a new era in his life.
"Telling your family is a huge, huge deal," the White Collar alum, who shares three kids with husband , previously told OUT Magazine. "I really view my life as divided between the time before I told my parents, and the time after. And the decisions I made, and the life I lived, before and after, are vastly different. It's night and day."
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The "Good Luck, Babe!" singer revealed that she isn't always as confident and comfortable as she may seem. And her Midwest roots played a huge role.
"I was scared of flamboyantly gay people because I was taught that," she told Rolling Stone. "[I realized] people hate flamboyantly gay people because it just exudes femininity, and people hate women. Just little things like that, you're like, 'Oh my God, this is just so fu--ed.'"
"It took a lot of unlearning, and there's still things I"m still confused about, and [it's] why I feel so uncomfortable being gay sometimes," she continued. "I don't get why this is such an issue for me. It shouldn't be, but something's just going on and I need to just accept that."
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The Bachelorette alum came out on an episode of The View, when she revealed she was in a committed relationship with a woman.
"I've been keeping it kind of private," she said in the August 2023 episode, "because it is a bigger story and a bigger conversation because I'm dating a girl."
"I think it was always a whisper in me that just got louder and louder," she continued. "I didn't really know to pay attention to it. When this happens there's some shame attached to it and I had to a little bit navigate through that shame; what is it, where is it coming from."
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The Mean Girls star, having previously identified as bisexual, came out as lesbian in January 2024—on an episode of Saturday Night Live. And her friends played a supporting role in the decision.
“All of a sudden, I had these people around me who were either nonbinary people, trans friends, or lesbians," she told Billboard months later, "and I was like, ‘I feel so happy when I’m with you guys. And I also really want to call myself a lesbian when I’m around you.’”
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The former late-night host officially came out as queer on the last day of Pride month in 2024.
In what will come as a shock to exactly zero people, I’m using the last day of PRIDE to come out!” she wrote in a June 2024 Instagram post, wearing a tank with the word “Queer” printed on the front.
“Be proud of who you are, little babies! I know I am!” she continued. “And I can’t wait to be discriminated against for a new reason!!”
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The former Disney Channel star revealed that before revealing her sexuality, she was afraid to publicly come out as queer.
"I've hinted about my sexuality for years while being afraid to spell it out for everybody," she told Gay Times in May 2021. "I did a lyric video last year, for 'We Belong.' It had moving line drawings of people falling in love…It was all a man and a woman making out and it was a weird moment for me."
"When the song came out, everybody got the idea that the song was a big LGBTQ+ anthem song and I found myself in this position where everyone thought I was queerbaiting," she continued. "I went on Instagram Live and said 'Guys, I really needed to explain something to you. Maybe I haven't said it, but I'm super queer. This is something I want to represent through my music because it's who I am.'"
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The "Heart Attack" singer came out as non-binary in a 2021 Instagram post.
"Every day we wake up, we are given another opportunity and chance to be who we want and wish to be," she wrote in the caption. "I've spent the majority of my life growing in front of all of you… you've seen the good, the bad, and everything in between. Not only has my life been a journey for myself, I was also living for those on the other side of the cameras."
"Today is a day I'm so happy to share more of my life with you all - I am proud to let you know that I identify as non-binary and will officially be changing my pronouns to they/them moving forward," Demi—who has since gone back to using she/her pronouns—continued. "This has come after a lot of healing and self-reflective work. I'm still learning and coming into myself, and I don't claim to be an expert or a spokesperson. Sharing this with you now opens another level of vulnerability for me."
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The Bachelor alum, who has been dating singer since 2018, did not publicly come out until four years into her relationship. And though she admitted it felt weird once everyone found out, she saw the impact of publicly sharing her truth.
"I realized this is so much bigger than me and my relationship and my personal experience because if it helped anyone feel comfortable or brave to be comfortable with who they fall in love with, then that's way bigger than me and my fears and what I was scared of," she told E! News in June 2022. "It's very humbling to read comments like that and realize the significance of something as simple as falling in love and sharing that."
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Three years after coming out to his family at age 15, Troye publicly shared his story in a YouTube video. And as he later recalled, his decision to come out came amid a pivotal moment in his life.
"I was about to sign my record deal, and I really wanted to be in charge of how I came out," he told People in February 2022. "I didn't want anyone to take that away from me. I wanted to start going out and going to gay clubs and meeting boys, and I wanted to write songs about love that were true and genuine."
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The Selling Sunset star—who is married to singer —stresses the importance of prioritizing yourself.
"If someone truly loves you, your happiness should always come before their beliefs," Chrishell, who began her romance with the Australian singer in 2022, told E! News. "Never conform to others ideas they have for your life. It's yours and you only get one."
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The TikToker—who was openly gay at an all-boys high school—uses his platform to encourage others to be comfortable with who they are.
"My identity will already be something that can be of controversy, depending on who the audience is," Chris told E! News in October 2022. "So one of my passive-active missions in having this platform is to try to break that down and bring normalcy to this identity."
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The Bravo star, who came out while in college, shared some valuable advice for having those big coming out conversations.
"My advice would be, find one friend that you can tell," he previously told E! News. "All it takes is one friend that you know will be supportive. And that friend can be your island and just kind of branch out from there. It's always worse in your head than it's going to be."
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