April 24th
04-24-1942 Barbra Streisand – Born in Brooklyn, New 
York. She is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and filmmaker. Streisand has been a long-time supporter of LGBT rights. In her ‘love letter’ to the LGBT community in Billboard, June 2o17, she said, “The first time I ever sang for a paying audience was at a gay club, The Lion, in Greenwich Village. I was 18 years old and had never been in a nightclub before. The gay community supported me from the start, and I will always be grateful. Marriage equality is the law and that deserves a toast… to all of us, because we’re all unique and beautiful in our own way and entitled to love and be loved by whomever we choose.” In 2007, she helped raise funds in an unsuccessful attempt to defeat Proposition 8 in California. Jason Gould, her son, came out to her and his father, Elliot Gould, in 1988.
04-24-1947 Astrid Roemer – Born in Paramaribo, Suriname. She is a writer and teacher that lived in the Netherlands. The Dutch language author has 
published novels, drama, and poetry. In May 2016, she received the P.C. Hooft Award, a Dutch language literary lifetime achievement award. Her breakthrough novel On the Madness of a Woman, written in the 1970s, examined the identity and the oppression of women, which established her as a feminist writer and made her a role model for lesbians. In 1986, in Amsterdam, she and poet Audre Lorde participated in a public discussion. When asked how important is it that black women who love other women call themselves “black lesbians”, she answered, “I do not call myself ‘lesbian’ and I do not want to be called ‘lesbian’ either. Life is too complex for us to give names not derived from us, dirty, conditioned words, to the deepest feelings within me. If I love a woman, I love that one woman, and one swallow does not make a summer.”
04-24-1952 Jean-Paul Gaultier – Born in Arcueil, Val-de-Marne, 
France. He is a French fashion designer and was the creative director of Hermès from 2003 to 2010. Gaultier also designed some furniture for the French furniture brand Roche Bobois. In 1990 his boyfriend and partner, Francis Menuge, died of AIDS-related causes. In 2018, Gaultier staged a cabaret show that was loosely based on his life called “Fashion Freak Show” which took place at the Folies Bergere theater in Paris. He announced on January 17, 2020 that his next Paris haute couture fashion show would be his last and that he was retiring from the runway. Gaultier is openly gay.
04-24-1987 Jeffrey Wammes – Born in Utrecht, Netherlands. He is a 
Dutch gymnast and was the all around Dutch champion four times. Whammies is openly gay. In 2011, he appeared in an edition of Linda Magazine focused on gay athletes and stated, “There was already a lot of speculation whether or not I fell for boys or girls. To me it has nothing to do with sport or how I perform. But when I was asked to do this, I made it clear straight away how things were and that’s that.” He was one of 49 out LGBT athletes to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
04-24-1989 Ian Matos – Born in Muaná, Brazil. He is a diver that competed at 
the 2015 World Aquatics Championships and at the 2016 Summer Olympics synchronized 3m springboard, finishing 8th. Matos was one of 49 out LGBT athletes at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
04-24-1992 Rafaela Silva – Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She competed in the 
2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in judo. Silva won Brazil’s first gold metal. She was one of 49 out LGBT athletes at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. (Photo courtesy of CC BY 2.0 – Agência Brasil Fotografias.
04-24-1995 Kehlani (Kehlani Ashley Parrish) – Born in Oakland, California. She is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. She achieved early fame as a member of the teen group Poplyfe. In 2016, she was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best 
Urban Contemporary Album for You Should Be Here. Kehlani has publicly identified as queer and pansexual. In 2018, she clarified her sexuality on Twitter, stating, “I’m queer. Not bi, not straight. I’m attracted to women, men, REALLY attracted to queer men, non-binary people, intersex people, trans people. Lil poly pansexual papa hello good morning. Does that answer your questions?” On February 22, 2019. her third commercial mixtape, While We Wait, was released by Atlantic Records and debuted at number nine on the US Billboard 200. She is vegan.
Thank you, as always.