February 2nd

02-02-1923 – 11-12-2017 Liz Smith (Mary Elizabeth Smith) – Born in Fort Worth, Texas. She was an American gossip columnist. She was known as “The Grand Dame of Dish.” She is the only columnist to ever have her column printed in three major New York City papers at the same time. Her 2000 memoir, Natural Blonde, made the New York Best Seller list. As of September 11, 2012, she wrote a blog for the Huffington Post. She acknowledged her bisexuality in her memoirs. But in the December 5, 2000 issue of The Advocate, Smith confided in Editor in Chief, Judy Wieder, that it isn’t her nature to be a role model in the LGBT movement. However she admitted: “I think that my relationships with women were always much more emotionally satisfying and comfortable [than with men]. And a lot of my relationships with men were more flirtatious and adversarial. I just never felt I was wife material. I always felt that I was a great girlfriend.” She raised millions of dollars for charities. She had a long-term relationship with archaeologist Iris Love.

02-02-1994 – 01-10-2019   Kevin Fret – Born in Puerto Rico. He was a Puerto Rican singer and the first openly gay Latin trap artist (music subgenre that originated in Puerto Rico. Trap music details “la calle” or the streets — hustling, sex, and drugs). His single, Soy Asi (I’m Like This) released on April 7, 2018, was featured on Mike Durna’s song and video, Diferente (Different), released on July 18, 2018. Writer Samy Nemir Olivares described Fret as being known for “breaking gender norms…and stigma about being gay, gender nonconfroming, and expressing gender identity freely — in a country where gay people still get mocked, bullied, and killed.” On January 10, 2019, Fret was shot and killed while riding his motorcycle in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

02-02-1916 – 12-18-1985 Xuan Dieu – Born in Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam. He was a prominent Vietnamese poet. He was married for only six months without consummating the marriage before divorcing from his wife. Many people believe that he was gay along with his lifelong friend, the famous poet, Huy Can, as shown through his many love poems dedicated to various men. In 1993, the writer To Hoal confirmed that Xuan Dieu was reprimanded while in Viet Minh for molesting other men in bed. He wrote about 450 poems, especially love poems, several short stories and many notes, essays and literary criticisms. A street in Hanoi is named after him.

02-02-1954 Frank G. Ferri – Born in Providence, Rhode Island. He is a Democratic member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives serving the 22nd district. Ferri is the former chair of Marriage Equality RI. He is openly gay and is one of four out LGBT members of the Rhode Island General Assembly. His campaigns have won the support of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund. He is married to Tony Caparco.

02-02-1989   Ingrid Nilsen – Born in Roland Heights, California. She is an American YouTube personality that in 2014 began to represent CoverGirl. In January 15, 2016, Nilsen interviewed President Barack Obama in a livestream hosted at the White House. She was named one of the United Nations Change Ambassadors in March 2016. OUT magazine included her in OUT100 list in October 2016. As an out lesbian, The Trevor Project awarded Nilsen the Trevor Digital Innovator Award. “with a powerful social presence, Ingrid used technology for the better and built a platform and voice to advocate for equality, “ said Abbe Land, Executive Director and CEO of The Trevor Project. Nilsen is Norwegian on her father’s side and Thai on her mother’s side. In 2018, Nilsen began a relationship with Erica Anderson.