January 19th

01-19-1943 – 10-04-1970 Janis Joplin – Born in Port Arthur, Texas. She was an American singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 1960s as the lead singer of the band Big Brother and the Holding Company. Joplin was well known for her performing ability and was a multi- instrumentalist. She was known as “The Queen of Psychedelic Soul.” Rolling Stone ranked Joplin number 46 on its list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time in 2004, and number 28 on its 2008 list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. She was known to have numerous affairs with both men and women. Peggy Caserta was a woman who had an affair with Janis over several years. She wrote a tell-all book about their relationship called Going Down with Janis, published in 1973. Joplin was greatly influence by blues singer, Bessie Smith. Smith’s grave uas unmarked until a tombstone was erected on August 7, 1970, paid for by Janis Joplin and Juanita Green, who as a child had done housework for Smith.

01-19-1921 – 02-04-1995 Patricia Highsmith – Born in Fort Worth, Texas. She was an American novelist and short-story writer, most widely known for her psychological thrillers, which led to more that two dozen film adaptations. Her first novel, Strangers on a Train, has been adapted for stage and screen numerous times, notably by Alfred Hitchcock in 1951. In addition to her acclaimed series about the murderer Tom Ripley, she wrote many short stories, often macabre, satirical, or tinged with black humor. Her second novel, The Price of Salt, is the story of two women that fall in love and has a happy ending, which was unusual for the time about lesbians. The book was adapted into a film, Carol, staring Cate Blanchett. Highsmith was an alcoholic who never had an intimate relationship that lasted more than a few years. In 1943, she had an affair with the artist Allele Cornell and again in 1949. Between 1959 and 1961 she had a sexual relationship with Marijane Meaker. She loved cats.

01-19-1946 Dolly Parton – Born in Sevier County, Tennessee. She is an American singer-songwriter, actress, author, businesswoman, and humanitarian. Parton is the most honored female country performer of all time. In 1999, she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Parton is a vocal support of LGBT rights and hosted “Gay Day” at her theme park, Dollywood.

01-19-1929 – 04-13-2012 Joan Hannan (born Georgia Joan Waldor) – Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She was the drummer in the movie Some Like It Hot. She started playing the drums at the age of eight. In 1947 she toured around the world during peace time with the USO entertaining the troops after WWII. She was the owner of the lesbian bar “Joani Presents” in North Hollywood during the 1960s and 1970s. She passed away in 2012 and was survived by her partner of 24 years, Marion Cain.

01-19-1987 Jeka Jane (b. Jessica Jane Kalotkin) – Born in California, place unknown. She is a professional dancer and instructor. She is an out lesbian and married her longtime girlfriend, Disney actress, Mollee Gray in September, 2017. Photo is of Jane, on the left, and her wife on the right.

01-19-1974 Zhou Dan – Born in China, place unknown. He is a Chinese lawyer, scholar, and lgbt activist in China. He is out and a leading voice for rights of gay and lesbian people in mainland China. He also fights for rights of people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS in China. In April 2003 he founded the Shanghai Hotline for Sexual Minorities. Zhou was profiled in the May 2005 issue of Tetu, a French gay and lesbian magazine, and in June 27, 2005, TIME Magazine.

01-19-1975 Natalie Cook – Born in Townsville, Australia. She is an Australian professional beach volleyball player and Olympic gold medalist. She became the first woman to compete in five Olympic Games. Cook currently resides in Brisbane and is married to fellow beach volleyballer Sarah Maxwell. In addition to her sporting career, Cook tours on the public speaking circuit and has launched her own beach volleyball-related business, Sandstorm.

01-19-1980 Luke Macfarlane – Born in London, Canada. He is a Canadian actor and musician. He was one of the four leads in Juvenilia at the Playwrights Horizons Theater in 2003. He played the lead role in the American premiere of the play Where Do We Live, staged at the Vineyard Theatre in May 2004. The production was cited by the 2005 GLAAD Media Awards for Outstanding New York Theatre: Broadway and Off-Broadway. On television, Macfarlane is best known for his role as Scotty Wandell on ABC’s Brothers & Sisters. He was the lead singer and a songwriter for the band Fellow Nameless. Macfarlane came out as gay during an interview with The Globe and Mail on April 15, 2008.

01-19-1982 Pete Buttigieg – Born in South Bend, Indiana. He is an American politician. He became mayor of South Bend, Indiana on January 1, 2012. He is the youngest mayor to take office of a U.S. city with at least 100,000 residents. Buttigieg was elected for a second term with over 80% of the vote on November 3, 2015. On June 16, 2015, he announced in an essay that he is gay. He is the first out gay executive in Indiana. On April 14, 2019, Buttigieg launched his campaign for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. President Biden named Buttigieg as his nominee for Secretary of Transportation and he was confirmed on February 2, 2021, making him the first openly gay Cabinet secretary in U.S. history.