September 4th

09-04-1981 Beyoncé – Born in Houston, Texas. Straight ally. American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress. She showed her support for gay marriage with a post on Instagram that read, “If you like it you should be able to put a ring on it,” followed by the hashtag “We will unite 4 marriage equality!” She also posted a photo of the Human Rights logo with the message, “It’s about time…show your support!” Both she and her husband Jay-Z came out in support of gay marriage during an interview with CNN. “I’ve always thought it as something that was still holding the country back,” she said. “What people do in their own homes is their business and you can choose to love whoever you love. That’s their business. It’s no different than discriminating against blacks. It’s discrimination, plain and simple.” Her mother-in-law, Gloria Carter, has since come out as a lesbian.

09-04-1891 – 04-09-1946   Lyle Chambers Saxon – Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was New Orleans’ most popular writer during the second quarter of the twentieth century. What he is best known for is the restoration and preservation of the French Quarter. Saxon lived in the French Quarter when his friends begged him not to live “among thieves and squalor” that the city’s oldest section then attracted. He personally restored two important buildings and led the city’s preservation movement. Because of his newspaper writings in The Times-Picayune, the French Quarter became “more of an art colony, less an underworld.” Saxon’s gay affairs were discreet, and never a problem for his straight friends. Some say his only great love was his childhood friend, George Favrot, who died in Paris during WWI. Other sources maintain that he had a sexual relationship with Joe Gilmore, his long-time black valet.

09-04-1905 – 12-13-1983 Mary Renault – Born in Forest Gate, Essex, England. She was an English writer best known for her historical novels set in Ancient Greece. She went to Oxford where one of her tutors was J.R.R. Tolkien. After she left Oxford, she found work as a nurse at the Radcliffe Infirmary. It was there that she met and fell in love with a fellow nurse, Julie Mullard. At the same time, she began writing fiction between her shifts and published her first novel, a hospital romance called Purposes of Love (1939). In 1948, she won an MGM award for her fourth novel, Return to Night (1947). The award was $150,000. The British government took 80 percent in taxes. With the money that was left, Renault and Mullard left England for South Africa, which was more tolerant of homosexuality and was also tax-free. In South Africa, the women found a community of gay expatriates. Renault never returned to England, even for a visit.

09-04-1970 Ione Skye – Born in Hampstead, London, England. She is a British-American actress. In 1989 she starred in the movie Say Anything. In 2016, Skye directed the music video for the punk rock band, Against Me!’s single 333. She has been married twice and in 2008, she married Australian musician Ben Lee. Skye is known to be bisexual and had an affair with actress-model Jenny Shimizu while making the film Four Rooms with Madonna. She is the daughter of singer/songwriter Donovan and model Enid Karl. Her parents were separated at the time of her birth, and she was raised by her mother, having little to no contact with her father.