Time 23Mar2020

Time March 16–23, 2020

Ellen DeGeneres

1997 | DARING TO BE REAL

Comedian Ellen DeGeneres appeared on the cover of TIME in 1997 along with three seismic

words: “Yep, I’m gay.” The lead character on her sitcom, Ellen, came out at the same time, making

DeGeneres the first to play a gay lead on American network TV. It was an enormous risk. At the time,

polls showed more than half of Americans believed same-sex relations were “always wrong.” But the

risk paid off, providing generations of LGBTQ people with a new sense of possibility. —Katy Steinmetz

‘NEVER FOLLOW

SOMEONE ELSE’S

PATH, UNLESS

YOU’RE IN THE

WOODS AND

YOU’RE LOST AND

YOU SEE A PATH.’

1990s

82 WALT DISNEY TELEVISION/GETTY IMAGES