Beltway

Patti LuPone, the diva who stole the show at the Grammys and champions equality

Name: Patti LuPone, 68

Who she is: Singer/Actress, starred this year on Broadway in War Paint.

Why She Matters: LuPone created the title role in Evita on Broadway, and from there went on to star in acclaimed productions of Gypsy, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George and Anything Goes. She scored two Tony Awards along the way.

Why We’re Proud: Despite heaping some serious shade at Madonna over the Evita film (sorry Madge; we still love you), LuPone’s ferocity on and off stage has made her into one of the Broadway gay icons. Watching her on stage–as when she performed “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” at this year’s Grammys–feels a bit like staring at a waterfall: it’s a thing of incredible, natural beauty.

LuPone’s voice sounds magnificent.

Related: Patti LuPone took everyone to queer church last night and gay Twitter is having a religious meltdown

As much as we enjoy watching LuPone on stage though, her off stage work gives us pride fever. Apart from snatching cell phones out of the hands of rude and moronic audience members who text during a show, or even better, snapping pictures (thank you, Patti), LuPone consistently is a forceful voice for equality. Through the ’80s and ’90s, she performed innumerable benefits for HIV/AIDS research. In the 2000s, she used her celebrity to speak out in favor of marriage equality. In 2014, the Human Rights Campaign awarded her the Ally for Equality Award for her activism.

Today, she continues to speak out against enemies, in particular, Donald Trump.

That makes us proud.

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Pride50Welcome to Queerty’s Pride50. We’re celebrating the members from our community who are responsible for some of the most inspiring and extraordinary moments for LGBTQ people over the last year. See all the honorees

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