The 41 hottest lesbians and sapphics of all time

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3 days ago

public domain via wikipedia; Featureflash Photo Agency/Shutterstock; David Turner/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images;(L-R) Frida Kahlo; Queen Latifah; Jenny Shimizu; Kristen Stewart
Queer women are some of the most beautiful people on earth.
Harper's Bazaar recently released its list of the 50 Hottest Men of All Time, including men like James Dean, Tupac Shakur, Pedro Pascal, Bad Bunny, and Marlon Brando.
Esquire followed up with a list of the Most Beautiful Women of All Time. Its list included Lupita Nyong'o, Audrey Hepburn, Freida Pinto, and Brigitte Bardot.
Now, it's time for the lesbians.
These queer women and nonbinary sapphics are beautiful, they're elegant, they're handsome, and they're strong. They are artists, actors, musicians, activists, writers, and history-makers. And all of them are extremely hot.
Our list goes back to Ancient Greece, Vaudeville, and Old Hollywood, and features some of today's hottest stars.
Are your favorite lesbians and sapphics on the list?
Sappho
Dima Moroz/shutterstock
Sappho
Sappho, an ancient Greek poet from the island of Lesbos, is the namesake of both the sapphic and lesbian communities. Widely considered one of the greatest lyric poets of all time, Sappho's love poems have stood the test of time and still exist in fragments today. One of her most famous poems says, "Sweet mother, I cannot weave – slender Aphrodite has overcome me with longing for a girl."
Frida Kahlo
public domain via wikipedia
Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo is one of Mexico's greatest painters and cultural icons. Born in 1907, she is known for her magical realism and self-portraits, as well as her embracing of pre-Spanish Mexican culture. She spent much of her adult life married to fellow artist Diego Rivera and had several affairs with women.
Josephine Baker
public domain via wikipedia
Josephine Baker
Baker was a bisexual singer, dancer, and performer who was born in 1906. She gained fame on Vaudeville, as a part of the Harlem Renaissance, and later in Paris. When World War II began, she became a spy against the Nazis. She spent her life fighting for racial justice and adopted 13 children from various countries.
Gladys Bentley
Public Domain, Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture via wikipedia
Gladys Bentley
Bentley was a blues singer, pianist, and fashion icon born in 1907. She was a star in Harlem Renaissance clubs, often performing in a tuxedo with tails and a tophat. She would perform bawdy songs, talk about her sex life onstage, and flirt with women in the audience. In her later life, she claimed she was "cured" of her queerness by taking hormones and married a man.
Anna May Wong
Public Domain, United States Library of Congress via wikipedia
Anna May Wong
Wong is considered by many to be the first Chinese-American movie star in Hollywood. She starred in films like Piccadilly, Daughter of the Dragon, Shanghai Express, and Daughter of Shanghai. She was also a producer and fashion icon known for her flapper look. She was rumored to have romances with fellow actresses Marlene Dietrich and Dolores del Río.
Marlene Deitrich
emka74/Shutterstock
Marlene Deitrich
One of the greatest legends of classic Hollywood, Marlene Deitrich is known for films including Shanghai Express, Morocco, A Foreign Affair, Witness for the Prosecution, Touch of Evil, and Judgment at Nuremberg. Leading up to World War II, she and Billy Wilder created a fund to help Jews and other dissidents escape from Germany.
Stormé DeLarverie
Vicente Photography Studio via New York Public Library
Stormé DeLarverie
DeLarverie was a butch lesbian, gay rights icon, entertainer, and bouncer who was instrumental in the Stonewall riots. She was born in New Orleans and later moved to New York, where in 1969 she was among those at the Stonewall Inn when police raided. According to some reports, including her own, DeLarverie was arrested and clubbed by police. She claimed she threw "the first punch" of the riots, and others joined in.
After the incident, she became a member of the Stonewall Veterans Association and was a fervent fighter for LGBTQ+ rights. She would also patrol around gay communities and check in on lesbian bars, and soon became known as the "guardian of lesbians in the Village." She passed away in 2014 at the age of 93.
Kitty Tsui
footge still via Gerber Hart Library and Archives
Kitty Tsui
Tsui is a writer, artist, activist, bodybuilder, and a groundbreaking Chinese-American lesbian author. As a bodybuilder, she won the gold medal in women's physique at the 1990 Gay Games. She is also longtime leader in San Fransico's AAPI lesbian community.
Leslie Feinberg
Robert Giard via New York Public Library
Leslie Feinberg (in black) with Minnie Bruce Pratt
Feinberg was an activist, speaker, and writer who identified as an "anti-racist white, working-class, secular Jewish, transgender, lesbian, female, revolutionary communist." Hir 1993 novel Stone Butch Blues is considered a groundbreaking classic in lesbian and trans literature. Zie passed away in 2014.
Joan Jett
Aija Lehtonen/Shutterstock
Joan Jett
Rock and roll icon Joan Jett was an original member of the punk band The Runaways in 1975. She later went solo and was the leader of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Songs like "Bad Reputation" and "I Love Rock 'n Roll" are considered classics, and Jett is considered by many to be one of the greatest guitarists of all time.
Jenny Shimizu
David Turner/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images
Jenny Shimizu
Jenny Shimizu is a model and actress who has appeared in queer films like Foxfire and Itty Bitty Titty Committee. While filming Foxfire, she met Angelina Jolie, and the two began a relationship. She has been a model for Calvin Klein and was the first Asian model to walk a catwalk for Prada.
Angelina Jolie
B. Lenoir/Shutterstock
Angelina Jolie
Bisexual actor, producer, and humanitarian Angelina Jolie won an Academy Award for Girl, Interrupted in 1999, and won a Tony as a producer on the musical The Outsiders. She's starred in films like Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Salt, Maleficent, the Kung Fu Panda franchise, Changeling, and Maria. She's also known for her humanitarian work with refugees, education, and women's rights.
Queen Latifah
Featureflash Photo Agency/Shutterstock
Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah is a successful rapper, singer, and actress who has won a Grammy, an Emmy, and a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Oscar. She began her career as one of the most popular female rappers, and by the 1990s, was also a popular actor. She's starred in films like Chicago, Last Holiday, Beauty Shop, Hairspray, and Girls Trip, as well as TV shows like Living Single, Star, and The Equalizer. She publicly acknowledged her partner, Eboni Nichols, for the first time at the 2021 BET Awards.
Niecy Nash-Betts
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Niecy Nash has been making fans crack up for over 20 years. From 2003-2009, and again from 2020-2022, she played Deputy Raineesha Williams on Reno 911!, and also hosted and produced the Style Network show Clean House, for which she won a Daytime Emmy.
Nash started to get more dramatic roles in shows like Getting On and Claws, and in miniseries, including When They See Us and Mrs. America. In 2022, she starred as Jeffrey Dahmer's neighbor Glenda in Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and won her first Primetime Emmy. She is married to Jessica Betts and has three children from previous relationships.
Kate Moennig
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Ever since she swaggered onto The L Word as the androgynous heartthrob Shane on The L Word, Kane Moennig has been making queer women and sapphics swoon. Moennig is also known for roles in shows like Ray Donovan and Grown-ish. She hosts the podcast PANTS with her longtime best friend and L Word costar Leisha Hailey.
Lea T
Renan Katayama via wikipedia CC BY-SA 2.0
Lea T
Lea T is a Brazilian-born and Italian-raised model and transgender advocate. In 2014, she became the first out trans model to land a major beauty campaign when she signed with Redken hair. In 2018, she became the face of Givenchy. She has appeared on the covers of international editions of magazines like Elle, Marie Claire, and Glamour.
Angelica Ross
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Businesswoman, actor, advocate, and computer programmer Angelica Ross appeared in the Emmy-nominated web series Her Story in 2016. She's also appeared in shows like Transparent, Claws, Pose, and American Horror Story: 1984. In 2022, she made her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in Chicago. She is also the founder of TransTech Social Enterprises and the creator of the TransTech Summit.
Megan Rapinoe
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Megan Rapinoe is recognized not only for her stylish play and immense talent on the soccer pitch but also for being an activist who fights for equal pay, LGBTQ+ rights, and social justice. As a player, she won two World Cup titles with the USWNT, as well as an Olympic gold medal. She played professional soccer from 2009 to 2023, mainly for OL Reign in the NWSL. She is in a relationship with WNBA star Sue Bird.
Brittney Griner
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The 6'9' Griner is a basketball legend who has played in the WNBA since 2013. She's won three gold medals with the US Olympic team, is a ten-time all-star, and has made the All-WNBA team six times and the All-Defensive Team seven times. She is married to Cherelle Watson.
Munroe Bergdorf
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Bergdorf is a groundbreaking trans model and activist from England. In 2017, she became the first trans model to be the face of a L'Oreal campaign in the UK. She is also a fierce advocate for trans and racial equality and has written two books.
Lena Waithe
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Waithe is an actor, writer, and producer known for creating the Showtime series The Chi and the BET series Boomerang and Twenties. She won an Emmy for writing for the "Thanksgiving" episode of Masters of None. She is in a relationship with Cynthia Erivo.
Cynthia Erivo
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British singer and actor Cynthia Erivo is just an Oscar away from being an EGOT winner. She won an Emmy, Tony, and Grammy Award for her role in The Color Purple, and has been nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Harriet and Wicked. Erivo is dating actor and producer Lena Waithe.
Janelle Monáe
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Multi-hyphenate Janelle Monáe is a music, film, and fashion icon. The nonbinary star has received 10 Grammy nominations, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Children's and Family Emmy Award.
They've released groundbreaking albums like The ArchAndroid, The Electric Lady, Dirty Computer, and The Age of Pleasure, and have starred in movies like Harriet, Moonlight, Hidden Figures, and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.
Megan Foxfor Uber
Megan Fox
As the titular character in Jennifer's Body, Megan Fox became the queer awakening for countless girls across the country. She has also starred in major franchises, including Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and in television shows like New Girl.
Christen Press
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Press is a soccer player, podcaster, and entrepreneur who won two World Cup titles and an Olympic bronze medal with the US Women's National Team. She has 64 goals in 155 appearances for the team, good enough for ninth most all-time. She currently plays for Angel City Football Club in the NWSL and hosts the RE-CAP Show podcast with her wife, fellow soccer superstar Tobin Heath.
Young M.A
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Thirty-three-year-old rapper Young M.A, real name Katorah Marrero, released her debut single "Ooouuu" in 2016. The song peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100. Three years later, she released her debut album Herstory In The Making, which peaked at number 16 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
Katy O'Brian
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O'Brian had her biggest breakout when she starred in the crime thriller Love Lies Bleeding opposite Kristen Stewart. In the film, she played a bodybuilder named Jackie and got to show off her incredible muscles as well as her talent. She has also appeared in the Disney+ show The Mandalorian, as well as blockbusters like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Twisters, and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.
Kristen StewartKristen Stewart
Stewart is an Oscar-nominated actress known for playing Bella Swan in The Twilight Saga. She was nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards for portraying Princess Diana in Pablo Larrain's film Spencer. She's also starred in queer roles in films like The Runaways, Happiest Season, Love Lies Bleeding, and Certain Women.
Tessa Thompson
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Actor Tessa Thompson is known for films like Selma, Sorry to Bother You, Annihilation, and Passing. She stars in the Creed franchise as Bianca Taylor and as Valkyrie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She has said that she is attracted to both women and men.
Kehlani
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A nonbinary lesbian, Kehlani is a popular singer known for albums like SweetSexySavage, Blue Water Road, and Crash. She's been nominated for five Grammys, including Best R&B song at the 67th Grammys for "After Hours." They came out as nonbinary in 2019 and came out as a lesbian in 2021 after previously identifying as queer.
Doechii
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Rapper and singer Doechii had her first viral hit, "What It Is (Block Boy)" in 2023. She released her second mixtape, Alligator Bites Never Heal, in 2024. The album peaked in the top ten on the Billboard 200, and won the Grammy for Best Rap Album, making Doechii the third woman after Lauryn Hill and Cardi B to win the award.
Lauren Chan
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Chan made history in 2025 as the first out lesbian model on the cover of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue. She previously founded the plus-size clothing brand Henning and served as fashion news editor for Glamour.
Aubrey Plaza
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Aubrey Plaza
Bisexual comedian and actor Aubrey Plaza became famous for playing intern April Ludgate on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation from 2009 to 2015. She's also appeared in the show Legion, as well as films like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Ingrid Goes West, Happiest Season, and My Old Ass. In 2022, she starred in the second season of The White Lotus and was nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe for the role. In 2024, she starred as Death in the MCU miniseries Agatha All Along.
Keke Palmer
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Keke Palmer has been a singer and actor since she was a child, starring in Akeelah and the Bee, the Disney Channel Original Movie Jump In!, and the Nickelodeon series True Jackson, VP. As an adult, she has starred in projects like Scream Queens, Hustlers, Nope, and One of Them Days. She is also the Emmy-winning host of the game show Password.
Megan Thee Stallion
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Megan Thee Stallion
Rapper Megan Thee Stallion has won three Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist in 2021. She was just the second female rapper to win the award after Lauryn Hill in 1999. With songs like "Savage," "Body," "Hiss," and "WAP" with Cardi B, she is widely considered one of the best and sexiest rappers in the game today.
Tanner Adell
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The pansexual country pop singer was part of history when she joined Beyoncé for the tracks "Blackbiird" and "American Requiem" on the artist's Cowboy Carter Album. In 2023, she released her debut solo album, Buckle Bunny. She came out as pansexual in 2025.
Meg Stalter
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Meg Stalter is one of the funniest actors and comedians working today. She rose to prominence starring as entertainment manager Kayla Schaefer in the hit HBO sitcom Hacks. She is also the star of Lena Dunham's romantic series Too Much.
Diane Guerrero
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Fans got to know Diane Guerrero when she played prisoner Maritza Ramos on Orange Is the New Black and have continued to love the actress and activist ever since. She also appeared in 24 episodes of Jane the Virgin and starred as Crazy Jane in the superhero show Doom Patrol.
The Colombian-American actress also wrote a memoir titled In the Country We Love: My Family Divided. The book explores Guerrero's parents being detained and deported when she was 14.
Alexandra Shipp
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Alexandra Shipp
Shipp had two early roles in music-based projects, playing Aaliyah in Lifetime's Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B and Kimberly Woodruff in Straight Outta Compton. Later, she played the superhero Storm in X-Men: Apocalypse and subsequent films. More recently, she appeared in Love, Simon, tick, tick… BOOM!, and in Barbie as a Barbie. Shipp is also a certified lesbian Video Vixen, starring as the love interest in music videos for Hayley Kiyoko ("Chance") and Reneé Rapp ("Mad").
Reneé Rapp
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As an actor, Rapp is known for roles such as Regina George in the Broadway and movie musical versions of Mean Girls and the Max comedy series The Sex Lives of College Girls. She's also a talented singer, releasing her first studio-length album, Snow Angel, in 2023 and her second, Bite Me, in 2025. She came out as a lesbian in 2024 and is in a relationship with musician Towa Bird.
Hunter Schafer
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With her elf-like beauty, Schafer has made a career as an actor and model. The 26-year-old Schafer had her big breakout starring as trans high school student Jules Vaughn in Euphoria. She has also appeared in films such as The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and Cuckoo. As a model, she has worked with renowned brands such as Dior, Marc Jacobs, Gucci, and Miu Miu.
This article originally appeared on Out: The 41 hottest lesbians and sapphics of all time
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