Raven-Symone tweeted in August 2013 that she was pleased with the recent rulings on gay marriage. "I can finally get married! Yay government! So proud of you," the former "Cosby Show" star wrote. Here are a few more celebrities in Hollywood for whom this issue is very personal: Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and actress Portia de Rossi married in 2008. The latter was granted the right to change her last name to "DeGeneres" by a Los Angeles court in 2010. Attorney Justin Mikita and "Modern Family" star Jesse Tyler Ferguson announced their engagement in 2012 via their website tietheknot.org. Their foundation sells ties with the proceeds going to organizations that support same-sex marriage. The pair have been outspoken about their advocacy. Michelle Rounds and Rosie O'Donnell quietly wed in 2012, and in January 2013 announced the arrival of a daughter. "How I Met Your Mother" star Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka announced their engagement in 2011. The couple are parents of twins, Gideon Scott and Harper Grace. Country star Chely Wright and Lauren Blitzer married in August 2011 and are the parents of identical twin sons, George Samuel and Everett Joseph. Interior design guru Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent were photographed engaging in some PDA after their engagement in April 2013. "Sex and the City" star Cynthia Nixon started dating activist Christine Marinoni in 2004, got engaged in 2009 and the couple married in 2012. Musician Linda Perry and actress Sara Gilbert got engaged in 2013, which Gilbert announced on "The Talk," where she serves as one of the moderators. Several of George Takei's "Star Trek" co-stars attended the ceremony when he married longtime partner Brad Altman in 2008. David Furnish and Sir Elton John married in 2005. The pair recently welcomed their second son. Lara Embry and "Glee" star Jane Lynch married in 2010. The pair announced in June 2013 that they were ending their marriage. - Raven-Symone says "It's great to know" she can have a legal gay marriage
- "I, however am not currently getting married," she says
- In the past, she said her sexual orientation was a private matter
- She starred in "The Cosby Show" in the 1980s and more recently on the Disney Channel
(CNN) -- Raven-Symone, who played 3-year-old Olivia on the 1980s sitcom "The Cosby Show," indicated for the first time Friday that she is a lesbian.
"I am very happy that gay marriage is opening up around the country and is being accepted," the actress said in a statement through her representatives.
Symone: 'I can finally get married' "I was excited to hear today that more states legalized gay marriage. I, however am not currently getting married, but it is great to know I can now, should I wish to," she said.
Earlier Friday, Symone posted a tweet: "I can finally get married! Yay government! So proud of you."
In response to media inquiries after that tweet, her representatives said that "Raven is not getting married. She was just supporting the fact that she heard on NPR that more states legalized gay marriage today."
On August 2, Raven-Symone, who played adorable Olivia on "The Cosby Show," indicated for the first time she is a lesbian. She first tweeted the news: "I can finally get married! Yay government! So proud of you." She later released a statement saying, "I was excited to hear today that more states legalized gay marriage. I, however am not currently getting married, but it is great to know I can now, should I wish to." `NSync singer Lance Bass appeared on the cover of People in August 2006 with the headline "I'm Gay." "I knew that I was in this popular band and I had four other guys' careers in my hand, and I knew that if I ever acted on it or even said (that I was gay), it would overpower everything," Bass told the magazine in explaining why he didn't come out sooner. CNN's Anderson Cooper came out publicly as gay in an e-mail message to the Daily Beast's Andrew Sullivan, which was posted to the site in July 2012. In May 2012, a New York Times story about "The Normal Heart's" Jim Parsons revealed that the "Big Bang Theory" actor is gay and in a 10-year relationship. While accepting a humanitarian award in February 2012, "White Collar" star Matt Bomer said he "especially" wanted to thank "my beautiful family: Simon, Kit, Walker, Henry. Thank you for teaching me what unconditional love is." (People magazine identifies "Simon" as his partner, publicist Simon Halls.) Bomer's reveal wasn't overt, but some have congratulated the actor for acknowledging his sexuality, which has been the subject of gossip in the industry. Actor Zachary Quinto said he was inspired to acknowledge his homosexuality in October 2011 after a 14-year-old, who was apparently being harassed over his sexuality, killed himself. "In light of Jamey's death, it became clear to me in an instant that living a gay life without publicly acknowledging it is simply not enough to make any significant contribution to the immense work that lies ahead on the road to complete equality." "There had never, ever been a country music artist who had acknowledged his or her homosexuality," Chely Wright told People when she came out in 2010. Pop singer Ricky Martin declared publicly in March 2010 what he avoided discussing for years. "I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man," Martin wrote on his official website. "I am very blessed to be who I am." Ellen DeGeneres came out shortly after her character Ellen, on an ABC sitcom, came out on-air amid controversy in 1997. "I never wanted to be the lesbian actress," DeGeneres told Time magazine. "I never wanted to be the spokesperson for the gay community. Ever. I did it for my own truth." DeGeneres' current partner, Portia de Rossi, also kept her sexuality a secret for many years. In April 1998, British pop star George Michael told CNN that he was gay. "This is as good of a time as any," the Wham! singer said. "I want to say that I have no problem with people knowing that I'm in a relationship with a man right now. I have not been in a relationship with a woman for almost 10 years." After years as a stand-up comedian and actress, Rosie O'Donnell came out two months before her talk show went off-air in 2002. The announcement came during a comedy routine at the Ovarian Cancer Research benefit at Carolines Comedy Club in New York. "I don't know why people make such a big deal about the gay thing," she said during her act. "People are confused, they're shocked, like this is a big revelation to somebody." She became engaged to partner Michelle Rounds in 2011. British singer Elton John discussed his bisexuality for the first time in a 1976 Rolling Stones interview. "There's nothing wrong with going to bed with somebody of your own sex," he said. "I think everybody's bisexual to a certain degree. I don't think it's just me. It's not a bad thing to be." John married David Furnish in December 2005. Stand-up comedian and actress Wanda Sykes announced her sexual orientation -- and her marriage -- in 2008 at a rally for gay marriage. "You know, I don't really talk about my sexual orientation," Sykes said. "I didn't feel like I had to. I was just living my life, not necessarily in the closet, but I was living my life. ... But I got pissed off. They pissed me off. I said, 'You know what? Now I gotta get in your face.' " Sykes was referring to the passage of Proposition 8, banning gay marriage, in California days after her wedding. Reports of "Sex and the City" star Cynthia Nixon's relationship with Christine Marinoni surfaced in 2004, six years after the television show's premiere. Nixon discussed her relationship with New York Magazine in 2006, saying, "I never felt like there was an unconscious part of me around that woke up or that came out of the closet; there wasn't a struggle; there wasn't an attempt to suppress. I met this woman, I fell in love with her, and I'm a public figure." Known best as the TV character he played during childhood, Doogie Howser, Neil Patrick Harris has continued his successful acting career as an adult. Harris often walks the red carpet with partner David Burtka, and stars in the hit sitcom "How I Met Your Mother." He told People magazine in 2006 that he is, in fact, gay. "I am happy to dispel any rumors or misconceptions and am quite proud to say that I am a very content gay man." "Family Ties" actress Meredith Baxter confirmed in December 2009 rumors that she is a lesbian. "Anyone who's a friend of mine, anyone who knows and cares about me, knows," the actress explained to Matt Lauer on the "Today" show. "It's no secret that I'm gay, but it has been to the greater world." Baxter is in a long-term relationship with a building contractor, Nancy Locke. He had an 11-year run on "Frasier," but it wasn't until he returned to Broadway in 2007 that David Hyde Pierce confirmed his sexuality. The actor is married to writer/producer/director Brian Hargrove. Pierce first talked about his partner in an Associated Press interview about his Tony-nominated performance in "Curtains." Celebs who have come out: Lance Bass
Portia de Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres
Symone then subsequently issued her official statement.
In the past, she has said her sexual orientation was a private matter. "My sexual orientation is mine, and the person I'm datings to know. I'm not one for a public display of my life," she wrote on her Twitter page in May 2012.
After "The Cosby Show," Symone was featured with Eddie Murphy in his "Dr. Dolittle" films and starred in Disney Channel's "That's So Raven."
CNN's Jane Caffrey contributed to this report.
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