9 Unforgettable Biopics About LGBTQ+ Legends
Some stories are so powerful they demand to be seen on the biggest screen possible. Throughout history, LGBTQ+ legends have shaped art, science, music, and politics in ways that still echo today.
Biopics bring these remarkable lives to vivid, emotional life, letting us walk alongside people whose courage changed the world. Grab some popcorn, because this list is packed with films that will make you laugh, cry, and cheer all at once.
1. Milk (2008)
Harvey Milk was the kind of person who made a room feel like a revolution. Sean Penn won an Oscar playing California’s first openly gay elected official, and every second of that performance crackles with fire.
Milk organized his community in San Francisco’s Castro District, proving that political change starts with showing up.
His story, cut tragically short by passing away in 1978, still inspires activists worldwide. Watch this one with tissues nearby.
2. The Imitation Game (2014)
Imagine cracking the Nazis’ secret codes and saving millions of lives, then being punished by your own government for who you love. That was Alan Turing’s heartbreaking reality.
Benedict Cumberbatch delivers a jaw-dropping performance as the mathematical genius behind the Allies’ victory in World War II.
Turing was later prosecuted for his homosexuality, a cruel injustice that shocked the world. Thankfully, Britain issued him a formal pardon in 2013, decades too late but still meaningful.
3. Frida (2002)
Few artists in history painted pain quite like Frida Kahlo, turning personal struggle into breathtaking color. Salma Hayek poured everything into portraying this bisexual Mexican icon, earning an Oscar nomination in the process.
The film captures Frida’s stormy marriage to Diego Rivera and her fierce, unapologetic spirit.
Her canvases were essentially visual diaries, raw and unfiltered. If art class never made you feel something, this film absolutely will.
4. Rocketman (2019)
How does a shy kid from Middlesex, England, become one of the most dazzling performers on the planet? Rocketman answers that question with sequins, piano solos, and a whole lot of heart.
Taron Egerton sings every song himself, which honestly deserves a standing ovation on its own.
Unlike a standard music documentary, this film leans into fantasy sequences that feel like stepping inside Elton’s imagination. Pure, joyful cinema from start to finish.
5. Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
Freddie Mercury once said he was born to love and be loved, and Bohemian Rhapsody proves he meant every word. Rami Malek transforms completely into Queen’s legendary frontman, capturing that jaw-dropping Live Aid performance note for note.
The film grossed over one billion dollars worldwide, making it the highest-earning music biopic ever.
Whether you knew every Queen lyric already or discovered them here, the concert scenes hit like lightning every single time.
6. Capote (2005)
A voice so distinct it could be recognized in a single sentence—witty, razor-sharp, and unforgettable. Philip Seymour Hoffman earned an Oscar portraying Truman Capote while he delved into the chilling true-crime story In Cold Blood.
The film explores Capote’s complex, often unsettling emotional connection to the killers he interviewed.
Capote was openly gay during an era when that took serious nerve. His courage off the page matched his brilliance on it.
7. Boys Don’t Cry (1999)
A story of courage, identity, and tragedy shook modern American history. In 1993, a young transgender man in Nebraska faced unimaginable violence, his life cut far too short.
Hilary Swank captured his spirit on screen, winning an Oscar and bringing Brandon Teena’s story, and the realities of transgender experiences, into mainstream conversation when few understood the word.
Though difficult to watch, this is essential cinema. It challenges viewers to see humanity first, and everything else second.
8. The Danish Girl (2015)
Lili Elbe was a pioneer in the most literal sense, one of the first people in recorded history to undergo gender confirmation surgery, back in the 1920s. Eddie Redmayne portrays her journey with quiet, aching tenderness alongside Alicia Vikander, who won an Oscar as Lili’s devoted wife Gerda.
Their relationship redefines what love looks like under extraordinary pressure.
If you ever wonder where LGBTQ+ history begins, this film offers a stunning, moving answer.
9. Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (2017)
Wonder Woman fans, buckle up, because her origin story is even wilder than you think. William Moulton Marston created the iconic superhero while living in a loving three-person household with his wife Elizabeth and their partner Olive Byrne.
This film explores how that unconventional relationship directly shaped Wonder Woman’s themes of strength and compassion.
Luke Evans and Rebecca Hall shine brilliantly here. Where most superhero origin stories focus on powers, this one focuses on love, and that makes all the difference.
