My Favorite LGBTQ+ Celebrities

Freddie Mercury was born on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar. His parents, Bomi and Jer Bulsara, sent him off to a private school in India, from 1955 til 1963. In 1964, he and his family flew to England. In 1966 he started his education at the Ealing College of Art, where he graduated in 1969. He loved art, and because of that, he often went along with his friend Tim Staffell, who played in a band called Smile. Also in this band where Brian May and Roger Taylor.

When Staffell left the band in 1970, Mercury became their new singer. He changed the band's name into Queen, and they took on a new bass-player in February 1971, called John Deacon. Their first album, "Queen", came out in 1973. But their real breakthrough was "Killer Queen", on the album "Sheer Heart Attack", which was released in 1974. They became immortal with the single "Bohemian Rhapsody", on the 1975 album "A Night At The Opera".

After their biggest hit in the USA in 1980 with "Another One Bites The Dust", they had a bad period. Their album "Flash Gordon" went down the drain, because the movie Flash Gordon (1980) flunked. Their next, the disco-oriented "Hot Space", was hated not only by rock critics but also by many hardcore fans. Only the song "Under Pressure", which they sang together with David Bowie, made a difference. In 1983, they took a year off. But, in 1984 they came back with their new album called "The Works". The singles "Radio Ga Ga" and "I Want to Break Free" did very well in the UK but a controversy over the video of the latter in the USA meant it got little exposure and flopped. Plans to tour the USA were cancelled and the band would not recover their popularity there during Mercury's lifetime.

In April 1985, Mercury released his first solo album, the less rock-oriented and more dance-oriented "Mr. Bad Guy". The album is often considered now to have been a flop, but it actually wasn't. It peaked at number six in the UK and stayed on the chart for 23 weeks, making it the most successful Queen solo project. The band got back together again after their barnstorming performance at Live Aid (1985) in July 1985. At the end of the year, they started working on their new album, "A Kind Of Magic". They also held their biggest ever world tour, the "Magic Tour". They played Wembley Stadium twice and held their very last concert in Knebworth, in front of 125.000 people.

After 1986, it went silent around Queen. In 1987, he was diagnosed with AIDS but he kept working at a pace. He released a cover of the 1950s song "The Great Pretender", which went into the UK top ten. After that, he flew to Spain, where he made the magnificent album "Barcelona", together with Montserrat Caballé, whom he saw performing in 1983. Because Mercury loved opera, he became a huge fan of her. For him, this album was like a dream becoming reality. The single "Barcelona" went huge, and was also used as a theme song for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.

After "Barcelona", he started working with the band again. They made "The Miracle", which was released in early 1989. It was another success, with hits such as "Breakthru", "I Want It All", "The Invisible Man" and the title track. At this point, Mercury told the band he had AIDS, meaning that a tour of the album was out of the question. After Mercury told the band, he refused to talk about it anymore. He was afraid that people would buy their records out of pity. He said he wanted to keep making music as long as possible. And he did. After "The Miracle", Mercury's health got worse. They wanted to do one more album, called "Innuendo." They worked on it in 1990 and early 1991. Every time when Mercury would feel well, he came over to the studio and sang. After "Innuendo" was released in January 1991, they made two video clips. The first one was the video clip of "I'm Going Slightly Mad", shot in March 1991. Because Mercury was very thin, and had little wounds all over his body, they used a lot of make-up. He wore a wig, and the clip was shot in black and white.

Mercury's final video clip was released in June 1991. The clip, "These Are The Days Of Our Lives", later turned out to be his goodbye song, the last time he appeared on film. You could clearly see he was ill, but he still hadn't told the world about his disease. Rumours went around that he some kind of terrible disease. This rumor was confirmed by Mercury himself, one day before he passed on. His death was seen as a great loss for the world of popular music.

George Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in Finchley, north London, in the United Kingdom, to Lesley Angold (Harrison), a dancer, and Kyriacos Panayiotou, a restaurateur. His father was a Greek Cypriot, and his mother was of English background. He first discovered fame as a musician when he and school friend, Andrew Ridgeley, formed the pop group Wham!. Success came fast and furious with their first album, 'Fantastic' (1983) hitting the UK number one spot. Wham! survived for five years and during that time the group notched up four number one singles and two number one albums. Most of their other releases made top three. George also contributed to the Band Aid Single 'Do They Know It's Christmas' (1984), and scored two further solo number one hits with 'Careless Whisper' and 'A Different Corner'.

Following the break-up of Wham!, George went on to have a hugely successful career as a solo artist, his debut album 'Faith' (1987) - and the single of the same name - both achieving instant and international success. The album has since been certified Diamond.

Over the last four decades George has notched up 8 number one albums in the and 13 number one singles in the UK (including Wham!, Band Aid, and the 'Five Live' EP). In the U.S. he has achieved 2 number one albums and 10 number one singles, with numerous other number one hits throughout the rest of the world.

He has performed duets with artists including Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Queen, and Lisa Stansfield, and actively participates in charitable causes, Live Aid and the Freddie Mercury concert for AIDS being just two of the more prominent examples. According to a BBC documentary, George donated more than five million pounds towards various charities. Whilst with Wham!, he donated all the proceeds of 'Last Christmas' (1984) to charity. The single reached number two in the UK and George also performed simultaneously on the number one charity record 'Do They Know It's Christmas?'.

George released the single 'December Song' in 2008 as a free download: his hope was that purchasers would donate money to charity.

He remained in contact with his Wham! partner and long-time friend Andrew Ridgeley until his death in 2016.

Barry Manilow was born on 17 June 1943 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a music artist and actor, known for Thumbelina (1994), Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) and Transsiberian (2008). He has been married to Garry Kief since April 2014. He was previously married to Susan Deixler.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest stage and screen actors both in his native Great Britain and internationally, twice nominated for the Oscar and recipient of every major theatrical award in the UK and US, Ian Murray McKellen was born on May 25, 1939 in Burnley, Lancashire, England, to Margery Lois (Sutcliffe) and Denis Murray McKellen, a civil engineer and lay preacher. He is of Scottish, Northern Irish, and English descent. During his early childhood, his parents moved with Ian and his older sister, Jean, to the mill town of Wigan. It was in this small town that young Ian rode out World War II. He soon developed a fascination with acting and the theatre, which was encouraged by his parents. They would take him to plays, those by William Shakespeare, in particular. The amateur school productions fostered Ian's growing passion for theatre.

When Ian was of age to begin attending school, he made sure to get roles in all of the productions. At Bolton School in particular, he developed his skills early on. Indeed, his first role in a Shakespearian play was at Bolton, as Malvolio in "Twelfth Night". Ian soon began attending Stratford-upon-Avon theatre festivals, where he saw the greats perform: Laurence Olivier, Wendy Hiller, John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson and Paul Robeson. He continued his education in English Drama, but soon it fell by the wayside as he concentrated more and more on performing. He eventually obtained his Bachelor of Arts in 1961, and began his career in earnest.

McKellen began working in theatre over the next few years. Very few people knew of Ian's homosexuality; he saw no reason to go public, nor had he told his family. They did not seem interested in the subject and so he saw no reason to bring it up. In 1988, Ian publicly came out of the closet on the BBC Radio 4 program, while discussing Margaret Thatcher's "Section 28" legislation, which made the promotion of homosexuality as a family relationship by local authorities an offense. It was reason enough for McKellen to take a stand. He has been active in the gay rights movement ever since.

Ian resides in Limehouse, where he has also lived with his former long-time partner Sean Mathias. The two men have also worked together on the film Bent (1997) as well as in exquisite stage productions. To this day, McKellen works mostly in theatre, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1990 for his efforts in the arts. However, he has managed to make several quite successful forays into film. He has appeared in several productions of Shakespeare's works including his well received Richard III (1995), and in a variety of other movies. However, it has only been recently that his star has finally begun to shine in the eyes of North American audiences. Roles in various films, Cold Comfort Farm (1995), Apt Pupil (1998) and Gods and Monsters (1998), riveted audiences. The latter, in particular, created a sensation in Hollywood, and McKellen's role garnered him several of awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe and an Oscar nod. McKellen, as he continues to work extensively on stage, he always keeps in 'solidifying' his 'role' as Laurence Olivier's worthy 'successor' in the best sense too, such as King Lear (2008) / King Lear (2008) directed by Trevor Nunn and in a range of other staggering performances full of generously euphoric delight that have included "Peter Pan" and Noël Coward's "Present Laughter", as well as Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" and Harold Pinter's "No Man's Land" (National Theatre Live: No Man's Land (2016)), both in acclaimed productions brilliantly directed by Sean Mathias.

McKellen found mainstream success with his performance as Magneto in X-Men (2000) and its sequels. His largest mark on the big screen may be as Gandalf in "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson, which he reprised in "The Hobbit" trilogy. He also reprised the role of 'King Lear' with new artistic perspectives in National Theatre Live: King Lear (2018) offering an invaluable mesmerizing experience as a natural force of stage - and screen - of infinite generosity through his unsurpassable interpretation of the titanically vulnerable king.

Is a New Zealand-born Australian professional wrestler, best known by her ring name as Toni Storm. She is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where she is known as "Timeless" Toni Storm and also performs in both Ring of Honor (ROH) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). She was previously signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) performing on its NXT UK brand. Prior to joining the WWE, Storm wrestled nearly ten years on the independent circuit, beginning in her home country in Australian promotions including All Action Wrestling, Chaos Championship Wrestling, New Horizon Pro Wrestling and Melbourne City Wrestling. She later wrestled internationally in promotions held in the United Kingdom and Europe including Preston City Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Ulster, British Empire Wrestling, Southside Wrestling Entertainment, Empress Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling EVE. Prior to her signing with WWE, Storm was signed to World Wonder Ring Stardom from 2016-2017. During her tenure in Stardom, Storm became a one-time World Of Stardom Champion. In other promotions, Storm held titles including the Australasian Wrestling Federation's AIWF Australian Women's Championship and AIWF Australian Women's Championship, All Action Wrestling's AAW (Australia) Women's Championship, British Empire Wrestling's British Empire Women's Championship, the internationally-promoted title the SWA Undisputed World Women's Championship, Westside Xtreme Wrestling's wXw Women's Championship and PROGRESS Wrestling's PROGRESS Women's Championship. Rossall debuted on 9 October, 2009 at the age of 14. She debuted as Toni Storm and at times would shorten her ring name to simply Storm. Most of her early career following her debut involved extensive work in the Australian promotions where she also won most of her championships in. Promotions she worked for include Pro Wrestling Alliance Queensland, PROWL Wrestling, Impact Pro Wrestling Australia, Riot City Wrestling, Melbourne City Wrestling and Professional Wrestling Alliance and many more. Expanding her career to tour internationally, Storm spent considerable time in the promotions throughout the United Kingdom including England and Ireland. Between tours in England and Ireland, Storm wrestled for Pro Wrestling Ulster, British Empire Wrestling, House Of Pain: Evolution (HOPE), Premier British Wrestling, Ironfist Wrestling, X Wrestling Alliance, Pro-Wrestling: EVE, Preston City Wrestling and Finland's Fight Club Finland promotion and Westside Xtreme Wrestling in Germany. She also appeared for Global Force Wrestling during its GFW UK Invasion show on 30 October, 2015, where she had the privilege of wrestling WWE and TNA alumni Mickie James.

Alyson Stoner got their start as a triple threat on the Disney Channel, co-hosting "Mike's Super Short Show." By age seven, they won the hearts of an older generation as the "Little Pigtailed Dancer" in Missy Elliott's music video, Missy Elliott: Work It (2002). Since their early reign, Alyson has become a powerhouse heavy-weight with blockbuster movies like Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) and the "Step Up" franchise, hit TV shows across networks and cable, and record-setting viral videos. They just completed a 24-city national tour with their original music, leading up to the release of their EP, "While You Were Sleeping," and is Head of Music for the award-winning QWunder app, educating children in emotional and social intelligence.

Alyson is the 6th Most Searched Actress on Google, 16th Most Searched Actress on IMDB, and has over 40 film credits including three in production for 2017. Their social reach is over one Million and they have over 110 Million Views as a fully independent artist on YouTube.

Having grown up in Houston, and its northern suburb of Spring, he made his first stage appearance in a school play at the age of 6. Parsons then went on to study theater at the University of Houston. From there he won a place on a two-year Masters course in classical theater at the University of San Diego/The Old Globe Theater, graduating in 2001.

He moved to New York, working in Off-Broadway productions, appearing in TV commercials and in one episode of Ed (2000) before landing a recurring role in Judging Amy (1999) in 2004.

He was propelled to international fame and acclaim three years later when he starred as Sheldon in the award-winning sitcom, The Big Bang Theory (2007).

Pat Patterson was born on 19 January 1941 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He was an actor and writer, known for WWF Superstars (1986), Attitude Era (2012) and A Path of His Own (1979). He died on 2 December 2020 in Miami Beach, Florida, USA.

Mike Bailey is known for AEW Collision (2023), Wrestling Revolver: Cage of Horrors (2022) and AEW Dynamite (2019).

is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE where she performs in their developmental territory NXT. She formerly trained under former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett.

Baszler gained recognition for her pseudo-chicken wing submission that she has used to defeat many female fighters, including Roxanne Modafferi. In an audio interview with Jordan Breen on the Sherdog Radio Network, she dubbed the submission, which she created in training, as the "Shwing."

Under Billy Robinson, Baszler is the only certified female catch wrestler in the United States. Robinson has contributed immensely in training several mixed martial arts legends including Kazushi Sakuraba and Josh Barnett.

As of January 2015, Baszler is ranked #27 bantamweight female fighter in the world according to Fight Matrix, and #22 according to Tapology.com.

Contents[show] Mixed martial arts career Baszler faced Amanda Buckner at MFC: USA vs. Russia 3 on June 3, 2006. She lost the fight by TKO in the third round.

She faced Samantha Anderson at NFF: The Breakout on March 10, 2007. She won the fight by kimura submission in the first round.

Elite XC Baszler debuted for EliteXC at a ShoXC event on July 27, 2007. She submitted veteran Jan Finney with a first-round armbar and repeated the feat three months later against Jennifer Tate. After defeating Keiko Tamai with an impressive Twister submission at a third ShoXC event, Baszler moved up to the main EliteXC cards.

Baszler next faced Cristiane Justino on CBS television at EliteXC: Unfinished Business on July 26, 2008. She lost the fight via TKO in the second round.

Strikeforce Following EliteXC's closure, Baszler debuted for Strikeforce at Strikeforce Challengers: Villasenor vs. Cyborg on June 19, 2009 in a fight against Sarah Kaufman, but lost by Unanimous Decision.

Baszler entered the Freestyle Cage Fighting Women's Bantamweight Grand Prix at FCF 39 on January 30, 2010 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. She submitted Megumi Yabushita with a twister submission in the first round of their quarterfinal bout. It was the second time that Baszler had won an MMA fight with the unique submission.

Independent Circuit Baszler faced late replacement Alexis Davis in the second round of the FCF tournament at FCF 40 on March 27, 2010. She defeated Davis by unanimous decision.

Baszler was scheduled to face Jan Finney in the tournament final at FCF 43 on June 12, 2010. However, Finney withdrew in order to compete in Strikeforce and Baszler faced Adrienna Jenkins instead.[12] Baszler defeated Jenkins by first-round armbar to become FCF Women's Bantamweight Grand Prix Champion.

On November 19, 2010, Baszler faced Elaina Maxwell at The Cage Inc.: Battle At The Border 7. Baszler defeated Maxwell by submission due to a kneebar in the first round to become the first TCI Women's 140 lbs Champion.

Baszler was scheduled to defend her TCI title in a rematch with Alexis Davis at The Cage Inc.: Battle At The Border 10 on July 30, 2011. However, the fight was cancelled after Davis signed with Strikeforce.

Baszler agreed to face Kelly Kobold in a rematch at Cage Fighting Xtreme: Spring Brawl on April 21, 2012. However, it was announced on March 16 that the event had been cancelled.

Invicta Fighting Championships On April 28, it was announced that Baszler would face Sara McMann in the main event of Invicta FC 2: Baszler vs. McMann. The event took place on July 28, 2012. In a back-and-forth affair, Baszler lost the fight in what was considered to be a controversial unanimous decision. The bout was named fight of the night.

Baszler faced Sarah D'Alelio at Invicta FC 3: Penne vs. Sugiyama on October 6, 2012. She defeated D'Alelio via submission due to a rear naked choke early in round two.

Baszler faced Alexis Davis in a rematch at Invicta FC 4: Esparza vs. Hyatt on January 5, 2013. She was defeated via technical submission due to a rear naked choke in round three. The bout was named fight of the night.

The Ultimate Fighter In August 2013, it was announced that Baszler was one of the fighters selected to be on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate. In her fight to get into the TUF house, Baszler faced Colleen Schneider and won via an armbar submission in the first round. Baszler was then selected by Rousey as the first team pick and the first fight of the season against Julianna Peña. Baszler lost to Peña after tapping out due to a rear naked choke in the second round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship Baszler was expected to face Sarah Kaufman at The Ultimate Fighter Nations Finale. However, on April 2, 2014, she pulled out of the bout due to an injury.

For her promotional debut, Baszler faced Bethe Correia on August 30, 2014, at UFC 177. She lost the fight via TKO in the second round.

Baszler faced Amanda Nunes on March 21, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 62. She lost the fight via TKO in the first round after taking multiple leg kicks and was subsequently released from the organization.

Professional wrestling Independent circuit (2015-2017) On March 1, 2015, at Ring of Honor's 13th Anniversary Show, Baszler accompanied reDRagon to the ring for their ROH World Tag Team Championship defense. After they won, she helped cut a celebratory promo, where they described her addition to the team as "[finding] our Ringo". On September 26, 2015, Baszler made her professional wrestling debut against Cheerleader Melissa for Quintessential Pro Wrestling (QPW) in Reno, NV. Baszler was attacked by Nicole Matthews setting up a future match between them. In October 2015, Baszler worked two events for Japanese promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom, during their American tour in Covina, California.

On January 23, 2016, at a MAGNUM Pro Wrestling event in Omaha, Nebraska, Baizler defeated "Miss Natural" Heather Patera with a Double Wristlock.

In June 2016, Baszler made her debut for Shimmer Women Athletes. On July 17, Baszler defeated RAZE to become the Women Athlete's Championship at Premier XIII. On September 9, Baszler defeated Heidi Lovelace to win Absolute Intense Wrestling's Women's Championship. On September 27, it was reported that Baszler was receiving a WWE tryout.

World Wonder Ring Stardom (2015, 2017) In October 2015, Baszler worked two events for Japanese promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom, during their American tour in Covina, California, first teaming with Brittany Wonder and Datura in a loss to Oedo Tai (Act Yasukawa, Kris Wolf and Kyoko Kimura), and unsuccessfully challenging Cheerleader Melissa for the GRPW Lady Luck Championship two days later. She returned to the promotion in January 2017, this time touring Japan. She made her debut on January 3, teaming with Mayu Iwatani and Jungle Kyona to defeat Sumie Sakai, Kagetsu and Kyoko Kimura. The following day, she teamed with Nixon Newell and Kay Lee Ray to defeat Iwatani, Kairi Hojo and Konami. The following day, she faced Himomi Mimura and Viper in a triple threat match won by Viper. On January 15, she took part in another triple threat match, this time defeating Momo Watanabe and Jungle Kyona. On January 29, she teamed with Deonna Purrazzo and Christi Jaynes to defeat Kris Wolf, Viper and Kagetsu. On February 23, Baszler unsuccessfully challenged Io Shirai for the World of Stardom Championship.

World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE (2017-present) In September 2016, it was reported that Bazler was one of many independent wrestlers taking part in a WWE tryout.

Mae Young Classic (2017) Main article: WWE Mae Young Classic 2017 On July 13, 2017, Baszler entered WWE's Mae Young Classic, defeating Zeda in the first round. The following day, Baszler first defeated Mia Yim in the second round, then Candice LeRae in the quarterfinals and finally Mercedes Martinez in the semifinals to advance to the finals of the tournament. After defeating Candice LeRae in the quarterfinals, Baszler turned heel after not releasing the submission hold she used to beat Candice after the bell rang multiple times. She also kicked Candice as she was attended by doctors and her husband Johnny Gargano while also berating the fans, therefore cementing her heel turn.

NXT (2017-present) Baszler made her NXT debut at a house show on August 10, 2017, where she teamed with Billie Kay and Peyton Royce, they were against the team of Kairi Sane, Aliyah and Dakota Kai, in a six-woman tag team match, which Baszler's team lost. On August 12, she made her singles debut, defeating Zeda and then defeating Taynara Conti in another match. On October 3, WWE officially announced that Baszler had signed with the company and started training at the WWE Performance Center. Baszler continued through the remainder of 2017 undefeated in singles and tag team matches, ending her debut year with a victory over NXT newcomer Jessie Elaban. She received her first title shot on January 27, 2018 at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, against the NXT Women's Champion Ember Moon but did not succeed in winning the title. Her title rematch was held during the February 1 edition of NXT where Baszler won the match by disqualification but did not win the title. During the course of new year, Baszler wrestled in matches against opponents including Dakota Kai, Rhea Ripley, Abbey Laith and Kairi Sane. On March 16, Baszler challenged Ember Moon once more for the Women's title but lost the match due to the double-disqualification. On April 7 at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, Baszler defeated Ember Moon to win the NXT Women's Championship for the first time. On April 8 during the fourth day of the 2018 WrestleMania Axxess weekend event, Baszler's first title defense was victory over Dakota Kai. Throughout the remainder of April, Baszler successfully defended her title against challengers including Candice LeRae, Kairi Sane, Nikki Cross and Steffanie Newell. During the month of May, Baszler defeated Dakota Kai in three title rematches. The following month she defeated Nikki Cross on three different occasions to retain the Women's title including the third match held at NXT TakeOver: Chicago II. On June 19 during the second night of the 2018 WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament, Baszler retained the championship against New Zealand wrestler Toni Storm by count-out. After returning to the United States, Baszler defeated Dakota Kai once more in a title rematch on June 28.

Beginning the next month on July 13, Baszler defeated Nikki Cross to retain the NXT Women's Championship. Over the course of the month, she extended her title reign, defeating challengers including Xia Li and Candice LeRae. She finished the month with a tag match during the July 29 house show, teaming with Taynara Conti in a loss to Candice LeRae & Kairi Sane. Baszler's next title defense was held during the August 17 house show, defeating Kairi Sane. However, a rematch was held the following night at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV, where Baszler lost the Women's Championship to Sane. A week later, Baszler returned to begin a new winning streak with a match won during the August 23 tapings, defeating Violet Payne. At the August 25 house show, Baszler formed an alliance with sister mixed martial artists and wrestling newcomers Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir. Their first tag match was won against the team of Deonna Purrazzo, Io Shirai and with reigning Women's Champion Kairi Sane. They finished the month with a second tag team victory during the August 30 house show, defeating Dakota Kai, Io Shirai & Nikki Cross. Returning at the September 6 house show, Baszler began the month with a victory over Candice LeRae. She later lost to LeRae in a rematch held during the September 8 house show. Baszler also met LeRae in two tag matches ending in victories for LeRae's team during the September 7 and September 9 house shows. By September 14, Baszler returned to her alliance with sister mixed martial artists Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir, leading their team in defeating Dakota Kai, Io Shirai & Kairi Sane. During the September 20 tapings, Baszler won a singles match after decimating guest wrestler Britt Baker, resulting in the referree stopping their match. At the September 22 house show, Baszler, Jessamyn Duke & Marina Shafir defeated Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai & Kairi Sane in an elimination tag team match. Baszler and her teammates finished the month with a victory during the September 27 house show, defeating Io Shirai, Kairi Sane & Xia Li.

The following month, Baszler returned for the October 4 house show, teaming with Marina Shafir in defeating Candice LeRae & Dakota Kai. Two nights later, Baszler & Shafir teamed again, defeating Dakota Kai & Mia Yim. A week later during the October 12 house show, Baszler, Jessamyn Duke & Marina Shafir won another six-woman tag match defeating the team of Io Shirai, Jessie Elaban & Lacey Lane.

Anthony Bowens is known for AEW Collision (2023), AEW Dark (2019) and BCP Fight Forever (2017).

Debuted in World Championship Wrestling in 1995 under the name Chris Kanyon. He was soon teamed up with Mark Starr, and they were given a construction workers gimmick and named Men At Work. In 1997 he became Mortis, a member of James Vandenberg's (James Mitchell) Collection Of Human Oddities. He later unmasked again to briefly be part of The Raven's Flock stable (led by Raven aka Scott Levy) and was simply known as Kanyon. After leaving The Raven's Flock, Kanyon went through numerous gimmick changes. His new gimmicks included being part of The Jersey Triad with Scott 'Bam Bam' Bigelow and Diamond Dallas Page ('Page Falkinberg') and being Chris 'Champagne' Kanyon, or CCK for short. His most recent gimmick was as 'Positively' Kanyon - a character which imitated every mannerism of Diamond Dallas Page, even claiming to have written an auto-biography entitled 'Positively Kanyon' (a take on Falkinberg's auto-biography 'Positively Page').

Fred Rosser is known for WWE Smackdown! (1999), WWE Saturday Morning Slam (2012) and WWE NXT (2010).

Jasmine Benitez is an American professional wrestler as Mercedes Martinez. She is best known for her work for WSU and SHIMMER. She debuted in November 2000 after training under former ECW World Television Champion and manager Jason Knight. She has been a 2x WSU Champion, a 1x WSU Tag Team Champion with Angel Orsini, a 4x WXW Women's Champion, and has won several other titles primarily in the Northeast. She also competed for Wrestlicious as Maria Toro.

Michael Carbonaro was born on 28 April 1976 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a producer and actor, known for Another Gay Movie (2006), God Bless America (2011) and All My Children (1970). He has been married to Peter Stickles since 2014.

Sir Elton John is one of pop music's great survivors. Born 25 March, 1947, as Reginald Kenneth Dwight, he started to play the piano at the early age of four. At the age of 11, he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. His first band was called Bluesology. He later auditioned (unsuccessfully) as lead singer for the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Gentle Giant. Dwight teamed up with lyricist Bernie Taupin and changed his name to Elton John (merging the names of saxophonist Elton Dean and Long John Baldry). The duo wrote songs for Lulu and Roger Cook. In the early 1970s, he recorded the concept album "Tumbleweed Connection." He became the most successful pop artist of the 1970s, and he has survived many different pop fads including punk, the New Romantics and Britpop to remain one of Britain's most internationally acclaimed musicians.

Elton John announced he was a bisexual in 1976, and in 1984, he married Renate Blauel. The marriage lasted four years before he finally came to terms with the fact that he was actually homosexual. In the 1970s and 1980s, he suffered from drug and alcohol addiction and bulimia but came through it. He is well known as a campaigner for AIDS research and he keeps his finger on the pulse of modern music, enjoying artists such as Eminem, Radiohead, Coldplay and Robbie Williams. He was knighted in 1997.

David Bowie was one of the most influential and prolific writers and performers of popular music, but he was much more than that; he was also an accomplished actor, a mime and an intellectual, as well as an art lover whose appreciation and knowledge of it had led to him amassing one of the biggest collections of 20th century art.

Born David Jones, he changed his name to Bowie in the 1960s, to avoid confusion with the then well-known Davy Jones (lead singer of The Monkees). The 1960s were not a happy period for Bowie, who remained a struggling artist, awaiting his breakthrough. He dabbled in many different styles of music (without commercial success), and other art forms such as acting, mime, painting, and play-writing. He finally achieved his commercial breakthrough in 1969 with the song "Space Oddity", which was released at the time of the moon landing. Despite the fact that the literal meaning of the lyrics relates to an astronaut who is lost in space, this song was used by the BBC in their coverage of the moon landing, and this helped it become such a success. The album, which followed "Space Oddity", and the two, which followed (one of which included the song "The Man Who Sold The World", covered by Lulu and Nirvana) failed to produce another hit single, and Bowie's career appeared to be in decline.

However, he made the first of many successful "comebacks" in 1972 with "Ziggy Stardust", a concept album about a space-age rock star. This album was followed by others in a similar vein, rock albums built around a central character and concerned with futuristic themes of Armageddon, gender dysfunction/confusion, as well as more contemporary themes such as the destructiveness of success and fame, and the dangers inherent in star worship. In the mid-1970s, Bowie was a heavy cocaine abuser and sometime heroin user.

In 1975, he changed tack. Musically, he released "Young Americans", a soul (or plastic soul as he later referred to it) album. This produced his first number one hit in the US, "Fame". He also appeared in his first major film, The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). With a permanently-dilated pupil and skeletal frame, he certainly looked the part of an alien. The following year, he released "Station to Station," containing some of the material he had written for the soundtrack to this film (which was not used). As his drug problem heightened, his behavior became more erratic. Reports of his insanity started to appear, and he continued to waste away physically. He fled back to Europe, finally settling in Berlin, where he changed musical direction again and recorded three of the most influential albums of all time, an electronic trilogy with Brian Eno "Low, Heroes and Lodger". Towards the end of the 1970s, he finally kicked his drug habit, and recorded the album many of his fans consider his best, the Japanese-influenced "Scary Monsters". Around this time, he appeared in the title role of the Broadway drama The Elephant Man, and to considerable acclaim.

The next few years saw something of a drop-off in his musical output as his acting career flourished, culminating in his acclaimed performance in Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983). In 1983, he released "Let's Dance," an album which proved an unexpected massive commercial success, and produced his second #1 hit single in the United States. According to producer Nile Rodgers, the album was made in just 17 days and was "the easiest album" he'd ever made in his life. The tour which followed, "Serious Moonlight", was his most successful ever. Faced with this success on a massive scale, Bowie apparently attempted to "repeat the formula" in the next two albums, with less success (and to critical scorn). Finally, in the late 1980s, he turned his back on commercial success and his solo career, forming the hard rock band, Tin Machine, who had a deliberate limited appeal. By now, his acting career was in decline. After the comparative failure of Labyrinth (1986), the movie industry appears to have decided that Bowie was not a sufficient name to be a lead actor in a major movie, and since that date, most of his roles have been cameos or glorified cameos. Tin Machine toured extensively and released two albums, with little critical or commercial success.

In 1992, Bowie again changed direction and re-launched his solo career with "Black Tie White Noise", a wedding album inspired by his recent marriage to Iman. He released three albums to considerable critical acclaim and reasonable commercial success. In 1995, he renewed his working relationship with Brian Eno to record "Outside." After an initial hostile reaction from the critics, this album has now taken its place with his classic albums. In 2003, Bowie released an album entitled 'Reality.' The Reality Tour began in November 2003 and, after great commercial success, was extended into July 2004. In June 2004, Bowie suffered a heart attack and the tour did not finish its scheduled run.

After recovering, Bowie gave what turned out to be his final live performance in a three-song set with Alicia Keys at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York in November 2006. He also returned to acting. He played Tesla in The Prestige (2006) and had a small cameo in the comedy David Bowie (2006) for fan Ricky Gervais. In 2007, he did a cartoon voice in SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) playing Lord Royal Highness. He had a brief cameo in the movie ''Bandslam'' released in 2009; after a ten year hiatus from recording, he released a new album called 'The Next Day', featuring a homage cover to his earlier work ''Heroes''. The music video of ''Stars are Out Tonight'' premiered on 25 February 2013. It consists of other songs like ''Where Are We Now?", "Valentine's Day", "Love is Lost", "The Next Day", etc.

In 2014, Bowie won British Male Solo Artist at the 2014 Brit Awards, 30 years since last winning it, and became the oldest ever Brit winner. Bowie wrote and recorded the opening title song to the television miniseries The Last Panthers (2015), which aired in November 2015. The theme used for The Last Panthers (2015) was also the title track for his January 2016 release, ''Blackstar" (released on 8 January 2016, Bowie's 69th birthday) was met with critical acclaim. Following Bowie's death two days later, on 10 January 2016, producer Tony Visconti revealed Bowie had planned the album to be his swan song, and a "parting gift" for his fans before his death. An EP, No Plan, was released on 8 January 2017, which would have been Bowie's 70th birthday. The day following his death, online viewing of Bowie's music skyrocketed, breaking the record for Vevo's most viewed artist in a single day.

On 15 January, "Blackstar" debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart; nineteen of his albums were in the UK Top 100 Albums Chart, and thirteen singles were in the UK Top 100 Singles Chart. The song also debuted at #1 on album charts around the world, including Australia, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand and the US Billboard 200. At the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, Bowie won all five nominated awards: Best Rock Performance; Best Alternative Music Album; Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical; Best Recording Package; and Best Rock Song. The wins marked Bowie's first ever in musical categories. David Bowie influenced the course of popular music several times and had an effect on several generations of musicians.

Billie Joe Armstrong was born in Piedmont, California, a small town surrounded by the city of Oakland, and was raised in Rodeo, California, the youngest of six children of Ollie (Jackson) and Andrew "Andy" Marsicano Armstrong. His father worked as a jazz musician and truck driver for Safeway Inc. to support his family. He died of esophageal cancer on September 10, 1982. The song "Wake Me Up When September Ends" is a memorial to his father. He has five older siblings: David, Alan, Marci, Hollie, and Anna. His mother worked at Rod's Hickory Pit restaurant in El Cerrito. Armstrong and Mike Pritchard's first live performance was at Rod's Hickory Pit in 1987; their first performance under the name Green Day was in Davis, a college town approximately an hour's drive northeast of San Francisco Bay.

Armstrong's interest in music started at a young age. He attended Hillchest Elementary School in Rodeo, where a teacher encouraged him to record a song titled "Look for Love" at the age of five on the Bay Area label Fiat Records. After his father died, his mother married a man whom her children disliked, which resulted in Armstrong's further retreat into music. At the age of 10, Armstrong met Mike Dirnt in the school cafeteria and they immediately bonded over their love of music. He became interested in punk rock after being introduced to punk rock by his brothers. Armstrong has also cited Minneapolis-based bands The Replacements and Husker Du as major musical influences.

Armstrong attended John Swett High School, also in Crockett, and later Pinole Valley High School in Pinole, California, but then dropped out to pursue his musical career.

In 1987, aged 15, Armstrong formed a band called Sweet Children with his childhood friend Mike Pritchard. In the beginning, Pritchard and Armstrong both played guitar, with John Kiffmeyer on drums, and Sean Hughes on bass. After a few performances, Hughes left the band in 1988; Pritchard then began playing bass and they became a three-piece band. They changed their name to Green Day in April 1989, choosing the name because of their fondness for marijuana. That same year, they released their debut EP 1,000 Hours through Lookout Records. They recorded their debut studio album 39/Smooth and the extended play Slappy in 1990, which were later combined with 1,000 Hours into the compilation 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours in 1991. Frank Edwin Wright III eventually became Green Day's drummer in late 1990 when Sobrante left Green Day in order to go to college. California punk band Rancid's lead singer Tim Armstrong asked Armstrong to join his band, but he refused owing to the progress with Green Day. Wright made his debut on Green Day's second album, Kerplunk. With their next album, Dookie (1994), the band broke through into the mainstream, and have remained one of the most popular rock bands of the 1990s and 2000s with over 60 million records sold worldwide. In 2009, their hit American Idiot became a musical on Broadway.

Apart from working with Green Day and side-band Pinhead Gunpowder, Armstrong has collaborated with many artists over the years. He has co-written for The Go-Go's ("Unforgiven") and former Avengers singer Penelope Houston ("The Angel and The Jerk" and "New Day"), co-written a song with Rancid ("Radio"), and sung backing vocals with Melissa Auf der Maur on Ryan Adams' "Do Miss America" (where they acted as the backing band for Iggy Pop on his Skull Ring album ("Private Hell" and "Supermarket"). Armstrong has produced an album for The Riverdales. He has also been confirmed to be part of a side project called The Network, which released an album called Money Money 2020. Money Money 2020 was released on Adeline Records, a record label co-owned by Armstrong. Armstrong also provided lead guitar and backing vocals on 3 songs for The Lookouts' final extended play IV (1989).

Hoping to clear his head and develop new ideas for songs, Armstrong traveled to New York City alone for a few weeks, renting a small apartment in the East Village of Manhattan. He spent much of this time taking long walks and participating in jam sessions in the basement of Hi-Fi, a bar in Manhattan. However, the friends he made during this time drank too much for his liking, which was the catalyst for Armstrong's return to the Bay Area. After returning home, Armstrong was arrested on DUI charges on January 5, 2003, and released on $1,200 bail.

In 2010, Armstrong joined the cast of American Idiot, which won two Tonys, for one week in the role of St. Jimmy. He replaced the original Broadway cast member Tony Vincent from September 28 to October 3. (American Idiot is an adaption of Green Day's concept album of the same name). Armstrong returned to the role of St. Jimmy for 50 performances beginning January 1, 2011.

On Thursday, July 26, 2012 it was announced he joined Season 3 of NBC's The Voice as a mentor for Christina Aguilera. He will mentor the artists on Aguilera's team where she serves as a coach.

In 1990, Armstrong met Adrienne Nesser at one of Green Day's early performances in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They married on July 2, 1994, and the day after their wedding, Adrienne discovered she was pregnant. Their first child, Joseph Marciano Armstrong, who was born on February 28, 1995, now plays drums in a Berkeley-based band named Emily's Army. Their second child, Jakob Danger Armstrong, was born on September 12, 1998. Billie Joe is the co-owner of Adeline Records, along with his wife.

Janis Lyn Joplin was born at St. Mary's Hospital in the oil-refining town of Port Arthur, Texas, near the border with Louisiana. Her father was a cannery worker and her mother was a registrar for a business college. As an overweight teenager, she was a folk-music devotee (especially Odetta, Leadbelly and Bessie Smith). After graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School, she attended Lamar State College and the University of Texas, where she played auto-harp in Austin bars.She was nominated for the Ugliest Man on Campus in 1963, and she spent two years traveling, performing and becoming drug-addicted. Back home in 1966, her friend Chet Helms suggested she become lead singer for Big Brother and the Holding Company, an established Haight-Ashbury band consisting of guitarists James Gurley and Sam Andrew, bassist Peter Albin and drummer Dave Getz). She got wide recognition through the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, highlights of which were released in Monterey Pop (1968), and with the band's landmark second album, "Cheap Thrills". She formed her "Kosmic Blues Band" the following year and achieved still further recognition as a solo performer at Woodstock in 1969, highlights released in Woodstock (1970). In the spring of 1970, she sang with the "Full Tilt Boogie Band" and, on October 4 of that year, she was found dead in Hollywood's Landmark Motor Hotel (now known as Highland Gardens Hotel) from a heroin-alcohol overdose the previous day. Her ashes were scattered off the coast of California. Her biggest selling album was the posthumously released "Pearl", which contained her quintessential song: "Me & Bobby McGee".

Rob Halford was born on 25 August 1951 in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, England, UK. He is an actor and composer, known for Spun (2002), Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992).

Deborah Harry was born Angela Trimble on July 1, 1945 in Miami, Florida. At three months, she was adopted by Catherine (Peters) and Richard Smith Harry, and was raised in Hawthorne, New Jersey. In the 1960s, she worked as a Playboy Bunny and hung out at Max's Kansas City, a famous Warhol-inhabited nightspot. Her professional singing career started in 1968 with a folk band called The Wind in the Willows. She sang backup on their first (and only) album. The band broke up shortly after failing to achieve commercial success or critical acclaim. In 1973, she met Chris Stein, who became her longtime boyfriend. They created Blondie in 1974 after they both were in the Stilletoes, a theatrical "girl group" band. Blondie struggled for a few years, then went on to be one of the most successful bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s, but the group broke up in 1982.

Harry has released five solo albums, acted in several movies and television series and a few commercials (Gloria Vanderbilt Jeans, Sara Lee, Revlon). She has done many benefit shows in support of AIDS charities, a Broadway show ("Teaneck Tanzi"), poetry readings, and been one of the most notorious characters in the New York downtown scene. As of 1995, she was doing shows in the United States and Europe with the Jazz Passengers and Elvis Costello, filming two new movies (Heavy (1995) with Liv Tyler and Evan Dando and Drop Dead Rock (1995) with Adam Ant) and topping the dance charts with two newly remixed Blondie singles ("Rapture" and "Atomic"). Several Blondie tribute albums have been released and a Blondie remix album titled "Remixed, Remade, Remodeled" came out in 1995.

Dusty Springfield has been acknowledged around the world as the best female soul singer that Britain ever produced. With her oddly erotic, throaty voice, she racked up a string of hits from the 1960s onwards. Born in London to Irish parents, Dusty grew up in and around London. Her early work included an all-girl trio, "The Lana Sisters" and, then, with her brother Tom Springfield (Dion O'Brien), The Springfields. Inspired by Phil Spector's "wall of sound", Dusty recorded her first pop song "I Only Want to Be with You" in 1963. It reached No. 4 in the charts and was the first song played on the new BBC TV pop show Top of the Pops (1964). The sixties brought a steady succession of top-ten hits and a lifestyle to match. However, Dusty used to campaign to get the little-known American soul singers a better audience in the United Kingdom which led to her own show The Sound of Motown (1965). In 1970, she moved to America and, although she attempted a few come-back tours, they never really worked. However, time in the studio did produce the seminal album, "Dusty in Memphis". A downward spiral of drugs and drink followed for most of the latter seventies but then she overcame these problems and, helped by lifelong fans "The Pet Shop Boys", came back with songs such as "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" and the album "Reputation". Cancer was diagnosed in 1994 and, although it was kept at bay for quite a while, it finally got her.