42 Facts About Billy Porter

William Ellis Porter II was born on September 21,1969 and is an American actor and singer.

Billy Porter gained notice performing on Broadway before starting a solo career as a singer and actor.

Billy Porter won the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for the musical's accompanying album.

Billy Porter starred in all three seasons of the television series Pose, for which he was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards and won the 2019 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, becoming the first gay black man to be nominated and win in any lead acting category at the Primetime Emmys.

Billy Porter made his directorial debut in 2022 with the romantic comedy film Anything's Possible.

Billy Porter received the Isabelle Stevenson Award at the 77th Tony Awards for his humanitarian work with the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and Entertainment Community Fund.

Billy Porter attended Reizenstein Middle School, before graduating from Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts School in 1987.

Billy Porter graduated from the College of Fine Arts at Carnegie Mellon University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama in 1991 and later earned a certification from the graduate-level Professional Program in Screenwriting at UCLA.

Billy Porter appeared on American talent show Star Search in 1992 and won $100,000, appearing on the same show as other future stars, such as a young Britney Spears.

Billy Porter played Teen Angel in the 1994 Broadway revival of Grease.

Billy Porter wrote and performed in his one-person autobiographical show, Ghetto Superstar at Joe's Pub in New York City in February and March 2005.

In September 2010, Billy Porter appeared as Belize in Signature Theatre Company's 20th Anniversary production of Tony Kushner's Angels in America.

Billy Porter won both the 2013 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical and Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for this role.

Billy Porter played a major role as Shiniqua, a drag queen who befriends Angel and Lee in Seth Michael Donsky's Twisted, an adaptation of Oliver Twist.

Billy Porter featured in a number of songs in the tribute album It's Only Life: The Songs of John Bucchino in 2006, released on PS Classics.

Billy Porter covered "Only One Road" that was included on the Human Rights Campaign compilation album Love Rocks.

Billy Porter wrote the play While I Yet Live, which premiered Off-Broadway at Primary Stages in September 2014 in previews, officially on October 12.

Billy Porter reprised the role of Lola in Kinky Boots in September 2017 on Broadway, where he did a 15-week run.

In 2018, Billy Porter starred in the FX show Pose in the role of Pray Tell.

Billy Porter duetted with Pose co-star Dyllon Burnside and sang from his album in a benefit concert emceed by Burnside on July 23,2018, to celebrate the season 1 finale and to raise money for GLSEN.

In September 2019, Billy Porter was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Pose, becoming the first openly gay black man to be nominated and win in any lead acting category at the Primetime Emmys.

Also, in 2019, Billy Porter had a cameo appearance in Taylor Swift's "You Need to Calm Down" music video that featured twenty LGBTQ icons.

Billy Porter performed "For What It's Worth" with Stephen Stills during the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

In 2022, Porter was included in the book 50 Key Figures in Queer US Theatre, with a chapter written by theatre scholar Eric M Glover.

Billy Porter is set to remain in the role until May 2025.

In March 2025, it was announced that Billy Porter is featured on In the Garden, a concept album and musical by the artist Boyfriend set for release on May 9,2025.

Billy Porter's style has gone through many phases over the years, including vintage, Abercrombie and Fitch and geek chic.

Billy Porter has said that he intentionally set out to use fashion in a political way, to be a "walking piece of political art".

Billy Porter later became known for wearing a Gucci outfit to the Met Gala.

At the 2019 Golden Globes, Billy Porter gained attention for wearing an embroidered suit and pink cape designed by Randi Rahm.

Billy Porter said the fact that people were surprised that he wore a cape inspired him to ask Christian Siriano if he could create him a ball gown because it was something he had always wanted to wear.

Billy Porter felt it seemed like a way to challenge people's ideas of masculinity.

In February 2019, Billy Porter was an Official Council of Fashion Designers of America Ambassador for New York Fashion Week: Mens.

Billy Porter attended the 2019 Met Gala and embraced the Camp: Notes on Fashion theme by being carried on a litter by six shirtless men while sporting a "Sun God" ensemble.

In 2020, Billy Porter wore a floor-length pink poncho style gown with a wide-brimmed black hat, a look he characterized as "Handmaid's Tale realness", to the AFI Awards and to the Golden Globes he wore an all-white ensemble that included a tuxedo jacket with a feathered train.

Billy Porter wore a sparkling turquoise bodysuit with matching bolero and a motorised hat to the Grammy awards.

Billy Porter has performed at various venues in New York City, including Lincoln Center, which was broadcast on PBS in 2015 and Joe's Pub in New York City.

Billy Porter performed "For What It's Worth" with Stephen Stills at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

Billy Porter is gay, having come out at the age of 16 "in the middle of the AIDS crisis".

Billy Porter married Adam Smith on January 14,2017, after meeting him in 2009.

Billy Porter was very keen to get married "while Obama was still president and before January 20th, 2017", so the two got engaged on December 29,2016, and married two weeks later.

In May 2021, Billy Porter told The Hollywood Reporter that he had been diagnosed with HIV in June 2007; he was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes in February 2007 and filed for bankruptcy in March 2007.