10 Facts About Romaine Patterson

Romaine Patterson was born on March 31,1978 and is an American LGBT rights activist, radio personality, and author.

Romaine Patterson first received national attention for her activism at the funeral of murdered gay student Matthew Shepard; the two became friends when Shepard moved to Casper, Wyoming to attend college.

For twelve years up until June 2015, she and Derek Hartley co-hosted the Derek and Romaine show on SiriusXM's OutQ.

Romaine Patterson spent several summers during high school in Denver, Colorado, living with her brothers and working at Diedrich's Coffee Shop.

Openly lesbian, Patterson lives in New Jersey with her wife Iris and her first child, a child born July 20,2007, named Romaine.

Romaine Patterson organized counter protests known as "Angel Action", in which groups of people dressed as angels with extremely large wings that shielded the families from Phelps and his group.

Romaine Patterson was later depicted in The Laramie Project, a play about the event based on interviews with the participants.

Romaine Patterson was portrayed by Canadian actress Kristen Thomson in the TV movie The Matthew Shepard Story.

Romaine Patterson later worked at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation as a Regional Media Manager.

Romaine Patterson has written a book about her experiences as an activist since Shepard's death, called The Whole World Was Watching.