Public figures and famous people are often secretive about their sexual orientation. But then there are those who have no problem sharing theirs. Several famous actors, musicians, comedians, and more identify them as asexual celebrities.
Some of them had relationships early in their lives. Later they became celibate, while others never had a romantic relationship of any kind. What does asexuality mean? Well, we will try to define the term and then look at some of the most famous asexual celebrities.
What Is Asexual?
The best way to define asexual is a lack of sexual attraction to others or low interest in sexual activity. Some people consider it as their sexual orientation. Others, however, describe it as an absence of sexual orientation.
It is also an umbrella term that includes asexual sub-identities such as demisexual, grey-A, queerplatonic, and many more.
It is common for an asexual person to have a romantic attraction to other people. They just do not have sexual attraction. Some of them identify as hetero, homo, bi, or pan-romantic. Others also identify themselves as aromantic, which means they feel no romantic attraction.
When people mention the term asexual, sometimes we might assume there is absolutely no attraction. But that is wrong. Aside from sexual attraction, you can experience:
- Romantic attraction, or a desire for a romantic relationship with someone
- Aesthetic attraction, being attracted to the looks of a person
- Sensual or physical attraction, wanting to touch or hold someone
- Platonic attraction, wanting to be friends with someone
- Emotional attraction, seeking an emotional connection with a person
For asexual people, it is quite possible to experience all these other forms of attraction.
Difference Between Sex Drive And Sexual Desire
We also have to make a difference between libido, sexual attraction, and sexual desire. Let’s try and define them all.
- Libido, or also known as sex drive, involves wanting to have sex and experience sexual pleasure
- Sexual desire is the desire to have sex, whether for pleasure, personal connection, conception, or something else
- Sexual attraction involves finding someone sexually appealing and wanting to have sex with them
Many people who are not asexual have a low libido and do not desire sex. In the same way, many asexual people have a libido and experience sexual desire.
How Does Asexuality Work In A Relationship?
Asexual individuals can have romantic relationships with others. It may affect the relationship, but it might not be a factor at all. It is important to discuss the boundaries when it comes to asexuality. If you are in a relationship with an asexual partner, respect his/her preference around sex.
Some asexual people are comfortable with some amount of physical contact and sexual contact. Others are not.
But the reality is that many asexual people desire and have romantic relationships. They might not experience sexual attraction, but they experience romantic attraction. And as we said before, they engage in sexual intimacy with their romantic partner.
Famous Asexual Celebrities
Tim Gunn
Fashion consultant Tim Gunn is one of the most famous asexual celebrities in the world. He has identified himself as an asexual celebrity since the 1980s. At the time, he ended a decade-long relationship.
He found out his boyfriend had been sleeping around, so he took a long break from the intimacy of that magnitude. He said, “One night he told me he’d been sleeping around. I could hardly breathe from grief, humiliation, and despair. So I was over this was about sex”.
Yasmin Benoit
Model Yasmin Benoit has openly spoken about her sexuality. She even wrote an essay for Glamour Magazine UK.
In it, she wrote, “I live a perfectly happy and fulfilled life as a Black asexual, aromantic woman. I do not need a partner to complete me. I am complete just the way I am. That is why I use my platform to fight against asexuality stigma, dispel myths and help empower the ace community”.
Janeane Garofalo
Born Janeane Marie Garofalo, she is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. Janeane began her career as a stand-up comedian, and quickly became a cast member on The Ben Stiller Show, The Larry Sanders Show, and many more.
Speaking about her sexuality, she has said, “The reason I say I am asexual is my libido has always been incredibly low. I never have been particularly driven by sex”.
Caitlyn Jenner
Yes, the Kardashian family has an asexual as well. Caitlyn came out in 2015, telling Diane Sawyer in an interview that she was going with asexual for now. Yet, Jenner noted that she would learn more about herself in the year to come.
For now, the American media personality and retired Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete is an asexual celebrity.
Paula Poundstone
She is another American stand-up comedian and author who is asexual. The American actress began her career in the late 1980s performing a series of one-hour HBO comedy specials.
During the 1992 presidential election on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, she provided backstage commentary.
She discussed her asexual lifestyle in a 2014 interview, saying “I don’t talk about sex a lot because I don’t actually have sex. It involves much more work than I’m willing to put out. The idea that I’d go to my room after everything else I go through in a day and that there’d be someone in my room that might expect something like that from me – I just can’t even.”
Morrissey
Born Steven Patrick Morrissey, he is an English singer, songwriter, and author. Morrissey became popular as the frontman of the rock band The Smiths. They were active from 1982 to 1987. Following the breakup of his group, he pursued a successful solo career.
There have been many comments about his celibate lifestyle. He responded in a 2013 statement by saying, “Unfortunately, I am not homosexual. In technical fact, I am humansexual, I am attracted to humans. But of course, not many”.
Bradford Cox
Bradford has often stated he is asexual in interviews. He suggested that part of the reason he chose that title is his comfort zone. He says, “I do not hide anything, but I also don’t really highlight anything either. For a long time I just said I was asexual, but now I just realized that I am still, I guess, I mean, I am queer”.
Edward Gorey
Edward is a noted artist and children’s book author. He says that asexuality is something that informed his work. Asked if the sexlessness of his books was a product of his asexuality, he answered with a solid Yes.
Sriti Jha
Born in February 1986, Sriti is an Indian actress who appears in Indian soap operas. She has won the Indian Telly Award for Best Actress in a Lead Role for her portrayal of Pragya Arora in Kumkum Bhagya.
In January 2021, she recited a poem, “Confessions of an asexual romantic” during the 2020 Kommune India Spoken Fest. In the poem, she spoke about how the life of an asexual might be and about the lack of freedom in India.
David Jay
David Jay is an asexual advocate. He began the Asexual Visibility and Education Network in 2002. He has said that he tried to figure out his sexuality in his youth.
In an interview, he said, “Everyone was telling me sex was going to be a really essential part of my evolution into adulthood. Sex was supposed to be the beginning of how I would connect with people. And so I assumed that because I wasn’t experiencing a great sexual awakening, that I, too, was broken.”
Mikey Neumann
Born in April 1982, Mikey is an American YouTuber and video game writer. Famous for the channel FilmJoy, where he hosts film criticism series Movies with Mikey, he worked in the video game industry as a creative director.
In an essay for Mary Sue, he said, “I am an asexual. I have been one for some time”. He also tweets about the lack of ace representation.
Keri Hulme
She is an author and winner of the Man Booker Prize for her 1985 novel, The Bone People. She actively identifies as an asexual and advocates for more awareness. She says it was more of a slow realization.
In one interview, she said that as a teen having sex, it didn’t intrigue her in the slightest.
Valeriya Novodvorskaya
Valeriya Novodvorskaya was a Soviet dissident. As a writer and politician, she founded the Democratic Union Party and was a member of the editorial board of The New Times.
Throughout her life, Valeriya Novodvorskaya said that she was never interested in sex.
Erica Mendez
Erica is an American voice actress. She has studied graphic design in college before becoming a voice actress. Her major voice role came in the movie Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures video game. But she has voiced many more video game characters, including Aladdin, Ryuko Matoi, Haruka Tenoh, and many more.
In one tweet in 2020, she wrote, “My Twitter is a safe space for all LGBTQIA+ people, but as an ace myself, this particularly resonates with me.”
Kim Deal
Kim from The Pixies and The Breeders has rarely spoken regarding her sexuality. There is a lot of speculation about her romantic leanings. When asked if she had a gay bone in her body, she answered, “You know what? I am just so asexual, I wish I had a gay bone”.
Emilie Autumn
Emilie is a musician who identifies herself as asexual. She says she never disliked sex. And that is what makes her a special asexual celebrity. She is a prime example that being asexual doesn’t mean that you do not enjoy the act of sexual intercourse.
David Archuleta
Born in December 1990, David is an American pop singer. At 10 years old, he won the children’s division of the Utah Talent Competition. That jumpstarted his career. When he was only 12 years old, he won the Junior Vocal Champion during the second season of Star Search.
He came out in 2014 as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community in an Instagram post. He said, “I came out in 2014 as gay to my family. But then I had similar feelings for both genders so maybe a spectrum of bisexual. Then I also have learned I don’t have too much sexual desires and urges as most people, which works I guess because I have a commitment to save myself until marriage”.
