1997: ELLEN DEGENERES

WHAT WE SAID THEN ''At a time when acknowledgement of homosexuality has entered all aspects of popular culture, when diversity and acceptance are words of the day but by no means entirely the deeds, and when more and more of the sizable population of homosexual men and women working in the entertainment industry today are weighing the risks of coming out themselves, DeGeneres allowed herself to become a poster girl — not for lesbianism, but for honesty.'' —Lisa Schwarzbaum