I was thinking about how I could name maybe one asexual celebrity off the top of my head and decided to do a little research.
First, people who are openly asexual in their own words:
Tim Gunn - Designer and fashion icon most well known for hosting Project Runway, openly self identifies as asexual.The most clear cut and recognizable example on this list as he has actually used the term asexual and encourages support for and education on asexuality and other marginalized sexualities.
Morrissey - This one surprised me! Rock star and leader of the Smiths, his sexuality was a topic of media debate before the term asexual was really available and so he most often claimed to be celibate. Through the 80′s he tried a variety of language including saying he was bisexual, but always clarified that he hated sex and hadn’t participated in sex in years. His most recent statement about it as of 2013:
“Unfortunately, I am not homosexual. In technical fact, I am humasexual. I am attracted to humans. But, of course … not many.” Which in todays language would make him ace or demisexual and biromantic. This ones a little shaky but I wanted to include it anyway.
Janeane Garofalo - A well known female comedian and actress (Wet Hot American Summer, Mystery Men, Dogma, Ratatoullie) who openly talks about her ace sexuality during her stand up routine. She’s quoted as saying in the documentary (A)Sexual - “I don’t have a fear of intimacy, I have sort of a genuine lack of interest”, adding jokingly, “which is not good for my boyfriend of ten years”
Edward Gorey - Iconic artist of The Doubtful Guest, The Gashleycrumb Tinies and dozens of other works of peculiar victorian style horror/surrealism in what he called ‘literary nonsense.’ In an older interview when asked about his sexuality he said: “I’m neither one thing nor the other particularly. I am fortunate in that I am apparently reasonably undersexed or something … I’ve never said that I was gay and I’ve never said that I wasn’t … what I’m trying to say is that I am a person before I am anything else”
But in an interview collected in the 2002 book Ascending Peculiarity: Edward Gorey on Edward Gorey he agrees that the “sexlessness” of his work was a product of his asexuality.
Emilie Autumn - Artist and musician best known for her part in cult classic The Devil’s Carnival Emilie has self identified as asexual several times in interviews and unusually seems to be a sex-positive asexual who’s been with men and women.
Historical Figures who were ‘celibate’ and may have been asexual:
J.M. Barrie - Author of Peter Pan and other children’s stories, the famous author was known to be disinterested in sex. He married once, but the marriage remained unconsummated and eventually ended in divorce. Though no such rumors were ever apparent when he was alive, in more recent years there’s been concern that he was a paedophile because of his close friendship with the five sons of the Llewelyn Davies family, for whom Peter Pan and some of his other stories were written. There’s never been any evidence of this, and he stayed close friends with the boys into their adulthood. The best evidence of his asexuality is a quote from one of the Llewelyn Davies boys who, when asked if Barrie had ever behaved inappropriately with him, said: “I don’t believe that Uncle Jim ever experienced what one might call ‘a stirring in the undergrowth’ for anyone—man, woman, or child”, he stated. “He was an innocent—which is why he could write Peter Pan.”
T.E. Lawrence - The author and archaeologist upon which Lawrence of Arabia was based and one of the strongest cases for asexuality in a historical figure. He stated his total lack of or desire for sexual experience multiple times in personal letters and personal friends have also stated in interviews that Lawrence had no interest in men or women. He may possibly have been homoromantic, speaking tolerantly of such relationships in his writings.
Nikola Tesla - Famed inventor, engineer and scientist, Nikola was a life long bachelor and was said to have never pursued a single romantic relationship. He said his chastity was helpful to his studies and once claimed he could never be worthy enough for a woman, whom he considered to be superior to men in every way.
Kenji Miyazawa - A celebrated poet and children’s author in Japan during the 1900′s, Miyazawa was never married or appeared to have any interest in romantic or sexual relationships. A close friend wrote that he died a virgin. Unfortunately, as he did not gain popularity until after his death, that speculation is all the evidence there is.
It was pretty tiring even trying to find this much, but if anyone has people to add to this list, please do! We need more asexual role models, and more evidence that we exist, and have always existed.
