Billy Porter

For other people named Billy Porter, see Billy Porter (disambiguation).

Billy Porter
Porter in 2024
Born
William Ellis Porter II[1]

(1969-09-21) September 21, 1969 (age 55)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Education
Occupations
  • Actor
  • singer
  • writer
Years active1992–present
Spouse
Adam Smith
​
​
(m. 2017; sep. 2023)​

William Ellis Porter II (born September 21, 1969) is an American actor and singer.[2][3] Porter gained notice performing on Broadway before starting a solo career as a singer and actor.[4] Porter won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role as Lola in Kinky Boots. He credits the part for "cracking open" his feminine side to confront toxic masculinity.[5] For the role, Porter also won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical and Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical.

In 2014, Porter won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for Kinky Boots. 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.[6] In 2020, he was included on Time's list of the 100 most influential people in the world.[7] In 2022, he won another Tony Award for Best Musical as a producer for the musical A Strange Loop.

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

  1. ^ Stated on Who Do You Think You Are?, July 10, 2022
  2. ^ "Billy Porter". IMDb. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  3. ^ "Billy Porter". Flair Magazine. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  4. ^ "Family Celebrates Billy Porter's Tony Award Win". Pittsburgh CBS Local. June 10, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
  5. ^ "Like A Boss star Billy Porter on the influence of strong women in his life". Good Morning America. January 9, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  6. ^ "Billy Porter makes peace with himself: 'I set myself free, honey. No more secrets'". NPR.org. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  7. ^ "Billy Porter: The 100 Most Influential People of 2020". Time. Retrieved September 23, 2020.