The word lesbian comes from the Greek Island of Lesbos, where the poet Sappho lived in 600 B.C. Sappho was an intellectual and poet who wrote many love poems to other women. Although much of her poetry has been destroyed by religious fundamentalists, the few poems of Sappho that remain speak clearly to her love and infatuation with women.

It is unclear when the word "lesbian" was first used to describe women who love other women, but the first usage can be traced back to the 1800s. It came into popular use in the lesbian feminist era of the 1960s and 1970s.

This is a referenced overview list of notable Famous Lesbians And Bisexual Females, who have either been open about their sexuality of for which reliable sources exist. Famous Females who are simply rumored to be lesbian or bisexual, are not listed.

Aileen Wuornos

Jacqueline Woodson

Daniela Sea

Alexandra Hedison

Alison Bechdel

Amelie Mauresmo

Amy Ray

Angelina Jolie

Ann Bannon

Ani DiFranco

Ariel Schrag

Audre Lorde

Barbara Gittings

Billie Jean King

Barbara Jordan

Bitch

Cathy DeBuono

Catie Curtis

Christina Aguilera

Corine Mauch

Clementine Ford

Cynthia Nixon

Danielle Egnew

Cris Williamson

Del Martin

Eleanor Roosevelt

Frida Kahlo

Ellen DeGeneres

Gertrude Stein

Gina Gershon

Gladys Bentley

Heather Matarazzo

God-Des of God-Des & She

Indigo Girls

Jackie Warner

Jane Rule

Margarethe

Mariah Hanson

Jamie Babbit

Jane Lynch

Jane Addams

Janina Gavankar

Janis Ian

Karina Lombard

Kate Brown

Julie Goldman

Kate Clinton

kd lang

Kristanna Loken

Laurel Holloman

Kate Moennig

Leisha Hailey

Lily Tomlin

Lorraine Hansberry

Portia de Rossi

Rosie Jones

Rosie Jones1

Rachel Maddow

Rosie O'Donnell

Sappho of Lesbos

Sara Gilbert

Sherri Murrell

Sheryl Swoopes

Suze Orman

Tammy Lynn Michaels

Tammy Baldwin

Tee Corinne

Missy Giove

Vita Sackville-West

Nelly Furtado

Wanda Sykes

Melissa Ferrick

Meredith Baxter

Melissa Etheridge

Me'Shell NdegeOcello

Michelle Bonilla

Michelle Rodriguez

Ma Rainey

Marlene Dietrich

Martina Navratilova

Lucy Liu

Drew Barrymore

Suzanne Westenhoefer

Doria Roberts

Sarah Shahi

Phyllis Lyon