BILLY PORTER
The category is: one Oscar away from EGOT status. Billy Porter is an Emmy, Grammy and Tony award winning actor and vocalist. And while we’re certain another golden statue is on its way to the Pose and Kinky Boots star, there’s more urgent business at hand. In 2021, the multi-hyphenate appeared on the cover The Hollywood Reporter resolute and resplendent, shirtless and in pearls, to “shed the fear and shame” that he carried for over a decade: This Is What HIV-Positive Looks Like Now. It was a watershed moment for the community, one that echoed the late, great Audre Lorde forewarning: “Your silence will not protect you.” This message reverberates through Porter’s memoir, Unprotected. Porter uses his idiosyncratic voice (and sartorial flair!) fearlessly and unapologetically. In the year since Pose wrapped, Porter has starred in a remake of Cinderella as the “genderless” Fairy Godmother, and made his directorial debut Anything’s Possible, a coming-of-age romantic comedy starring trans performers. Porter also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Live. Work. Pose. Repeat. —T.T.