34. Darren Young and Nick Villa

34. Darren Young and Nick Villa

One sport (or form of entertainment, depending on how you look at it) that's had even fewer gay representatives than boxing is professional wrestling. Gay characters have been used in WWE, but in the past the portrayal has tended to be mocking or done for laughs. When WWE superstar Darren Young came out in 2013, that changed.

The WWE issued a public statement offering Young their support, and he's gone on to be an ambassador for young people struggling with their identity, working in partnership with his husband Nick Villa. Although some wrestlers have come out as gay in the past, they've usually waited until their career was over before making the admission. Young was under contract to WWE when he came out, and continued wrestling for them for some time afterwards. Many of his colleagues Tweeted support for him when he made his announcement, and it's now hoped he may have opened doors for others in the industry to come to terms with who they are.

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Did You Know...

I

Chefs made their way into celebrity land a while ago. But how many celebrities that weren’t trained as professional cooks are actually whizzes in the kitchen? Here are several that come to mind.

II

Actress Julia Roberts is confident about her cooking skills. “I’m quite a good cook,” she told E! News. “I’m like a closet home ec teacher…I can really cook anything.” Roberts has said she often cooks fish for herself and her kids. And speaking of her three children, “They think that I’m a good cook,” Roberts told People. “They actually told me that I should open a restaurant.” She also relishes cooking for the holidays, particularly shredded Brussel sprouts. Roberts hasn’t published a cookbook, but we did find recipes attributed to her for peach crisp and banana hemp muffins. Or you can make the same summer salad the actress supposedly eats.

III

Chrissy Teigen started off as a supermodel. Then her love of cooking filtered into her professional life too. At this point, she’s created recipes for a limited Blue Apron release and also just launched her own home and cooking line at Target named “Cravings,” after the two cookbooks she’s released. Teigen describes cooking as “a time of peace” for herself. So maybe peace out to her tuna melt sandwich or the fried chicken wings that are a favorite of her husband, John Legend.

IV

Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, comes from a cooking Italian family. Her father started his own restaurant in New York and also published a cookbook. And apparently, Lady Gaga has inherited the family’s cooking genes. Her Instagram account occasionally features photos of her culinary activities. Sure, sometimes it’s topless cooking. But other times it’s more poignant like in the post she shared about her bringing food to the family of her dear friend who passed away. Want to try a Gaga/Germanotta family favorite? Check out her recipe for whole wheat pasta with a sweet fennel sauce.

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