No slideshow of gay celebs would be complete without — duh — the Indigo Girls. Amy Ray told Spinner.com she knew she was gay by the time she was a senior in high school when she had a crush on a girl friend. Her mom finally confronted her about it and asked if she was gay. Amy said she told her mom 'I don't know what that means.' It wasn't until her freshman year of college that Amy finally had sex with the woman. She explained:

"When I had my second girlfriend – my junior year in college – I was definitely out with my family and friends. It was gradual -- I didn't wake up one day and say, 'I'm gay and I'm coming out.' My two older sisters are gay, too, and my mom and dad were very conservative. My dad had a harder time and would tell me I was perverted, and my mom would read all of my mail. I had no privacy at all. I knew I was really out when I told my grandmother. I was about 25 or 26 and in my third relationship. It was very hard. She already knew, but I wanted to talk about it. We were very close. I told her this was the way it was going to be and this is the person I was going to be with. She was really cool about it. She was like, 'If you love somebody, it's OK.' She was raised in the South and very conservative on some levels, but she really knew how to evolve."

And Amy Ray has been inspiring legions of gay girls ever since! [Spinner] Image via Getty