Part 4: Our Hall of Fame

Any celebration of the The Advocate's founding in 1967 must honor the heroes for LGBT rights that we've covered for 45 years. With one honoree named per year, the list will be announced in parts and culminate in an event in Los Angeles this month.

BY Advocate Contributors

March 28 2012 11:16 AM ET

HEROES 2005 MELISSA ETHERIDGE X 560 | ADVOCATE.COM

When Melissa Etheridge was named The Advocate's Person of the Year in 1995, she admitting knowing why: “I'm sort of a gay success story." Etheridge came out during President Clinton's inaugural ball and went on to sell hit records."What happened to me is exactly the opposite of what closeted people fear: They think they’ll lose everything if they come out. This did not happen to me at all. In fact, everything came back tenfold.” Then when Etheridge publicly fought breast cancer in 2005 and won, her story once again became a tale of hope. "Let my life have been an inspiration to anyone — gay, straight, breast cancer, woman, mother — any human being," she said after her star was added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011. "Believe in your dreams, my friends, believe because they do come true."
-Lucas Grindley