Lesbian & Bisexual Classic Actresses

Many classic actresses were gay or bisexual. Unfortunately these women were forced to stay in the closet and hide their romances from the public. Here are sixteen of classic Hollywood's most passionate lesbian affairs ....

 Marlene Dietrich and Anna May Wong had an intense love affair when they worked together in Shanghai Express. Anna was afraid that the relationship would hurt her career so she dumped Marlene.

Marlene Dietrich and Claudette Colbert had a passionate love affair in the 1930s. Claudette and Marlene remained close for the rest of their lives.

Patsy Kelly and Tallulah Bankhead had a long-term romance and remained close friends. When Patsy was having trouble finding acting work Tallulah hired her as a personal assistant.

Janet Gaynor and Mary Martin were in a romantic relationship for decades. Although they were both married to men Janet and Mary lived together in Brazil.

Margaret Lindsay and Janet Gaynor dated for several years in the early 1930s. After they broke up Margaret began a long-term romance with actress Mary McCarty.

Josephine Hutchinson caused a scandal when she left her husband for stage actress Eva Le Gallienne. The couple lived together and the press openly called Josephine "Eva's shadow".

Lilyan Tashman and Greta Garbo had a passionate romance during the 1920s. When Greta ended their affair Lilyan was devastated.

Marjorie Main and Spring Byington had a very serious relationship. They lived together for many years and Spring openly admitted in the press that she loved Marjorie.

Joan Crawford and Barbara Stanwyck had a short-lived love affair in the 1920s. Although the romance ended Barbara and Joan stayed lifelong friends.

Marie Dressler and actress Claire DuBrey had a long-term relationship. They lived together and Claire took care of Marie when she was dying of cancer.

Marilyn Monroe and her acting teacher Natasha Lytess had a romantic relationship. The two women lived together for a short time and Marilyn gave Natasha many expensive gifts.

Carole Landis and writer Jacqueline Susann had a brief affair in 1945. The lesbian romance in Jacqueline's book Valley Of The Dolls was based on her relationship with Carole.

Billie Burke was romantically involved with female director Dorothy Arzner. They lived together in the 1930s and Dorothy often cast Billie in her movies.

Ona Munson had an intense affair with screenwriter Mercedes de Acosta. Eventually Ona ended the relationship because she was afraid of being outed as a lesbian.

Jean Acker had romances with actresses Alla Nazimova and Grace Darmond. She met the love of her life, Chloe Carter, in 1933 and spent the rest of her life with her.

Dolores del Rio and Lili Damita had a fiery affair in the early 1930s. Lili later married Errol Flynn who was one of Dolores's ex-lovers.