Name
Billy Porter
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1969-09-21 (57 years old)
Place of Birth
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Biography
William Ellis Porter II (born September 21, 1969) is an American actor and singer. Porter gained notice performing on Broadway before starting a solo career as a singer and actor. For his role as Lola in Kinky Boots, Porter won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. He credits the part for "cracking open" his feminine side to confront toxic masculinity. Porter also won the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for the musical's accompanying album.
Porter starred in all three seasons of the television series Pose, for which he was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards and won the 2019 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, becoming the first gay black man to be nominated and win in any lead acting category at the Primetime Emmys. In 2020, he was included on Time's list of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2022, he won another Tony Award for Best Musical as a producer for the musical A Strange Loop.
He made his directorial debut in 2022 with the romantic comedy film Anything's Possible. Porter received the Isabelle Stevenson Award at the 77th Tony Awards for his humanitarian work with the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and Entertainment Community Fund.
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Known For
6.31
Cinderella, an orphaned girl with an evil stepmother, has big dreams and with the help of ...
6.198
Two female friends with very different ideals decide to start a beauty company together. O...
6.192
Four lifelong friends set out on an unforgettable journey to see their hero Tom Brady play...
6.301
A close-knit group of gay friends share the emotional roller coster of life, relationships...
5.113
Following a breakdown and suicide attempt, an aging actor becomes involved with a much you...
5.8
Anything’s Possible is a delightfully modern Gen Z coming-of-age story that follows Kels...
5.429
A chronological look at films by, for, or about gays and lesbians in the United States, fr...
- 2023 80 for Brady as Gugu
- 2000 The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy as Taylor
- Soon Camp as Mark
- 2023 Little Richard: I Am Everything as Self
- 2023 Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love as Self - Guest
- 1996 Twisted as Shiniqua, Angel's friend
- 2023 Truth Be Told
- 2011 The Shoe
- 2023 Queen of New York
- 2023 Our Son as Gabriel
- 2022 PRIDE: To Be Seen - A Soul of a Nation Presentation as Pray Tell (archive footage)
- 2020 Together in Pride: You Are Not Alone as Self
- 2020 Pose-a-Thon for Pride as Self
- 2004 Noel as Randy
- 2024 Eric André Live Near Broadway as Self
- 1984 Raquel: Total Beauty and Fitness
- Soon Broadway: The Next Generation as Self
- 2022 Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to All! as Self
- 2022 Homeward Bound: A Grammy Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon as Self
- 2006 All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise as Himself
- 2025 Christmas Karma as The Ghost of Christmas Present
- 1997 Anastasia as Ensemble and Character Vocals (voice)
- 2006 Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema as Self
- 2000 Intern as Sebastian Niederfarb
- 2018 Every Act of Life as Self
- 2020 Like a Boss as Barrett
- 2021 Cinderella as Fabulous Godmother
- 2014 The Humbling as Prince
- 2021 Smoke, Lilies and Jade
- 2021 25 Years of Rent: Measured in Love
- 2011 Heart of Broadway: The Ensemble Behind Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS as Himself
- 2021 Where Love Lives: A Story of Dancefloor Culture & Expression as (Himself)
- 2024 Disco's Revenge as Self
- 2023 Let the Canary Sing as Self
- 2025 I Was Born This Way as Self
- 2026 The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping as Magno Stift
- 1999 Colorz of Rage as Street Performer
- 2008 Indie Sex: Teens
- 2026 Billy Preston: That's the Way God Planned It as Self
- 2019 Tamron Hall ( 3 episodes ) as Self - Guest
- 1988 LIVE with Kelly and Mark ( 2 episodes ) as Self - Guest
- 1990 Law & Order ( 1 episode ) as Greg Ellison
- 2021 That's My Jam ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest
- 2021 The Circuit ( 1 episode ) as Self - Singer/Actor
- 2021 Middlemost Post ( 1 episode ) as Recycle King (voice)
- 1996 The Daily Show ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2007 The Graham Norton Show ( 3 episodes ) as Self
- 1999 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit ( 1 episode ) as Jackie Walker
- 2015 The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2021 Gossip Girl ( 1 episode ) as Singer
- 2015 The Late Late Show with James Corden ( 3 episodes ) as Self - Guest
- 2020 Dear... ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1984 MTV Video Music Awards ( 2 episodes ) as Self
- 2021 Never Mind the Buzzcocks ( 1 episode ) as Self - Panellist
- 2014 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ( 2 episodes ) as Self
- 2005 Dancing with the Stars ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest Judge
- 2022 The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder ( 2 episodes ) as Randall (voice)
- 2014 Late Night with Seth Meyers ( 2 episodes ) as Self
- 2017 Big Mouth ( 1 episode ) as Ocean (voice)
- 2022 The Jennifer Hudson Show ( 1 episode )
- 2007 Indie Sex ( 2 episodes ) as Self
- 2019 The Kelly Clarkson Show ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2022 Sherri ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest
- 2014 Variety Studio: Actors on Actors ( 2 episodes ) as Self
- 2018 POSE ( 26 episodes ) as Pray Tell
- 1996 The Rosie O'Donnell Show ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest
- 1997 The View ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest
- 2009 Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest
- 2010 Who Do You Think You Are? ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2014 Trailblazer Honors ( 2 episodes ) as Self - Speaker
- 1997 The View ( 3 episodes ) as Self
- 2022 Who's Talking to Chris Wallace? ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2022 RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs The World ( 1 episode ) as Self - Special Guest
- 2004 Project Runway ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest Judge
- 2020 Stars in the House ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1975 Saturday Night Live ( 1 episode ) as Self - Cameo (uncredited)
- 2011 American Horror Story ( 3 episodes ) as Behold Chablis
- 2015 Celebrity Family Feud ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2021 That Damn Michael Che ( 1 episode )
- 2015 Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1953 The Oscars ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2020 Visible: Out on Television ( 5 episodes ) as Self
- 1989 The Simpsons ( 1 episode ) as Desmond (voice)
- 2019 The Twilight Zone ( 1 episode )
- 2014 Last Week Tonight with John Oliver ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2020 The Drew Barrymore Show ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2020 Equal ( 4 episodes ) as Narrator
- 2007 Keeping Up with the Kardashians ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2019 Desus & Mero ( 1 episode ) as Self - Illustrious Guest
- 2024 Live from the Other Side with Tyler Henry ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1991 Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story ( 2 episodes ) as Little Richard
- 2025 My Happy Place ( 6 episodes ) as Self
- 2019 Glow Up: Britain's Next Make-Up Star ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest Judge
- 2017 Big Mouth ( 1 episode )
- 1959 The Grammys ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1944 Golden Globe Awards ( 1 episode ) as Self - Presenter
- 1980 Newsnight ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2014 Late Night with Seth Meyers ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest
- 2003 Jimmy Kimmel Live! ( 2 episodes ) as Self - Guest
- 1975 People's Choice Awards ( 1 episode ) as Self - Presenter
- 1992 MTV Movie & TV Awards ( 1 episode ) as Self - Presenter
- 2015 The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest
- 1981 Olivier Awards ( 2 episodes ) as Self - Host
- 2014 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest
