Wilson Cruz

Wilson Cruz is an actor who made history in 1994 as Rickie Vasquez on My So-Called Life (ABC) — one of the first openly gay teenage characters on prime-time network television. Cruz came out publicly at the same time, making him one of the youngest openly gay actors in mainstream American TV at the time. Despite fears that the role would permanently typecast or harm his career, he went on to play Angel in Rent (stage and film), star in Noah's Arc (Logo, 2005–2006), and join Star Trek: Discovery (2017–) as Dr. Hugh Culber, half of one of the first gay couples in the Trek universe. He has served on GLAAD's board for years and has spent decades speaking to LGBTQ+ youth about acceptance and representation. He is widely considered one of the most important figures in the history of queer television.