Holland Taylor is well known to LGBT women for her roles such as Peggy Peabody on The L Word and bisexual grandmother Evelyn Harper on Two and Half Men. For the first time, the 72-year-old actress is talking about her own sexual identity publicly. In an interview with WNYC, the current star of Ripcord was asked about being “enticed by marriage” in her new committed relationship. Her response:
“Well, my relationship is with a woman, and I have not – given my generation it would not be something that would automatically occur to me. But she’s mentioned it because just from a spiritual point of view, from a heart point of view, as a – as a – as a deed that has a very rich symbolic gesture to it, it has its attraction. But it’s been a very casual conversation at this point. But it’s not – it would be a very private thing. I would not do that publicly. But as a symbol, as a pledge, as a plighting one’s troth I would see it – that it would be a wonderful thing to do.”
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The interviewer asked if Holland wanted to say her partner’s name, and she decided against it.
“Well I feel at this point in the conversation it feels kind of awkward. Now I feel very very shy of it. I’ve been really wrestling with this lately because most of my relationships have been with women and I don’t like talking about them because I don’t like talking about the politics of it all because I’m not political about it. I think we’re ridiculous in this country about it. Ridiculous. And so, it’s awkward because if I talk about relationships in my life or people that have been in my life, or somebody I’ve been seeing for a while or this, that and the other thing, I’d like to be able to just say that, without having to stop and say, ‘so have you come out?’ No, I haven’t come out because I am out. I live out.”
For the sake of her privacy, we won’t print it here, but it isn’t hard to do a Google and find out who Holland is connected with. (“There’s a very big age difference between us which I’m sure shocks a lot of people, and it startles me,” Holland said. “But you know, it’s not a statement original to me – I’ve heard it as a joke once in my past, but as they say, “If she dies, she dies.”)
Holland has been acting on the stage and screen since the 1960s and is a recognizable face to several generations. Her openness about having relationships with women is appreciated, as we live in a time where it’s assumed public figures are either closeted or straight if they haven’t said otherwise in a public fashion. It’s become a much less fantastical way to come out as of late, with people like Kristen Stewart, Cara Delevingne and now Holland choosing to discuss their private life when and how they want without it being a press release. There’s no right way to come out, but the conversational approach is somewhat of a normalizer-the focus doesn’t become all about sensationalizing the person’s sexuality. Fans should ultimately be thrilled that one of their favorite actresses is in a happy committed relationship.
“I’m finally wised up to the fact that I haven’t got that much longer and I would like to have a more fulsome experience of relationships in life than I have,” Holland told WNYC. “And I’m lucky I have the opportunity to. Very lucky I have the opportunity to.”
