Christopher Walken Is Bisexual?! And 22 Other Celebrities You Didn’t Know Were Bi-Cons

It’s Bisexual Awareness Week, and rest assured, we are aware. The beauty of bisexuality is that there are as many ways to be bi as there are bi people in the world, as proved by pretty much every character in the film Atlantis: The Lost Empire. But since the characters in that film are, in fact, animated and not actual people, we are taking this time to highlight some living breathing bi-cons who may have sparked bisexual awakenings just as powerful as those brought on by a beloved Disney movie.

For a while, bisexuality was defined as an attraction to both men and women, but bi activists have progressed the definition to a more expansive one: Today, bisexuality serves as an umbrella term that sometimes includes pansexual and sexually fluid people, and is understood as a sexual attraction toward more than one gender (often known as bi+). Visibility is such a valued aspect of the bisexual community, and many bisexual celebs, especially recently, are loudly and proudly claiming that term. But when conceived as a broader umbrella term, the bisexual family could also include a wide swath of celebrities — from scientists to Survivor contestants to Academy Award winners — who have opened up about their personal lives over the years.

Because we bisexuals are nothing if not thoughtful and inclusive, we’ll give an honorable mention to celebs who at one point identified as bisexual, but later threw in the purple-pink-blue towel. Jessi J (being bi was “a phase”), Nicki Minaj (“Used to be bi, but now I’m just hetero”), and David Bowie (who said claiming bisexuality was the “biggest mistake [he] ever made”). Bi-cons no more, but they live on in our history.

The celebrities on this list, even if they’re not hoisting the bi flag over their heads at all times, have not to our knowledge disavowed their past comments — and honestly, being quietly confidently bi+ is kind of a flex. Here, 23 bisexual icons you maybe didn’t know were bi.