Biography
Billy Porter is a singer and actor from America whose performance as Lola in Kinky Boots earned him the 2013 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. In order to face toxic masculinity, he attributes the role to “cracking open” his feminine side. Porter also received the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical for the role.
Age
He is 54 years old as of 21 September 2023. He was born in 1969 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. His real name is William Ellis Porter II.
Family – Education
The parents of Porter, William Ellis Porter and Cloerinda Jean Johnson Porter Ford, were Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, natives. She is Mary Martha E. Ford, his sister. He was raised in a “very religious” Pentecostal home and has spoken out about being sexually molested by his stepfather when he was seven and twelve years old. Prior to earning his diplomas from Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts School and Allderdice High School in 1987, he attended Reizenstein Middle School. In 1991, he obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama from Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Fine Arts. He also obtained a certification from UCLA’s Professional Program in Screenwriting, which is at the graduate level.
Partner
Porter came out as gay “in the middle of the AIDS crisis” at the age of sixteen. On January 14, 2017, he wed Adam Smith, whom he had first met in 2009. The two got engaged on December 29, 2016, and were married two weeks later because he was determined to tie the knot “while Obama was still president and before January 20th, 2017”. It was revealed that Porter and Smith had split up in July 2023.
Net Worth
He has an estimated net worth of $2 million.
Pose
In the American drama television series Pose, he portrayed Prayerful “Pray” Tell, the emcee of the balls in New York, a fashion designer, and a mentor to community members, particularly the members of the House of Evangelista. Pray and Ricky begin dating later on in the show.
“The juxtaposition of several segments of life and society in New York City at that time” is the focus of Pose, which is set in 1987–1998. It explores the emergence of the yuppie milieu, HIV, the world of African-American and Latino ball culture, and the downtown social and literary scene.
Following a generally positive reaction, the first season was nominated for multiple awards, including the Golden Globes for Best Television Series – Drama and Best Actor – Television Series Drama for Billy Porter. As the first out homosexual Black male to be nominated for and win in an Emmy lead acting category, Porter won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2019. At the same ceremony, the series received a nomination for Outstanding Drama Series.
Fashion
Over time, he has incorporated elements of geek chic, Abercrombie and Fitch, and vintage into his style. Porter, who frequently collaborates on red carpet outfits with stylists like Sam Ratelle and Ty Hunter, is well-known for his political use of fashion. He was well-known for donning a pink cloak and an embroidered suit at the 2019 Golden Globes, as well as a Gucci ensemble at the Met Gala. At the 91st Academy Awards, he also donned a Christian Siriano velvet gown and a fitting tuxedo jacket.
Porter participated in New York Fashion Week: Mens in 2019 as an official Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) ambassador. He appeared in an all-white costume at the Golden Globes, a floor-length pink poncho gown at the AFI Awards, and a “Sun God” ensemble at the 2019 Met Gala. He received a wax figure at Madame Tussauds New York in June 2023 as a token of appreciation.
Career
In 1992, Billy Doorman showed up on the American ability show Star Search and won $100,000. He played High schooler Holy messenger in the 1994 Broadway restoration of Oil and has showed up in different shows, including Topdog/Longshot at City Theater (2004), Jesus Christ Genius and Beauty queens at Pittsburgh Metro Light Drama (2004), and the melody cycles Fantasies and Psalms and Tunes for Another World (Off-Broadway, 1995).
Doorman composed and acted in his one-individual personal show, Ghetto Whiz (The Man That I Am) at Joe’s Bar in New York City in February and Walk 2005. He was named for “Extraordinary New York Theater: Broadway and Off Broadway Grant” at the seventeenth GLAAD Media Grants. In September 2010, he showed up as Belize in Mark Theater Organization’s twentieth Commemoration creation of Tony Kushner’s Holy messengers in America.
Doorman started the job of “Lola” in Unusual Boots on Broadway in 2013, winning both the 2013 Show Work area Grant for Exceptional Entertainer in a Melodic and Tony Grant for Best Entertainer in a Melodic for this job. He additionally showed up in many movies, for example, Seth Michael Donsky’s Wound (1997) and The RuPaul Show.
Doorman has had a melodic vocation with three independent collections delivered, Billy Watchman Presents the Spirit of Richard Rodgers in April 2017. The collection includes new, heartfelt takes on exemplary Richard Rodgers tunes and incorporates performances and two part harmonies from a few craftsmen, including Tony and Grammy Grant champs Cynthia Erivo, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Leslie Odom Jr., Patina Mill operator, Pentatonix, India Arie and Ledisi, Brandon Victor Dixon, Joshua Henry, and Christopher Jackson.
Doorman repeated the job of Lola in Unusual Boots in September 2017, where he did a 15-week run on Broadway. In 2018, he featured in the FX show Posture in the job of Supplicate Tell and procured its reestablishment for a third season in the wake of circulating only one episode from the subsequent season. In 2019, he was designated for a Brilliant Globe Grant and won the Early evening Emmy Grant for Exceptional Lead Entertainer in a Show Series for Posture, turning into the principal transparently gay person of color to be selected and win in any lead acting class at the Early evening Emmys.
Doorman performed “Everything being equal” with Stephen Stills during the 2020 Vote based Public Show. His journal, Unprotected, was delivered in 2021, and he was remembered for the book 50 Critical Figures in Strange US Theater in 2022.
Movies
♦ 2023 – 80 for Brady
♦ 2023 – Our Son
♦ 2022 – Anything’s Possible
♦ 2021 – Cinderella
♦ 2020 – Like a Boss
♦ 2014 – The Humbling
♦ 2004 – Noel
♦ 2000 – The Intern
♦ 2000 – The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy
♦ 1997 – Anastasia
♦ 1996 – Twisted
♦ 1996 – The First Wives Club
TV Shows
♦ 2023 – Black + Iconic
♦ 2023 – Dancing with the Stars
♦ 2022–23 – The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder
♦ 2021–22 – Fairfax
♦ 2021 – That Damn Michael Che
♦ 2021 – Middlemost Post
♦ 2021 – Gossip Girl
♦ 2020 – The Simpsons
♦ 2020 – The Twilight Zone
♦ 2020 – Saturday Night Seder
♦ 2019–2023 – Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve
♦ 2019 – Saturday Night Live
♦ 2018–21 – Pose