William Ellis “Billy” Porter II is a Broadway performer, singer, and novelist most known for his runway fashion. Porter was born on September 21, 1969, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to William E. Porter and Cloerinda Jean Johnson Porter Ford. At the age of sixteen, he announced to his parents that he was gay. In Pittsburgh, he first attended Reizenstein Middle School and then Taylor Allderice High School.
Porter discovered his passion for theatrical singing and performing during the summers of 1985 through 1987, when he performed daily at Kennywood Park in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, with the ensemble Flash. He then graduated from Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts High School in 1987. Porter earned a B.F.A. from Carnegie Mellon University in 1991.
After graduating, Porter began his Broadway career as a member of the ensemble in the show Miss Saigon. In 1992, he appeared as a vocalist on the CBS network show Star Search, where he won first place and $100,000. He appeared in the Broadway revival of Grease in 1994.
Porter made three stage appearances in 1995: The Merchant of Venice, Songs for a New World, and Smokey Joe’s Cafe. He made his film debut in the 1996 film Twisted, and his self-titled debut album, Billy Porter, was released on A&M Records in 1997. In the animated picture Anastasia, he gave character voices and sang in the ensemble.
Porter made her television debut in 1998 on the NBC daytime soap opera Another World, and she has since appeared in a number of other shows. He has appeared in over twenty-two Broadway and off-Broadway productions, including Dreamgirls (2004). In 2005, he developed and performed in Ghetto Superstar, his one-man autobiographical play, and Sh-K-Boom Records released his second studio album, At the Corner of Broadway.
He is well known for playing Lola in Kinky Boots (2013-2015). Billy’s Back on Broadway, his third album, was released by Concord Records in 2014. Bill Porter Presents the Soul of Richard Rodgers, his fourth album, was released in 2017 on the Sony Masterworks label.
Porter has become a fashion star as an artist, having produced 150 red carpet ensembles either alone or with stylist Sam Ratelle. He has received multiple honors, including a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical (2013) for his performance in Kinky Boots and a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album (2014).
He also received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his part in the multi-award winning LGBTQ+ show Pose on the FX network. Porter made history in September 2021 as the Fabulous Godmother in an Amazon Prime Video adaptation of Cinderella.
Porter and Adam Smith met in 2009 and married on January 14, 2017. Porter announced in May 2021 that he was diagnosed with HIV in June 2007. He also disclosed that he had been in psychotherapy for twenty-five years and that he was “rising from his humiliation.” Billy Porter Unprotected, a Memoir was released in October 2021.