![Janet Jackson](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/Janet_Jackson.jpg/100px-Janet_Jackson.jpg)
Janet Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter and actress, who is considered to be a gay icon. Jackson garnered a substantial gay following during the 1990s as she gained prominence in popular music. Recognized as a long-term ally of the LGBT community, Jackson received the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Music Album for her Grammy Award-winning sixth studio album The Velvet Rope (1997), which spoke out against homophobia and embraced same-sex love.