Narelda Jacobs, Penny Wong inspire in Australia

The Australian gay and lesbian lifestyle website Same Same, has come up with a list of the 25 most influential gay and lesbian Australians, and two of the inspiring individuals on the list happen to be women of color!

Narelda Jacobs is the first Aboriginal openly gay newsreader in Western Australia. A single mother at the age of 18, Narelda has been successful in managing both her family life and her media career. This year she became the lead news anchor for Ten News in Perth.

Malaysian born Penny Wong arrived in Australia as a child in 1977 and is the first openly lesbian member of Australian parliament, as well as its first Asian-born female, and Australia’s first Minister for Climate Change and Water.

The Same Same 25 list "was created to bring together a group of the most inspirational, aspirational and influential gays and lesbians in Australia, shining a spotlight on people and issues that should be talked about and debated, while creating the next generation of gay and lesbian role models." The list also includes Olympic gold medalist diver Matthew Mitcham, singer/songwriter/producer Sam Sparro, and Portia de Rossi, actress and wife of Ellen DeGeneres.

Congrats to all!

See the full list here.