American actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein was BOTD in 1952. Born in Brooklyn, New York City, he studied at the High School of Art and Design and the Pratt Institute. After graduating, he pursued a showbiz career, performing in drag routines in Greenwich Village and appearing in Andy Warhol‘s experimental play Pork. He is best known for writing and starring in Torch Song Trilogy, a trilogy of plays about a gay Jewish drag queen looking for life and love in New York City. Premiering off-Broadway between 1978 and 1979 in three parts – International Stud, Fugue in a Nursery and Widows and Children First! – Fierstein combined them into a four-hour long piece in 1981. Transferring to Broadway in 1982, it was praised for its positive and heartfelt depiction of gay life, winning Tony Awards for Best Play and Best Actor. A London production opened in 1985, starring Antony Sher, followed by a 1988 film version starring Fierstein and Anne Bancroft. He had further success adapting the 1983 musical version of La Cage aux Folles, winning him a Tony Award, and narrated the Oscar-winning documentary The Times of Harvey Milk. In 1988, he collaborated with Peter Allen on the musical Legs Diamond, which was a critical and commercial flop, though their songs were later used in the musical biopic The Boy from Oz. Beloved for his dry comic timing and gravelly bass voice, Fierstein made vivid appearances in TV sitcoms Cheers and The Simpsons and the film Mrs Doubtfire. He returned to Broadway in 2002 to play Edna Turnblad in the musical Hairspray, winning another Tony Award, and appeared in the 2011 revival of La Cage aux Folles. In 2013, he collaborated with Cyndi Lauper on the musical Kinky Boots, an adaptation of the 2005 film about a shoe factory owner who partners with a drag queen to save his business. A critical and commercial smash, it won six Tony Awards including best musical, making a star of its lead actor Billy Porter. Fierstein has identified variously as gay and non-binary. His memoir I Was Better Last Night was published in 2022. He received a Lifetime Achievement honour at the 2025 Tony Awards, in recognition of his contribution to American theatre. Fierstein lives in New York. His current relationship status is unknown.