Canadian singer-songwriter Kathryn Dawn Lang, better known by her stage name k.d. lang, was BOTD in 1961. Born and raised in Alberta, she became obsessed with country singer Patsy Kline as a teenager, forming the tribute band The Reclines in 1983. Developing a style she referred to as “cowboy punk”, she released solo albums Angel with a Lariat and Shadowlands in the late 1980s. She rose to wider international attention after duetting with Roy Orbison of his song Crying, winning a Grammy Award. Her 1992 album Ingenue, a gorgeous collection of modern torch songs including Constant Craving and Miss Chatelaine, was an international success, winning an Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance. Lang came out as a lesbian later that year, confirming that Ingenue had been inspired by her unrequited love for a married woman. In 1993, she was photographed for the cover of Vanity Fair by Herb Ritts, dressed in a man’s suit and being shaved by an on-heat Cindy Crawford, elevating her to lesbian sainthood. Her later albums All You Can Eat, Drag and Invincible Summer were moderately successful, though failed to reach the same popularity as Ingenue, though she received acclaim for her duet Calling All Angels, recorded with Jane Siberry and featured on the soundtrack of Wim Wenders’ film Until the End of the World. Her other musical projects included composing the soundtrack to Gus Van Sant’s lesbian cowgirl romp Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, performing the theme song for the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, and a soulful cover of Cole Porter’s song So In Love on the groundbreaking 1990 Red Hot + Blue album. A long-term advocate for LGBTQ rights, her high-profile stance on vegetarianism (including a “Meat Stinks” campaign in the 1990s) also raised controversy. Like most lesbians in the 1990s, Lang dated socialite and nightclub owner Ingrid Casares. In 2009, she entered into a domestic partnership with long-term girlfriend Jamie Price, separating two years later. Now semi-retired from performing, she is currently reported to be in a relationship.