Stephanie Beatriz Kept Quiet About Her Bisexuality Because She Feared It Would 'Affect' Her Career
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"It did, and probably does," the 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' star said of why she chose to conceal her bisexuality
Stephanie Beatriz is beyond proud of who she is — but that pride and confidence weren't always the present, according to the actress.
While attending the Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday, the Brooklyn Nine-Nine star, 42, admitted she chose to keep her bisexuality "hidden for a really long time" out of fear it would cause her career and her relationships to suffer.
“I thought, 'Oh it may affect my career, it might have an effect on some of my relationships," she toldPage Six. “And it did, and probably does.”
Beatriz — who is currently married to Brad Hoss and mom to 1-year-old daughter, Rosaline — ultimately had a change of heart in 2016 when she publicly came out as bisexual.
Though she acknowledged that "no one really has to come out," the actress said it was important to her to own her identity on a wider scale.
“I think as a bisexual woman who is currently married to a man, what was important to me was that the world knew that I wanted to be open about who I was,” she told Page Six.
Stephanie Beatriz
And today, Beatriz is all about being open and “proud” of her identity, especially amid Pride Month.
“[And] saying to the world, ‘This is me, all of me. Take it or leave it, baby,’” she said. “And, ‘I’m here, sharing the same space as you. So what’s up.’”
The Encanto star came out publicly on Twitter in 2016, following suit to Aubrey Plaza in her Advocate interview. At the time, she re-tweeted one of Plaza’s quotes that read, “I fall in love with girls and guys, I can’t help it,” with the caption, “Yup.”
In 2018, Beatriz wrote extensively about her bisexuality — and how it remains unchanged by her decision to marry a man — in a candid essay for GQ. In the piece, titled "Stephanie Beatriz Is Bi and Proud as Hell," she said of Hoss: "I’m choosing to get married because this particular person brings out the best in me. This person happens to be a man. I’m still bi."
She also described the struggles that people who identify as bisexual face both outside and within the LGBTQ community. “People’s sexuality is often defined by who we’re partnered with at any given moment, which can be a frustrating limitation for me,” she noted.
Since then, she’s been an outspoken advocate for bisexual recognition throughout the LGBTQ+ communities and in the media, including through her Brooklyn Nine-Nine character, detective Rosa Diaz. In the 99th and 100th episodes of the drama series, which ran from 2013 to 2021, Diaz came out to her friends, co-workers, and family.
Producers pitched the idea to Beatriz after her public announcement on Twitter. “I was like, ‘Absolutely. Yes. I’m so excited! Yes! Yes! Yes!’” the actress said of the proposal in a 2018 interview with Vulture.
She wrote in her GQ essay about the opportunity to use her character to dispel common misconceptions about bisexuality. “It isn’t something you can often ‘read’ on a person, and because of that bi people sometimes feel like an invisible part of the LGBTQIA community,” she said.
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"Now I have a small platform of visibility, because I’m on a fun and (if I do say so myself) damn good television show. I’ve chosen to use that platform to speak openly about my bi-ness, because of other people who may feel invisible and unsure of whether or not to come out as bisexual," she added.
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