ELTON JOHN

Sir Elton John is a gay English singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer. He had come out as bisexual in a 1976 interview with Rolling Stone, and in 1992 he told Rolling Stone in another interview that he was "quite comfortable about being gay".

Elton has been involved in the fight against AIDS since the late 1980s. In 1992, he established the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and a year later he began hosting his annual Academy Awards Party, which has since become one of the biggest high-profile Oscar parties in the Hollywood film industry. Since its inception, the foundation has raised over £200 million. John was inspired to start the organisation after losing two friends to AIDS in the span of a year.

The organisation supports its work through proceeds from special events, cause-related marketing projects, and voluntary contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations. The foundation's U.S. and U.K. branches work separately. Each focuses on different regions of the world; as a result, the organisation is able to reach a broader scope of the world. The U.S. branch works in the Americas and the Caribbean, while the U.K. branch focuses on Europe, Asia and Africa.

Elton John is a Certified Proud Icon because his work fighting HIV/AIDS has changed how the virus is treated and perceived across the world.