Some may have grown  up watching her on Saturday nights as Barbara Weston on Empty Nest and others in her Emmy-Award winning performance as Buddy Lawrence in “Family.”  Now Kristy McNichol follows in the footsteps of Clay Aiken and Lance Bass by coming out of the closet  in People Magazine.  McNichol’s publicist Jeff Ballard told People that the actress “is very sad about kids being bullied and hopes that coming out can help other kids who need support.  She would like to help others who feel different.” 

Kristy McNichol decided to share the above photo of her and partner Martie Allen, whom McNichol has lived with for over two decades, because “she is approaching 50″ and wants to be “open about who I am.”  McNichol has been out of the television spotlight since the mid-nineties to cope with her mental health issues, which included several emotional breakdowns due to her former pressure of being a child star.   Ballard shared with People McNichol  now spends her time doing “tennis, yoga, travel, and raising her miniature dachshunds.”  He also adds she is “very happy and healthy, and enjoys living a very private life.”

McNichol is not the only celebrity to come out due to children being bullied.  Last October Heroes and American Horror Story star Zachary Quinto shared the reason he came out was because he was touched by Jamey Rodemeyer’s story.    Rodemeyer took is own life last September in Buffalo, NY after years of being tormented for being gay.  Quinto wrote  on his on blog  that  ”in light of jamey’s death – it became clear to me in an instant that living a gay life without publicly acknowledging it – is simply not enough to make any significant contribution to the immense work that lies ahead on the road to complete equality.”