Demi Lovato is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who rose to fame as a Disney Channel star in Camp Rock. She’s a Grammy-nominated pop singer and one of the most outspoken LGBTQ figures in contemporary music.
Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1992 and raised in Dallas, Texas, Lovato began performing as a child and landed a role on Barney & Friends at age 10. After appearances on Prison Break and Just Jordan, she joined the Disney Channel, starring in As the Bell Rings. But she became known for her 2008 role as Mitchie Torres in Camp Rock, where she starred alongside the Jonas Brothers. The movie’s soundtrack introduced her debut single, “This Is Me,” a duet with Joe Jonas. Camp Rock’s success launched Lovato’s music career, with her debut album, Don’t Forget, dropping that same year and debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
Lovato quickly established herself as more than a Disney star. Her second album, Here We Go Again, became her first No. 1 album in the US, while subsequent releases including Unbroken, Demi, Confident, and Tell Me You Love Me produced some of her biggest hits, including “Skyscraper,” “Heart Attack,” and “Sorry Not Sorry.” She also became a judge on The X Factor, appeared on Glee and Will & Grace, and continued acting in films including Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga and Tow. With more than 30 million records sold worldwide and numerous awards and nominations, Lovato has built a career that has continued to evolve.
That evolution has been particularly visible in her music. After returning from a period away from the spotlight, Lovato released Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over in 2021, followed by the rock-influenced Holy Fvck (2022) and the rock reimaginings of her earlier hits on Revamped. Her ninth studio album, It’s Not That Deep, released in 2025, marked another shift in sound, drawing heavily from dance-pop and club music. Lovato has described queer spaces as an important part of this new era, telling Paper Magazine that she loves dancing in queer spaces because they feel safer and allow her to live authentically:
Being queer myself, having people around me that make me feel safe to be myself is something I always longed for as a kid in Texas.
Lovato’s relationship with her sexuality has been an evolving one. She has described her sexuality as fluid and has said that she first began recognizing her attraction to women when she was young. In a conversation with Queer Eye‘s Tan France for Facebook Watch’s Coming Out 2020, Lovato recalled watching Cruel Intentions as a teenager and seeing the famous kiss between Sarah Michelle Gellar and Selma Blair.
I was just like, ‘Oh, wait a minute, I really like that!’
She also revealed that she had been writing songs about girls long before she was publicly open about her sexuality, explaining that “music was my safe space.” Lovato said she came out to her friends and older sister when she was 17, before eventually telling her parents and the public.
For years, Lovato didn’t want to use a definitive label for her sexuality, saying that she did not feel she needed one and later describing it as “fluid.” In 2020, she publicly identified as queer, telling Tan France, “I identify as queer, and I am here.” The following year, she described herself as pansexual and sexually fluid, saying she had “fully embraced” being queer. Although Lovato’s preferred terminology has evolved, her attraction to people of more than one gender and her identification with queer and pansexual identities place her firmly under the bi umbrella.
Her openness about sexuality has also been intertwined with her exploration of gender. In 2021, Lovato publicly came out as non-binary and began using they/them pronouns, explaining that the change followed “a lot of healing & self-reflective work.” In 2022, she began using she/her alongside they/them, explaining that she had started feeling more feminine. Lovato has since said that she is comfortable being referred to with she/her pronouns. In an interview with GQ Spain, she explained that constantly having to educate people about non-binary identities had become exhausting, but that this experience also reinforced for her the importance of continuing to speak about gender diversity. She also talked about how meaningful it is to hear from people who tell her that she inspired them or helped them understand themselves.
There are queer couples who have gotten engaged at my concerts… and that is truly special.
Lovato has used her platform to advocate for LGBTQ people throughout her career. In 2016, she canceled a concert in North Carolina in protest of legislation restricting transgender people’s access to bathrooms, and she has regularly participated in Pride events and supported LGBTQ organizations. Her 2013 music video for “Really Don’t Care,” filmed at the Los Angeles Pride parade, became an especially visible celebration of queer love and acceptance. She has also spoken openly about the religious shame she experienced growing up in Texas and how finding queer spaces later in life gave her the freedom to be herself.
From a child star navigating the pressures of the entertainment industry to an internationally recognized singer who openly embraces her queerness, Lovato’s story reflects the evolving ways people can understand and express their identities and has helped countless fans feel less alone and more comfortable living authentically.