Is Woody Harrelson Gay? On Rumors About His Sexuality

Woody Harrelson is a 61-year-old American actor and playwright whose versatility has earned him various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. That’s aside from three Academy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards nominations.

This Texas-born actor had it tough early in life. His father, Charles Voyde Harrelson, was a hitman who was convicted of assassinating federal judge John H. Wood Jr., the first federal judge to be assassinated in the 20th century.

With his father getting a life sentence, Harrelson grew up in a poor household. His mother was raising him and his two brothers on her own. One of his brothers, Brett Harrelson, also became an actor.

Woody Harrelson gained fame by becoming part of the cast of the NBC sitcom “Cheers” (1982 – 1993), for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

His most notable roles include “The People vs. Larry Flynt” (1996) — where he received an Academy Award Nomination for Best Actor — “The Messenger” (2009), and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” (2017) – where he received an Academy Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

But alongside the actor’s success, persistent rumors about his sexuality have also emerged. The question remains: Is Woody Harrelson gay? Let’s delve deeper into the actor’s life to find the answer.

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Woody Harrelson’s Relationships: On Marriage and Controversies

Woody Harrelson has been with the same woman for over three decades already. He met his wife, Laura Louie, in 1987 at a media workshop organized by UCLA. He recalled how they met and shared it in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

At some point, I was like, ‘Hey, does anybody here have secretarial skills? ‘Cause I could really use an assistant.’ And this young woman, Laura Louie, raised her hand. I asked her to come down ’cause she was up in the stands. So she came down, and I said, ‘We’ll meet tomorrow. Come out to my place in Marina del Rey.'”
Harrelson recalled

We had one of the greatest conversations I ever had, so she became my assistant. She was so great that every other person in Cheers got an assistant after that.”
he added

They, however, didn’t start dating until three years later.

It was one of those things I wouldn’t admit to myself: I didn’t want to be attracted to my amazing assistant.”
Harrelson said

The couple had three daughters — Deni Montana Harrelson, 30, Zoe Giordano Harrelson, 26, and Makani Ravello Harrelson, 16. They only got married in 2018, after two decades of being together, in an intimate ceremony in Hawaii attended by only friends and family.

I never believed in the concept of [marriage]. I just never believed that it made any sense, this long-term monogamy thing that humans do. I was just incapable of long-term relationships. I was with whoever would have me. Then I met my wife.”
Harrelson told The Hollywood Reporter

Laura Louie stood by his side all through those years, even after he was involved in several controversies. In 2002, the actor was photographed with three other women in bed. Then, a few days later, he was arrested for getting into a fight with a cab driver.

In a 2017 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actor described it as “one of the worst nights of my life.” He also shared how his wife, Laura, reacted and supported him all throughout those controversies.

Laura — this really gives you a sense of the depth of her compassion — what she said to me after finding out was, ‘That must be really hard for you, to have this s— exposed.’ She just said that.”
the actor recalled

Now that doesn’t mean she wasn’t upset. How did I apologize? You know, just your standard Texan grovel. But she forgave me, and we’re still together.”
he added

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Woody Harrelson’s Dating History

Before Woody Harrelson married his current wife and the mother of his three children, Laura Louie, he was first married to Nancy Simon. She’s the daughter of the late screenwriter, author, and playwright Neil Simon, and dancer Joan Baim. What they had was a whirlwind romance. A marriage that should have been annulled a day after.

The two met in June 1985. They dated for a short while before they decided to tie the knot sometime in the same year in Tijuana, Mexico. The marriage wasn’t supposed to last longer than 24 hours as they tried to have it annulled the next day. But they couldn’t because the divorce parlor was closed when they returned the next day. They had to wait for 10 months to get officially divorced.

Neither Harrelson nor Simon revealed the reason why they decided to get married and planned to have it annulled the very next day.

Harrelson also briefly dated actress Penelope Ann Miller in 1985. This was before he got married to Nancy Simon.

In 1986, the actor was in a relationship with actress Carol Kane. They dated from Aug 1986 to Apr 1988. Harrelson then had a brief romance with actress Brooke Shields in 1988. The actor also went out with actress Moon Unit Zappa in 1989. That was before he got romantically linked with another actress, Ally Sheedy, in the same year. In 1991, the actor was also rumored to have dated actress Glenn Close, who is 14 years his senior.

Woody Harrelson’s Sexuality

In the film “The Walker” (2007), Woody Harrelson played the role of Carter Page III. The plot revolves around Harrelson’s character who is gay. Fans were surprised at how convincing his performance was. His acting was flawless and effortless.

The actor also played Tommy Bollinger in the film “Friends with Benefits” (2011), alongside Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis. Harrelson’s character in the movie is friendly, funny, and openly gay. And like the previous roles he played, his acting was impressive. That’s already expected given how good of an actor he was. However, some fans see it as an opportunity to question his sexuality.