Melissa Etheridge

.Who is Melissa Etheridge?

 

Melissa Etheridge is a lesbian rock-n-roll singer who grew up in Kansas. She moved to Los Angeles where she made her big break in 1988 with her first album released on Island Records. She came out in 1993 at Bill Clinton's inauguration. Melissa Etheridge was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2004 at age 43.

Who is Tammy Lynn Michaels?

Tammy Lynn Michaels is an actress who starred in the TV show Popular from 1999-2001. Tammy has also appeared on The L Word, Committed and the short movie D.E.B.S..

How did they meet?

Shortly after the show Popular was canceled, Tammy Lynn Michaels decided to come out of the closet. She was at a bar and Melissa Etheridge was there. Friends dared her to approach Melissa and she did.

Past Loves

Melissa is not Tammy's first female lover, but she has not named who else she was with. Melissa Etheridge was with film director Julie Cypher for ten years. They had two children Bailey and Beckett. The sperm donor was David Crosby.

Marriage

Melissa proposed to Tammy and they were wed September 22, 2003 in Los Angeles to celebrate California's historic domestic partnership ruling.

A Second Marriage?

Melissa announced that she and Tammy would be getting married again. (Legally this time.) Gay marriage is now legal in California. "We have four children and we're trying to find the right time," Melissa said in an interview with Extra. The two plan to wed before Californians vote on the status of gay marriage.

Children

In addition to Bailey and Beckett, who Melissa and Tammy share custody with Julie Cypher, they have two other children. On October 17, 2006 Tammy gave birth to twins: a girl named Johnnie Rose and a boy named Miller Steven.

Melissa Etheridge & Tammy Lynn Michaels Love Quotes

On Melissa's proposal Tammy said, "I was life-stoppingly shocked... We cried! Two girls proposing, we sobbed!"

In an interview with The Advocate, Melissa Etheridge talked of Tammy's support during her chemo. "I couldn't have done it without her. She was the best, most loving, completely dedicated... I lived for weeks in our bedroom, and she knew the days she couldn't make any noise because it's so painful that noise hurts. But even when she had to be completely still, when she couldn't watch television, even tap the keys on a computer - she would just sit and read and turn the pages quietly, just to be in the same room with me. And now there's nothing in the world that can come between her and I."