Name: Gareth Thomas

Born: 5th July 1974, Bridgend, Wales

In a nutshell:  One of the world’s only top-flight sports stars to publicly acknowledge his homosexuality.  Gareth Thomas has enjoyed a lengthy and successful professional rugby career at local, national and international level.  He was the first Welshman to achieve 100 international caps and captained his country in 2007.  He retired from the sport in 2011.

Married briefly to his teenage sweetheart, the couple divorced in 2007 after 6 years together.  Thomas came out in an interview in 2009 and now divides his time between his own PR company and charity work for UK children’s charity, Childline.  In an interview given shortly after his announcement, Thomas said “I don't know if my life is going to be easier because I'm out, but if it helps someone else, if it makes one young lad pick up the phone to ChildLine, then it will have been worth it”

Need to know:  Oscar-winner Mickey Rourke is currently developing a film of Thomas’ life story.

More: https://www.facebook.com/GarethThomasOfficial