British actor John Barrowman, singer Beth Ditto, actress Meredith Baxter and Olympic diver Greg Louganis were among the gay celebrities who married in 2013.

Barrowman, who is best known for playing Captain Jack Harkness on the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who and Torchwood, married longtime partner Scott Gill in California.

Shortly after their impromptu marriage, Barrowman got on his soapbox to deliver an epic speech on gay rights.

“Other people say, 'Well, it's a choice.' No, it's not a choice. I live this, I know a lot of you live it. And I didn't decide one morning to get up and go, 'I'm going to have coffee, eggs, bacon and oh, I'm going to be gay.' It doesn't work that way,” Barrowman told a Dragon Con audience.

A pair of high-profile weddings helped kick off a flurry of marriages in California following the fall of Proposition 8. Paul Katami and Jeff Zarillo and Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, plaintiffs in the case, married after nearly 5 years of litigation which culminated on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Beth Ditto, the lead singer for the three-piece indie rock band Gossip, and her longtime girlfriend Kristin Ogata exchanged vows in July on the island of Maui in Hawaii. Theirs was a civil union – a marriage law in Hawaii did not take effect until December.

“I love the idea of being partnered forever. I love my girlfriend, we've been best friends since I was 18. There's not a thing we haven't been through except marriage,” Ditto told The Guardian last year.

Modern Family co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson married Justin Mikita in New York over the summer. The Fabulous Beekman Boys, Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell, also made it official. Earlier this month, actress Meredith Baxter and Nancy Locke exchanged vows in California. Baxter, who is best known for playing Elyse Keaton on the NBC sitcom Family Ties, announced she's gay during a 2009 Today Show appearance.

Olympic diver Greg Louganis also took the plunge in 2013, marrying lawyer Johnny Chaillot in California.

Other openly gay public figures who married in 2013 include Glee's Dot-Marie Jones, playwright Larry Kramer, radio host Michelangelo Signorile, marriage equality advocate Genora Dancel, boxer Orlando Cruz, U.S. Ambassador to Australia John Berry and actor John Nabors.

Engaged to marry next year are singer Lance Bass and designer Nate Berkus.