Kelly McGillis Riding Highway to the Lady Zone

Circumventing the typical self-outing route of a People magazine cover, an appearance on Ellen (though that may be forthcoming), a Grand Marshal appointment to the West Hollywood Gay Pride parade, and, finally, a ten-minute stand-up slot opening the True Colors Tour, '80s screen siren Kelly McGillis has quietly and coolly admitted to a video blogger at shewired.com that she's ready to live openly as a lesbian.

She tells them:

"I'm done with the man thing. I did that, I need to move on in life. That's another part of being true to yourself... that's been a challenge for me personally.

I think that was an ongoing process from the time I was about 12. I had a lot of things happened that convinced me that God was punishing me for being gay. That was a hard process.

Life is a freaking journey, and it's about growing and changing, and coming to terms with who and what you are, and loving who and what you are."

Well, you know what they say -- it's not how you get there, it's that you got there. Kicked back in Key West with her interviewer, the 51-year-old McGillis seems entirely at peace with herself, her sexual preference, and the hair-frizzing effects of Southern Floridian humidity.

For old time's sake, however, I thought I'd revisit one of her most iconic screen moments: the Top Gun lovemaking scene. It always had a bit of an Exodus International instructional video feel to it to me, and now I suppose I at least know half the reason why.

· Kelly McGillis Says She's Gay on SheWired's 'Girl Rock' [shewired.com]