Frances "Franco" Stevens

At 20, Frances "Franco" Stevens discovered she was a lesbian, was cast out by her family, and became homeless. At 22, she launched what became the best-selling lesbian magazine in the world. Deneuve magazine (later Curve) arrived in a brown wrapper every month bringing news and images of strong, diverse lesbians, connecting the lesbian community to each other and freeing readers to reach for the lives they dreamed of. As the only lifestyle magazine for and about lesbians, Stevens publication made LGBTQ+ women more visible to one another and, crucially, to the general public as well.

Stevens story was recently portrayed in the documentary film AHEAD OF THE CURVE, which highlights the critical importance of lesbian visibility and community, and documents a crucial moment in LGBTQ history that has deep relevance to today’s challenges. As a result of Franco’s journey in the film to understand what queer women’s community needs today, she started The Curve Foundation – a nonprofit that champions lesbian, queer women, transgender and nonbinary people’s stories and celebrates their culture.

Stevens has been featured in numerous academic texts, including Unspeakable: The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America (Streitmatter, 1995), and Business, Not Politics: The Making of the Gay Market (Sender, 2004). She has done guest appearances on CNN and Geraldo. She’s the recipient of a GLAAD Media Award, the Jeanine C. Rae Award for the Advancement of Women's Culture, the Community Partner Award from the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the History Makers Award from the GLBT Historical Society, and was recently inducted into the LGBTQ+ Journalists Hall of Fame.

Stevens now speaks publicly about how far society has come in the 35 years since launched her magazine, and how much work is still to be done. With the growing backlash against the inroads made in the ‘90s, SCOTUS fielding a barrage of "religious freedom" arguments seeking permission to discriminate against LGBTQ people, and over 520 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced at the state level this year, queer women are at increasing risk. Stevens is an inspiring, engaging and hope-filled changemaker whose story resonates widely.