Meredith Baxter comes out: “I am a lesbian”

Congratulations to Meredith Baxter, best known for her role as the mom on Family Ties, for coming out publicly as a lesbian.

The actress appeared on The Today Show this morning to discuss her sexuality and said it was a “later-in-life recognition” and her kids (she has five) have taken it well.

“I said, ‘I think I’m gay,’ and my oldest boy said, ‘I knew.'” she said. “The support from my family and anyone close to me has been so immediate and unqualified. I’ve really been blessed.”

According to Towleroad, Baxter went public because a tabloid was preparing a story. She has been in a relationship for four years with w woman who is out.

“To come out and disclose stuff is very antithetical to who I am,” she said. “I did not want some tabloid to take the story and make it up — I wanted it to be in my own words.”

Miss Baxter played Elyse Keaton on Family Ties for seven seasons but was already familiar to television viewers from her role as Nancy Lawrence Maitland on the ABC drama Family, a role that earned her two Emmy nominations. She had also co-starred opposite then-husband David Birney in the ABC series Bridget Loves Bernie.

In my opinion, she was absolutely robbed of an Emmy for her incredible performance in A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story. She also did a hilarious turn as the hip mom of a gay son in 2005’s The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green.