The Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons has revealed he is gay.

Jim, who plays the socially maladjusted geek Sheldon Cooper in the hit sitcom, came out of the closet in a New York Times profile.

In the Times article, which highlights the TV star's upcoming role on Broadway in a revival of the Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy Harvey, it is revealed that Jim is gay and in a 10-year relationship.

The name of his partner has not been disclosed

.

Jim, 39, won acclaim in 2011 for playing a gay man in the Broadway play The Normal Heart, a drama about the Aids epidemic in 80s-era New York.

However, Jim is best known for his lead role as the genius scientist Sheldon Cooper in the hit television comedy The Big Bang Theory, a role that won him an Emmy for Best Comedy Actor in 2010 and 2011 – as well as a Golden Globe in 2011.

Jim, a native of Texas, is set to star in a big screen adaptation of The Normal Heart, opposite Magic Mike star Matt Bomer, who also made a low-key reference to his long-time partner Simon Halls and their children while receiving a humanitarian award from the Desert Aids Project.


- Channel24.co.za