Cornwall had previously shied away from speaking about gay rights and her own same-sex marriage to until going public last year in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.  Recently, in another interview, Cornwall spoke openly about getting older and deciding to take a public stand on Prop 8.  

“Maybe it is a function of getting older but I think it is important to stand up and be counted. When you’re not in a relationship your sexual orientation is more theoretical but it becomes more real when you are with somebody and you are not going to hide that.”

“If people like me don’t take a stand then it will only get worse. We just want to live and let live and be treated in the same way straight people are treated,” said Cornwell, who was previously married to an English professor, Charles Cornwell.  “It is no longer theoretical when you have people voting against what you believe is your right, making it illegal, when one of the best things about me is the person I am with. This applies to me and it is frightening.”