With Carmen Miranda's life and personality, she was destined to become a gay icon. Her parents did not approve of her show-business dreams, so she had to keep them a secret while she worked at a tie shop at age 14 to pay for her sister's

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With Carmen Miranda's life and personality, she was destined to become a gay icon. Her parents did not approve of her show-business dreams, so she had to keep them a secret while she worked at a tie shop at age 14 to pay for her sister's tuberculosis treatments. She eventually opened her own profitable hat business (no surprise), and not long after was discovered for her samba singing and became a huge sensation. In 1945, she was the highest paid woman in America. Camp before camp was born, Carmen is most famous for wearing towering headdresses made of fruit—can't get more gay than that. The circular, cement Carmen Miranda Museum is a bit unimpressive looking from the outside, but the interior does a good job of showing museum-goers how she became such a sensation, displaying rare photos, video clips, flamboyant outfits, crazy shoes, and of course her trademark fruity hats. If you're in Rio on a rainy day, the Carmen Miranda Museum can be a life-saver.

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