She is following in the footsteps of Cynthia Nixon and Ellen DeGeneres who publicly announced being gay. Cross will be posing on the cover of American magazine The Advocate to make it official.
A spokesperson from the series explained everybody in the series knows Marcia, as in the rest of Hollywood. Apparently it was not a secret, although some of her co-stars wooried that this news could have an impact on the show. Creator Marc Cherry is gay, and stated that he supports Marcia.
The series Desperate Housewives has been extremely successful since its debut. It is diffused by ABC.