Well this kind of came out of nowhere…Meredith Baxter Birney, perhaps best known for playing Elyse Keaton on Family Ties, announced that she’s a lesbian this morning on The Today Show in an oddly compelling interview with Matt Lauer.

I emailed Justine Bateman, who played Birney’s television daughter Mallory on the show, for a comment and she said the following:

Meredith is and has always been one of the classiest people I know. I’ve met her partner, Nancy, and think she’s a wonderful woman. I wish them happiness for a very long time.

Be sure to pay attention to NBC’s on-screen graphic when Birney makes her announcement at around the 1:00 mark. I imagine some producer in the control room with a finger on a red button just waiting for the exact moment the words “I’m a lesbian” crossed her lips.

Of course, all of this should lead every woman in America to ask themselves an important question…