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Ellen DeGeneres
DeGeneres in Los Angeles, January 2004
Birth name	Ellen Lee DeGeneres
Born	January 26, 1958 (1958-01-26) (age 50) Metairie, Louisiana
Medium	Stand-up comedy, Television, Film
Nationality	American
Spouse	Portia de Rossi
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series 1997 Ellen Outstanding Talk Show 2004 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 2005 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 2006 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 2007 The Ellen DeGeneres Show Outstanding Special Class Writing 2005 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 2006 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 2007 The Ellen DeGeneres Show Outstanding Talk Show Host 2005 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 2006 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 2007 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 2008 The Ellen DeGeneres Show
American Comedy Awards
Funniest Female Stand-Up Comic 1991 Funniest Female Performer in a TV Special 1994 46th Primetime Emmy Awards 2000 Ellen DeGeneres: The Beginning

Ellen Lee DeGeneres (born January 26, 1958) is an eleven-time Emmy Award-winning American stand-up comedienne, television hostess and actress. She hosts the award winning syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

She has hosted both the Academy Awards and the Primetime Emmys. As a film actress, she starred in Mr. Wrong, appeared in EDtv and The Love Letter, and provided the voice of "Dory" in Pixar's animated film Finding Nemo. She also starred in two television sitcoms, Ellen from 1994 to 1998 and The Ellen Show from 2001 to 2002. In 1997, during the fourth season of Ellen, she came out publicly as a lesbian in an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Shortly afterwards, her character Ellen Morgan also came out to a therapist played by Winfrey and the series went on to explore various LGBT issues as well as the coming out process.

Background

DeGeneres was born in Metairie, Louisiana, the daughter of Elliot DeGeneres, a salesman, and Elizabeth (Betty) Jane Pfeffer.¹ She is of French, English, German and Irish descent.^{citation needed} Along with her brother Vance DeGeneres, actor and guitarist for the rock band Cowboy Mouth, DeGeneres was raised as a Christian Scientist until the age of 13. DeGeneres' parents filed for separation in 1973 and were divorced the following year. Shortly after, Betty Jane remarried, to Roy Gruessendorf, who also worked as a salesman. Betty Jane and DeGeneres moved away with Gruessendorf from the New Orleans area to Atlanta, Texas. Vance stayed with their father in New Orleans. DeGeneres graduated from Atlanta High School in May, 1976, after completing her first years of high school at Grace King High School in Metairie, Louisiana.¹ DeGeneres moved back to New Orleans to attend the University of New Orleans, where she majored in communications.¹ After one semester, she left school to do clerical work in a law firm along with cousin Laura Gillen. She also held a job selling clothes at the chain store the Merry-Go-Round at the Lakeside Shopping Center in New Orleans. Other working experiences included being a waitress at TGI Friday's and another restaurant, a house painter, a hostess and a bartender.

Career

Stand-up comedy

DeGeneres started performing stand-up comedy at small clubs and coffeehouses before working her way up to emcee Clyde's Comedy Club by 1981.¹ Her comedy during this period was described as a "distaff version of Bob Newhart."¹ In the early 1980s, she began to tour nationally, eventually winning the title of funniest person in America in a competition sponsored by the cable network Showtime.¹ She was then able to work at higher profile venues. She appeared for the first time on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1986.¹

Early screen work

Television and film work in the late 1980s and early 1990s included roles on television in Open House and in the film Coneheads.¹

Ellen (sitcom, 1994–1998)

DeGeneres' comedy material became the basis of the successful 1994-1998 sitcom Ellen, named These Friends of Mine during its first season. The ABC show was popular in its first few seasons due in part to DeGeneres' style of quirky observational humor; it was often referred to as a "female Seinfeld."²

Ellen reached its height of popularity in February 1997, when DeGeneres made her homosexuality public on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Subsequently her character on the sitcom came out of the closet in April to her therapist, played by Oprah Winfrey, that she was gay.³ The coming out episode, entitled "The Puppy Episode", was one of the highest-rated episodes of the show, but later episodes of the series would fail to match its popularity, and after declining ratings, the show was canceled. DeGeneres returned to the stand-up comedy circuit, and would later re-establish herself as a successful talk show host.

Ellen's Energy Adventure

DeGeneres starred in a series of films for a show named Ellen's Energy Adventure, which is part of the Universe of Energy attraction and pavilion at Walt Disney World's Epcot. The film also featured Bill Nye, Alex Trebek, Michael Richards and Jamie Lee Curtis. The show revolved around DeGeneres falling asleep and finding herself in an energy-themed version of Jeopardy!, playing against an old rival, portrayed by Curtis, and Albert Einstein. The next film had DeGeneres hosting an educational look at energy, co-hosted with Nye. The ride first opened on September 15, 1996, as Ellen's Energy Crisis but was quickly renamed to the more positive-sounding Ellen's Energy Adventure.

The Ellen Show

DeGeneres returned to series television in 2001 with a new CBS sitcom, The Ellen Show. Though her character was again a lesbian, it was not the central theme of the show. The Ellen Show received critical praise, but low viewership and was canceled after one season.^{citation needed}

DeGeneres received wide exposure on November 4, 2001, when she hosted the Emmy Awards-TV show. Presented after two cancellations due to network concerns that a posh ceremony following the September 11, 2001 attacks would appear insensitive, the show required a more somber tone that would also allow viewers to temporarily forget the tragedy. DeGeneres received several standing ovations for her performance that evening which included the line: "We're told to go on living our lives as usual, because to do otherwise is to let the terrorists win, and really, what would upset the Taliban more than a homosexual woman wearing a suit in front of a room full of Jews?"

Finding Nemo and voice acting

DeGeneres lent her voice to the role of Dory, a fish with short-term memory loss, in the summer 2003 hit animated Disney/Pixar film Finding Nemo. The film's director, Andrew Stanton, claimed that he chose her because she "changed the subject five times before one sentence had finished" on her show.⁴ The movie returned DeGeneres to the limelight, with critics giving her rave reviews.^{citation needed} DeGeneres won the Saturn Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for "Best Supporting Actress", "Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie" from the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards and the Annie Award from the International Animated Film Association for "Outstanding Voice Acting" for her work. She was also nominated for a Chicago Film Critics Association Award in the "Best Supporting Actress" category. She also provided the voice of the dog in the prologue of the Eddie Murphy film Dr. Dolittle.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

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In September 2003, DeGeneres launched a daytime television talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Amid a crop of several celebrity-hosted talk shows surfacing in 2003 such as those of Sharon Osbourne and Rita Rudner, her show has consistently risen in the Nielsen Ratings and received widespread critical praise. It was nominated for 11 Daytime Emmy Awards in its first season, winning four, including Best Talk Show. The show has won 25 Emmy Awards in its first three seasons on the air. DeGeneres is known for her dancing and singing with the audience at the beginning of the show and during commercial breaks. She often gives away free prizes and trips to her studio audience with the help of her sponsors. On November 17, 2005, the show was played in reverse.

In November 2004, DeGeneres appeared, dancing, in an ad campaign for American Express. Her most recent American Express commercial, a two-minute black-and-white spot where she works with animals, debuted in November 2006 and was created by Ogilvy and Mather. In 2007, the commercial won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Commercial.

In August 2005, DeGeneres was selected once again as host of the 2005 Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony, which was held on September 18, 2005. The award ceremonies aired three weeks after Hurricane Katrina, making it the second time she hosted the Emmys following a national tragedy. Because DeGeneres is from New Orleans, the tragedy hit close to home. When she announced that she would again host the Emmys, she joked, "You know me, any excuse to put on a dress." She also hosted the Grammy Awards in 1996 and in 1997.

In February 2006, DeGeneres celebrated her thirty-year class reunion by flying her graduating class to California to be guests on her show. She presented Atlanta High School with a surprise gift of a new electronic LED marquee sign.

In May 2006, DeGeneres made a surprise appearance at the Tulane University commencement in New Orleans. Following George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton to the podium, she came out in a bathrobe and furry slippers. "They told me everyone would be wearing robes," she said.

In March 2007, DeGeneres continued her talk show with a week at Universal Studios Orlando with guests Jennifer Lopez and Lynyrd Skynyrd. DeGeneres did skits with the Hulk Roller Coaster Ride and the Jaws Boat Ride.

In May 2007, DeGeneres was placed on bed rest due to a torn ligament in her back. She continued hosting her show from a hospital bed, tended to by a male nurse, explaining "the show must go on, as they say." Guests sat in hospital beds as well.

In March 2008, DeGeneres hosted her talk show once again from Orlando Florida at Universal Studios Orlando with guests including the Jonas Brothers and Jeff Foxworthy.

In Fall 2008, The Ellen DeGeneres Show will be moved to a larger studio; in addition the Ellen show will be produced in high definition. With her moving to a new studio, her producers will have a new HD control room and equipment.

Probably the best dancer in the history of US presidents. As a guest on The Ellen Degeneres Show, Barack shows off his dancing skills before the election. Ellen DeGeneres said "You are the best dancer in the world" to Barack. ⁵

79th Academy Awards

Ellen DeGeneres at the Emmy Awards, 1997

On September 7, 2006, DeGeneres was selected to host the 79th Academy Awards ceremony, which took place on February 25, 2007.⁶ This makes her the first openly gay or lesbian person to have hosted the event. During the Awards show DeGeneres said, "What a wonderful night, such diversity in the room, in a year when there's been so many negative things said about people's race, religion and sexual orientation. And I want to put this out there: if there weren't blacks, Jews and gays, there would be no Oscars, or anyone named Oscar, when you think about that."⁷ Reviews of her hosting gig were positive, with one saying, "DeGeneres rocked, as she never forgot that she wasn't just there to entertain the Oscar nominees but also to tickle the audience at home."⁸ In fact, Regis Philbin said in an interview that "the only complaint was there's not enough Ellen."

DeGeneres was nominated for an Emmy Award as host of the Academy Awards broadcast.⁹

2007 Writers Guild strike

DeGeneres, like many actors who are also writers, is a member of both the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA). Thus, although DeGeneres verbally supported the 2007 WGA strike she did not support it when she crossed the picket line the day after the strike began.¹⁰¹¹ Her actions prompted a response from the Union:¹²

We find it sad that Ellen spent an entire week crying and fighting for a dog that she gave away, yet she couldn't even stand by writers for more than one day – writers who have helped make her extremely successful.

Her representatives said that she was competing with other first-run syndicated shows during the competitive November sweeps period, and that she could not break her contracts or risk her show lose its time slot. As a show of solidarity with the strikers, DeGeneres omitted her monologue during the strike, typically written by WGA writers.¹³ The WGAE condemned her, and said that she was "not welcome in NY", while the AFTRA defended her.¹⁴¹⁵¹⁶

Cover Girl Cosmetics Spokeswoman

Ellen began working with Cover Girl Cosmetics in September, 2008. Her face will be the focus of new Cover Girl ads starting in January, 2009. This will be Ellen's first beauty campaign.¹⁷ Critics¹⁸ have noted a degree of hypocrisy in Ellen's support for California's (2008) Proposition 2, an animal rights proposal, and her role with Cover Girl Cosmetics, one of the remaining cosmetics companies that still uses animals for testing its products.

Personal life

DeGeneres' relationship (1997-2000) with former Another World actress Anne Heche turned into material for the tabloid press. After several years in the spotlight, Heche broke up with DeGeneres and went on to marry cameraman Coley Laffoon.¹⁹ From 2001 to 2004, DeGeneres had a relationship with actress/director/photographer Alexandra Hedison. The couple appeared on the cover of The Advocate after their separation had already been announced to the media.²⁰

Since 2004, DeGeneres has been in a relationship with former Ally McBeal and Arrested Development star Portia de Rossi. After the overturn of the same-sex marriage ban in California, DeGeneres announced on a May 2008 show that she and de Rossi were engaged,²¹²² and gave de Rossi a three-carat pink diamond ring.²³ They were married on August 16, 2008 at their home, with 19 guests including their respective mothers.²³ They live in Beverly Hills, with three dogs and four cats.²⁴ They are both vegan.²⁵ The passage of Proposition 8²⁶ has put the marriage's legal status in doubt.²⁷

In her book, Love, Ellen, DeGeneres' mother, Betty DeGeneres, describes being initially shocked when her daughter came out as a lesbian, but has become one of her strongest supporters, an active member of PFLAG and spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign's Coming Out Project. She is also a breast cancer survivor.

In 2007, Forbes ranked DeGeneres' net worth to be US$65 million.²⁸

Awards

Filmography

Discography

• Ellen DeGeneres: Taste This
• The Ellen DeGeneres Show: DVDlicious

Tributes

• ICONS: The Lesbian and Gay History of the World, Vol. 1 - Comedy Central star Jade Esteban Estrada portrays DeGeneres in the highly-acclaimed solo comedy in 2002.

Bibliography

• DeGeneres, Ellen (1995). My Point...And I Do Have One. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 0553099558. 
• DeGeneres, Ellen (2003). The Funny Thing Is.... New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0743247612. 

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Ellen DeGeneres

Wikinews has related news:

• Portia de Rossi talks about Ellen DeGeneres, sexuality
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Ellen DeGeneres

• The Ellen DeGeneres Show's official website
• Ellen DeGeneres blog
• Ellen DeGeneres at the Internet Movie Database
• Ellen DeGeneres at People.com
• Ellen DeGeneres at TV.com
• Ellen DeGeneres at the Voice Chasers Database
• Ellen DeGeneres community Forum
• DeGeneres talks about coming out experience, an April 1999 article about her appearance at the University of Michigan
• DeGeneres on the JohnJay and Rich radio show helping a mother in need to win a car