Ellen DeGeneres

The Early Years

Ellen Lee DeGeneres was born January 26, 1958 in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Elliot (a salesman) and Betty Jane DeGeneres. She has one brother, Vance, who is an actor and guitarist for Cowboy Mouth. Her parents divorced in 1973 and her mother married Roy Gruesserdorf, also a salesman. The family then moved to Atlanta, Georgia.

After high school, Ellen moved back to New Orleans, where she attended the University of New Orleans. Her college career ended after one semester when DeGeneres started a variety of different jobs, including a waitress, house painter and oyster shucker.

Comedy Career

In the early 1980s, DeGeneres tried a hand at comedy, working as the emcee at Clyde's Comedy Club in New Orleans. By 1982, after she started traveling around the United States doing stand-up, Showtime television named her the "Funniest Person in America."

In 1986, DeGeneres made history when she was asked to perform on The Tonight Show. She was the first female comedian to ever be asked by then-host Johnny Carson to sit on his couch and chat.

After that appearance, DeGeneres also appeared as a stand-up comedian on HBO's Tenth Annual Young Comedians. In 2000, she starred in Ellen DeGeneres: The Beginning and three years later in Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now. She ranks 16th on Comedy Central's list of "100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time." Because of her hectic schedule with her talk show, she no longer performs stand-up comedy.

Acting Career

DeGeneres at the 33rd Annual Awards.

DeGeneres moved her brand of comedy to television and the silver screen, appearing in numerous blockbusters.

Television

After a few short-lived television shows in the 1980s and 1990s, DeGeneres starred in her own sitcom, Ellen, portraying a single woman in Los Angeles, California who runs a bookstore. The show received rave reviews and introduced Ellen to a whole new form of entertainment. Other television credits include:

• The Ellen Show (2001-2002)
• Ellen (1994-1998)
• Laurie Hill (1992-1993)
• Open House (1989-1990)
• Women of the Night (1988)

DeGeneres will appear in a documentary in June 2007 which looks at the effects Hurricane Katrina had on those who live in New Orleans.

Movies

DeGeneres found her way to the silver screen in the 1990s with hits such as Mr. Wrong and EdTV. Fans found the comedian to be just as funny on the big screen as she was on the comedy stage. She also appeared in:

• Finding Nemo (2003)
• Pauly Shore is Dead (2003)
• If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000)
• Dr. Doolittle (1998)
• Ellen's Energy Adventure (1996)
• Coneheads (1993)

Talk Show Extraordinaire

DeGeneres with her mother, Betty DeGeneres.

In September 2003, Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Phil got some competition on the talk-show circuit. The Ellen DeGeneres Show premiered and immediately won the praises of critics and fans alike. Her quirky attitude, fun-loving segments and dancing with the studio audience made Ellen DeGeneres a household name all over again. In her first season alone, she was nominated for 12 Daytime Emmy Daytime Emmys, winning four of them. The show is already in syndication on the Oxygen network. She often gives away prizes and trips, thanks to her sponsors, to members of her studio audience.

Ellen has hosted several hundred musicians, actors, sports figures and even reality television castoffs since her show's inception. Guests who have appeared on her show include:

• Sherri Shepherd
• Donald Trump
• Samuel L. Jackson
• Charlie Sheen
• Jessica Simpson
• Robin Williams
• Kelly Pickler

Celebrity Guest Host

Over the years, DeGeneres has hosted serveral primetime awards shows:

• The Grammy Awards (1996, 1997)
• Primetime Emmy Awards (2001, 2005)
• Academy Awards (2007)

Awards and Honors

Ellen DeGeneres has been nominated for 12 Daytime Emmy Awards in 2007. Winning any of those would add to the numerous honors she has already received, many for her work on The Ellen DeGeneres Show:

• Daytime Emmy Awards
  • Outstanding Talk Show (2004, 2005, 2006)
  • Outstanding Talk Show Host (2005, 2006)
  • Outstanding Special Class Writing (2005, 2006)

• Emmy Awards
  • Outstanding Writing in a Comedy, Ellen (1997)

• People's Choice Awards
  • Favorite Daytime Talk Show Host (2005, 2006, 2007)
  • Favorite Funny Female Star (2005, 2006, 2007)

• Kids Choice Awards
  • Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie, Finding Nemo (2004)

Personal Life

DeGeneres and actress Portia de Rossi.

When DeGeneres was 18, she revealed to her mother that she was a lesbian. Although initially shocked, her mother has been one of her biggest supporters. Betty DeGeneres is a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign Coming Out Project and a member of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.

However, it was almost 20 years later before DeGeneres went public about being a gay celebrity. In April 1997, she made television history when her character on Ellen (and herself personally) revealed that she was a lesbian. Since that time, she has been involved in several relationships, including the much-publicized romance with actress Anne Heche, which ended in 2000. Ellen DeGeneres is currently involved with actress Portia de Rossi. The couple, who has been together since 2004, lives outside Los Angeles, California.

Ellen DeGeneres Trivia

• Along with American Greetings Corporation, she will debut a line of greeting cards called the "ellen collection."
• She has authored two books -- My Point... And I Do Have One (1995) and The Funny Thing Is... (2003)
• DeGeneres' 1990s sitcom Ellen was called These Friends of Mine during its first season.
• With girlfriend Portia de Rossi, the couple purchased the Beverly Hills, California house previously owned by Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston.
• DeGeneres' 84-year-old aunt lost her home and all of her belongings in Hurricane Katrina.
• She was one of the bearers of the 2004 Summer Olympics Torch Relay.