Ellen Lee DeGeneres (born January 26, 1958 in Metairie, Louisiana of French, English, German and Irish descent) is an American actress, stand-up comedian, and, most recently, host of a syndicated talk show.

Career

DeGeneres was sought out by Tonight Show booking agent/Producer Jim McCawley for her first appearance in 1986. She was the first female to ever be asked over to the couch to visit with Johnny Carson on her first visit. Jim McCawley truly believed that she was going to be a hit and often spoke in praise of her when her name was mentioned.

She also appeared as a stand-up comedian as early as on the HBO Tenth Annual Young Comedians' special, where she was introduced as an up-and-coming talent by Young Comedians' show veteran Harry Anderson.

Television

DeGeneres rose to national attention when her material was turned into the subject matter for the successful 1994-1998 sitcom, Ellen (called These Friends of Mine during its first season). The ABC show was popular in its first few seasons due in part to DeGeneres's style of quirky observational humor; it was often referred to as a female Seinfeld. (Before getting her own show, she appeared in the short-lived TV series Open House (1989-1990) and Laurie Hill (1992).)

Lesbian relationship

The show reached its height of attention in April 1997 when DeGeneres (and her character on the show) came out of the closet on national television and publicly declared that she was a lesbian. In spite of the controversy, or perhaps because of it, the outing episode was one of the highest-rated episodes of the show. As one of the first openly gay performers playing an openly gay character on television, she was all but forced into a role as a gay rights activist. Her sitcom began to primarily focus on her character's relationship with another woman; lesbian activist Chastity Bono found the show to be "too gay". After sinking ratings, the show was cancelled, and DeGeneres returned to the stand-up comedy circuit.

Autobiography

In 1995 she wrote an "autobiography" including reflections: "My Point...And I Do Have One".

The Ellen Show

DeGeneres returned to 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. It received critical praise but low viewership and was cancelled after one season.

Although her second sitcom was not a success, Ellen did receive wide exposure on November 4, 2001, when she served as hostess of the Emmy Awards. Hosted following two cancellations due to fears that a showy ceremony would appear insensitive following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the show required a newer, more somber tone that at the same time allowed viewers to temporarily forget the tragedy. DeGeneres delivered, receiving several standing ovations for her performance that evening. She memorably delivered the following 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 gay woman wearing a suit in front of a room full of Jews?"

Performances

DeGeneres has also performed two critically acclaimed stand-up routines. The first was called Ellen DeGeneres: The Beginning (2000) and was taped live at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. Her most recent one, which was taped in the same location, was entitled Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now (2003).

Voice-overs

DeGeneres lent her voice to the role of "Dory," a fish with short-term memory loss, in the summer 2003 hit animated Pixar film Finding Nemo. The movie returned DeGeneres to the limelight, with critics giving her rave reviews. Many speculate that DeGeneres would have been nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar if not for the Academy voters' seemingly suspicious attitudes towards non-live action performance work.

TV work

In September of 2003, DeGeneres launched a daytime television talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Amid a crop of several talk shows surfacing in 2003 and hosted by high-profile celebrities (including Sharon Osbourne and Rita Rudner), DeGeneres' show has consistently risen in the Nielsen Ratings and received widespread critical praise. DeGeneres' show was nominated for eleven Daytime Emmy Awards its freshman season, winning four, including Best Talk Show.

Since November 2004, DeGeneres has appeared, dancing, in a new ad campaign for American Express. Since May 2005, she's been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post.

Ellen also stars in an attraction at Walt Disney World's Epcot in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. She plays opposite Bill Nye (the science guy) and Jamie Lee Curtis in the Universe of Energy pavilion. In 1996, the ride was renamed as "Ellen's Energy Adventure."

In August 2005, Ellen was selected once again as host of the 2005 Emmy ceremony, which was held on September 18, 2005. (The awards show came three weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, making it the second time Ellen hosted the Emmys following a national tragedy. Because Ellen is from New Orleans, the tragedy literally hit close to home.) When she announced that she'd be again hosting 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.

Personal life

Her relationship with former Another World actress Anne Heche turned into fodder for the tabloid press. After several years in the spotlight, Heche broke up with her and went on to marry cameraman Coley Laffoon. DeGeneres then dated photographer Alexandra Hedison for several years, who lived opposite actor Kai Christophe Wong in Chelsea, New York. They appeared on the cover of Advocate magazine (ironically, after their split had already been announced to the press). DeGeneres is now in a committed relationship with the Arrested Development star Portia de Rossi.

She has a brother, Vance DeGeneres, who made a guest appearance on Ellen in 1994. Vance was also a correspondent for The Daily Show from 1999 to 2001.

Discography

• Ellen Degeneres: Taste This

Partial filmography

• Finding Nemo (2003)
• If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000)
• The Love Letter (1999)
• Edtv (1999)
• Mr. Wrong (1996)

External links

• Ellen DeGeneres at the Internet Movie Database
• The Ellen DeGeneres Show official website
• DeGeneres talks about coming out experience, an April 1999 article about her appearance at the University of Michigan
• A comic strip about DeGeneres and her "My Life, My Card" ads for American Express.de:Ellen DeGeneres

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