Ellen Lee DeGeneres
Ellen Lee DeGeneres 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.
Ellen was born in Metairie, Louisiana, the daughter of Elliot DeGeneres, a salesman, and Elizabeth (Betty) Jane Pfeffer. She is of French, English, German and Irish descent. Along with her brother Vance DeGeneres, actor and guitarist for the rock band Cowboy Mouth, Ellen was raised as a Christian Scientist until the age of 13. Her 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 Ellen moved away with Gruessendorf from the New Orleans area to Atlanta, Texas. Vance stayed with their father in New Orleans.
Ellen graduated from Atlanta High School in May, 1976, after completing her first years of high school at Grace King High School in Metairie, Louisiana. She moved back to New Orleans to attend the University of New Orleans, where she majored in communications. 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.
Ellen started performing stand-up comedy at small clubs and coffeehouses before working her way up to emcee Clyde's Comedy Club by 1981. Her comedy during this period was described as a "distaff version of Bob Newhart." 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.
Ellen's 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. From 2001 to 2004, Ellen 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.
Since 2004, Ellen 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, Ellen announced on a May 2008 show that she and de Rossi were engaged, and gave de Rossi a three-carat pink diamond ring. They were married on August 16, 2008 at their home, with 19 guests including their respective mothers. They live in Beverly Hills, with three dogs and four cats. They are both vegan.
In her book, Love, Ellen, Ellen's 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.
In 2007, Forbes ranked Ellen's net worth to be US$65 million.
Please pray that God will do miraculous things in Ellen's life this week to show her that the answer to the joy she seeks is found in a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ!