Comprehensive information and links about Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres (born January 26, 1958Ellen DeGeneres is an American actress, stand-up comedian, and, most recently, host of a syndicated talk show.

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Early years

Ellen Degeneres was born on January 26, 1958 at Ochsner Hospital in Metairie, Louisiana to Elliot (insurance salesman) and Betty (real-estate agent). She is of French, English, German and Irish descent.

Along with her brother Vance she was raised as a Christian Scientist until the age of thirteen, when she left the religion. This was when her parents were divorced. Shortly after the divorce DeGeneres and her mother moved from the New Orleans area to Atlanta, Texas. She graduated from Atlanta High School on May 21, 1976.

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. She also held a job selling clothes, including dresses, at the chain-store the Merry-Go-Round. Other working experiences included a waitress (at two different restuarants), a house painter, a hostess, a bartender and an oyster shucker. Finally, DeGeneres realized she didn't want to "answer to a boss" and started to figure out what she really wanted to do.

Career

Whenever Ellen DeGeneres' friends put together a show or party, she was asked to do a comedy routine. She did an act and was soon asked to perform as a stand-up comedian at small clubs and coffeehouses, and eventually became the emcee at Clyde's Comedy Club (the only comedy place in New Orleans at the time). While working at Clyde's in 1981, DeGeneres recorded her club performances.

After traveling around the United States performing her comedy act, she was chosen in a national competition in 1982 by the cable channel HBO as the funniest person in America. She then appeared on late night television and comedy programs.

Soon afterward, DeGeneres was invited to perform on the 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 special, where she was introduced as an up-and-coming talent by Young Comedians show veteran Harry Anderson.

Before getting her own show, DeGeneres began her television career on the short-lived TV sitcom

DeGeneres rose to national attention when her material was turned into the subject matter for the successful 1994-1998 sitcom, during its first season). The ABC show was popular in its first few seasons due in part to DeGeneres's 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; and even the lesbian activist Chastity Bono found the show to be "too gay". After sinking ratings, the show was canceled, and DeGeneres returned to the stand-up comedy circuit. Not forgetting the nosedive her lucrative network television show took, Ellen would later re-establish herself as a successful talk show host, this time projecting no particular sexuality and avoiding the topic altogether. Ellen has inspired many other lesbians to come out of the closet and is a major influential figure.

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-TV show. Presented 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 this, 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?"

DeGeneres has also performed two critically acclaimed stand-up routines. The first was called (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

DeGeneres lent her voice to the role of "Dory," a fish with short-term memory loss, in the summer 2003 hit animated Pixar film . The movie returned DeGeneres to the limelight, with critics giving her rave reviews. Also narrating one of the highly successful VH1 Divas shows.

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.

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.

DeGeneris has one brother, Vance DeGeneres, who made a guest appearance on , Ellen's mother Betty Degeneres describes being initially shocked by her daughter's revelation, but has in fact become one of Ellen's strongest supporters. Betty Degeneres is an active member of PFLAG and spokesperson for the HRC Coming Out Project.