Ellen DeGeneres

 
 
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  • Ellen DeGeneres shows off her wedding ring at the Stand Up to Cancer benefit in LA
  • Michelle & Barack Obama and Ellen DeGeneres
  • Ellen DeGeneres dons gypsy attire when going undercover as a fortuneteller at Universal Orlando Resort
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  • ellen degeneres
  • Ellen smiles on the set of her show
  • Ellen
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  • Ellen DeGeneres and partner, Portia de Rossi, at Daytime Emmys

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  • AP

    Ellen DeGeneres shows off her wedding ring at the Stand Up to Cancer benefit in LA

  • AP / Access Hollywood

    Michelle & Barack Obama and Ellen DeGeneres
  • APWarner Bros., Kevin Kolczynski

    Ellen DeGeneres dons gypsy attire when going undercover as a fortuneteller at Universal Orlando Resort
  • Warner Brothers

    ellen degeneres
  • Telepictures Productions

    ellen degeneres
  • Access Hollywood

    Ellen smiles on the set of her show
  • Access Hollywood

    Ellen
  • Access Hollywood

    Ellen
  • AP

    Ellen DeGeneres and partner, Portia de Rossi, at Daytime Emmys
 
 

overview

Up and down, yet out and proud, dry-humored Louisiana native Ellen DeGeneres has the funniest game in town, and a hit show to back it up! Ellen started doing standup comedy in the late 70’s and early 80’s. She kept at it and the gigs kept getting bigger and better until she cashed in on the big time, as the second woman ever to host the Oscars solo.

Her humor has been compared to an off-center Bob Newhart and she attributes her success to a lifelong keen interest in people watching. She finally made it big on the small screen with her hit show “Ellen” in 1994 and several years later revealed in the show, and in real life, that she is a lesbian. 

Kicking down the door to her closet hurt her career temporarily, but then she came roaring back in 2003 when she launched her Emmy-award winning syndicated daytime talk show, “The Ellen DeGeneres show.”

Ellen married longtime grilfriend Portia De Rossi in Beverly Hills on August 16, 2008.

  • Name: Ellen DeGeneres
  • Birthdate: January 26, 1958
  • Birthplace: Metairie, Louisiana

fun facts

  • Ellen’s first stand-up effort, she went on stage with a Whopper, fries and a shake.

  • Ellen once won Showtime’s “Funniest Person in America” contest.

  • Rumor has it Ellen was the first female comedian invited over to the couch to chat with Johnny Carson on “The Tonight Show.”

  • Ellen is only the second woman to host the Oscars on her own (the first was Whooi Goldberg in 1994).

  • Ellen has written two books: “My Point… And I Do Have One” and “The Funny Thing Is…,” both best-sellers.

  • Ellen dropped out of the University of New Orleans after one semester.