Ellen Degeneres Biography

Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres, Comedian, Talk show host

Birthdate: January 26, 1958

Sign: Aquarius

Ellen DeGeneres was born on January 26, 1958 in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. Her father, Elliot DeGeneres, was an insurance salesman. Her mother, Elizabeth, was a real estate agent. The couple divorced when Ellen was 16 years old. Elizabeth remarried salesman Roy Gruessendorf and moved Ellen to Atlanta, Texas. Her older brother, Vance, stayed behind with their father.

DeGeneres said she dreamed of being a veterinarian, but she was "not book smart." After graduating from Atlanta High School in 1976, Ellen went on to attend college at the University of New Orleans. She studied communications, but dropped out just one semester later.

She had a variety of professions including waiting tables, selling vacuum cleaners and working as a legal secretary before being discovered as a comedian. In 1981 when she was 23, she officially tried her hand at comedy at a local coffeehouse and then later that year became an emcee at Clyde's Comedy Club. She began to tour nationally in the 80s and ended up winning the title of funniest person in America in a competition sponsored by cable network Showtime.

She then moved to Hollywood in 1986 and appeared for the first time on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. DeGeneres then tried her hand starring in sitcom comedies "Open House" in 1989 and "Laurie Hill" in 1992, but both were unsuccessful.

She then found success with the 1984 ABC comedy sitcom "These Friends of Mine," which was later renamed "Ellen" after the first season. DeGeneres publicly discussed her homosexuality for the first time on the Oprah show in February of 1997. The show then made history, along with stirring up controversy, when her character on the show acknowledged her homosexuality in April of that year for the first time ever on air. Though the episode was one of the highest rated shows of the series, ratings declined and the show was canceled.

DeGeneres did several films for an attraction at Walt Disney World's Epcot for a show called Ellen's Energy Adventure which is part of the Universe of Energy attraction. The ride opened on September 15, 1996 as Ellen's Energy Crisis, but was renamed Ellen's Energy Adventure to sound more positive.

Ellen returned to sitcom television in 2001 on the CBS show "The Ellen Show." Again, the character she portrayed was gay, but it wasn't the theme of the show. Though the show received good reviews from the critics, the small viewing audience caused the show to be canceled after one season.

DeGeneres received even more good reviews after she hosted the Emmy Awards on November 4, 2001. The television awards show had been cancelled twice after producers worried that a posh ceremony after the attacks on September 11 would be seen as insensitive.

She told the crowd, "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?" Her performance earned her several standing ovations.

DeGeneres also tried her hand at acting, taking roles in such films as Coneheads (1993), Mr. Wrong (1996), Goodbye Lover (1998), EdTV (1999) and The Love Letter (1999).

She lent her voice to the character of Dory in the Disney/Pixar film Finding Nemo in the summer of 2003. Her role won her several awards including a Saturn Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for "Best Supporting Actress", "Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie" from the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards and the Annie Award from the International Animated Film Association for "Outstanding Voice Acting." She was also nominated for a Chicago Film Critics Association Award in the "Best Supporting Actress" category. DeGeneres also lent her voice to the dog in the opening of Eddie Murphy's film Dr. Doolittle.

In September 2003, DeGeneres launched her daytime television talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which has received widespread critical acclaim and was nominated for 11 Daytime Emmy Awards in the first year. The show has since won 15 Emmys in its' first three seasons.

In her personal life, DeGeneres dealt with heavy tabloid stories while dating girlfriend and actress Anne Heche. Heche later broke up with DeGeneres and ended up marrying cameraman Coley Laffoon. DeGeneres then began dating actress and director Alexandra Hedison, but ended soon after. Since 2004, DeGeneres has been dating actress Portia de Rossi, former Ally McBeal and Arrested Development star. They currently live in Beverly Hills with three dogs and four cats. In May of 2008, after the overturn of the same sex marriage ban, DeGeneres announced that she and Rossi were engaged to be married.