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Ellen Lee DeGeneres (born January 26, 1958 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is a popular American actress and stand-up comedian. Like many successful stand-up performers, her material was turned into the subject matter for her successful 1990s sitcom, Ellen (initially called These Friends of Mine). The show was hugely popular for its first few seasons due in part to DeGeneres's quirky observational humor. She is currently a spokeswoman for American Express.
Biography
Known in fairly limited circles, DeGeneres's lesbianism became subject for major news coverage when she, along with her character, outed themselves on her show, Ellen. In spite of the controversy, or maybe because of it, the outing episode was one of the highest-rated episodes of the show, before or after. Because she was one of the first openly gay performers playing an openly gay character on television, she was forced into activism for gay rights. Although a willing participant at first, the publicity about her relationship with former Another World actress Anne Heche turned into gossip and negative tabloid press.
DeGeneres's sitcom seemed to turn entirely into a show about homosexuality. Even lesbian activist Chastity Bono stated that she found the show to be "too gay". Finally, suffering from sinking ratings, the show was cancelled. DeGeneres returned to the stand-up comedy circuit, and several years later her relationship with Heche dissolved when Heche suffered a psychotic break before beginning an affair with a male lover (to whom she is now married.). In 2000, DeGeneres began a relationship with photographer Alexandra Hedison, which ended in December 2004. She is now living with Austrailian actress Portia de Rossi, which caused some eyebrow-raising, since de Rossi and DeGeneres both ended longterm relationships to be together, and DeGeneres had just appeared on the cover of The Advocate discussing her happy relationship with Hedison.
DeGeneres returned to television in 2001 with a new sitcom, The Ellen Show. Though her character was again lesbian, it was not the central theme of the show. It received critical praise but low viewership and was cancelled after one season. Some speculated that DeGeneres's star had faded. However, in 2002 DeGeneres redeemed herself as hostess of the 2002 Emmy Awards. Hosted following three cancellations due to terror threats following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the show required a newer, more somber tone that at the same time allowed viewers to forget the tragedy of their daily lives. 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?"
DeGeneres' lent her voice to the role of "Dory," in the 2003 hit animated film Finding Nemo. Finding Nemo relaunched DeGeneres into the limelight. The film went on to become the biggest grossing animated film of all time and also won the Academy Award for best Animated Feature that year.
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's 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.
Bibliography
- My Point... and I do Have One
- The Funny Thing Is...
Discography
Partial filmography
External links
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Ellen DeGeneres
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