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Who Is Ellen DeGeneres?

Ellen Lee DeGeneres, the daughter of two devoutly religious Christian Scientists, was born on January 26, 1958, at Ochsner foundation Hospital in Jefferson Parish., Louisiana  weighing in at nine pounds, thirteen ounces.

Ellen was an adorable, chubby, blonde little blue-eyed toddler.  As a little girl, she loved two things above all: her baby dolls (just like her mom did when she was little.) and her big brother, Vance.  As time progressed, Ellen soon grew into a thin, tomboyish, very active fun-loving girl.  She was always hanging around Vance and wanting to play with him and his friends.  It got to the point to where Vance would pay Ellen a nickle to stay away from him and his friends.  Ellen still until this day, can’t comprehend how her mother didn’t have a clue that she was gay.  She would often point out pictures of herself wearing ties and short pixie haircuts saying: “Oh no, there were no clues.”  There were two occasions where Ellen has been mistaken for a boy.  Once at the time of her birth, her relatives were all gathered around to look through the glass at her in the nursery, her family overheard a man point to Ellen and say, “Look at that one—he’s going to be a football player.”  Another time when Ellen was around the age of six years old, she had short straight hair and bangs at the time.  Ellen was on vacation with her family and was in an elevator with her dad and Vance.  A hotel guest asked: “Is that a little boy or girl?”  Ellen’s dad was offended of course…When the elevator stopped, Ellen’s dad joked and turned to Ellen and said: “Come on Albert.”  Well, now we see where she gets that great humor!

Ellen was always an animal lover from the time she was a little girl until now.  She would always bring home wounded, stray animals.  As Ellen soon grew older, she and her mother became even closer.  Her parents were going through a heartbreaking divorce.  They often had to move a lot—so Ellen often had to adjust to a new group of kids.  She always felt different.  Her humor really did her justice as well as her mom.  She never failed to cheer Betty up during those difficult moments.   Ellen has always wanted to be liked.  And she was—by everyone.  In my opinion, she still is. ;)

By the time Ellen was a teenager, her and her mom would keep the communication lines open by writing to each other during the times when they were separated.  When Ellen graduated high school, she attended college for all of a month and came to the conclusion that it wasn’t for her.  She then came upon what would ultimately be one of the longest list of jobs—everything from vacuum cleaner salesperson to an oyster shucker—before finding her calling—Comedy.

She won Showtime's Funniest Person in America contest in 1982, then moved to San Francisco, one of the centers for standup comedy. Her signature routine was a telephone call to God that had been inspired by a close friend's accidental death in New Orleans. She used the piece during her debut on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show in 1986. Deeply impressed, Carson invited her to sit upon his couch, an honor that he bestowed upon only the most gifted comics; she was the first female comic to be so honored by him.

Afterward, her career exploded with a cross-country tour and a few specials on cable television. She even managed to land small roles on two short-lived television series, Duet and Open House, in the late '80s. In the early '90s, DeGeneres had offers to star in several new sitcoms, including Friends, but she declined and chose to take a bit part on an extremely short-lived series, Laurie Hill (1992).

Who knew she'd fight this hard?

Two years later, she was the star of an ensemble sitcom patterned after the wildly successful Seinfeld called These Friends of Mine. It was unsuccessful, but parent network ABC saw potential and so engaged in a massive overhaul that resulted in the sitcom Ellen. Largely based on DeGeneres' comedy and somewhat unfocused in regard to storylines and character development, it was popular enough to remain on the air for four seasons, during which time she garnered two Emmy nominations.

DeGeneres had made her film debut in 1993, with a tiny role in Coneheads, but she did not land her first starring role until the romantic comedy Mr. Wrong (1996) opposite Bill Pullman. Though generally critically panned, DeGeneres received some praise for her own star potential. In 1997, DeGeneres created a stir with hints that her character on the show was gay and would come out of the closet later that season. As by this time the show's ratings were flagging, it was a gutsy move, one made even more titillating to audiences by rumors that DeGeneres herself was gay. Ellen, the character, did indeed come out of the closet at the end of April 1997. The episode generated high ratings and considerable controversy, for it was the first time an openly gay character starred on a television show. At the same time,

DeGeneres herself admitted that she, too, was gay. The show centered on gay themes from then out and was cancelled (the network execs blamed low ratings, but DeGeneres supporters suspected other motives) in 1998. Though sad and disappointed, DeGeneres has continued to perform. In 1998, she co-starred as a detective in the feature comedy Goodbye Lover. In addition to film and television work, DeGeneres penned a best-selling book My Point...And I Do Have One (1996).

Ellen will soon launch her own syndicated daytime talk show in the Fall of 2003.  The show is being produced in conjunction with Telepictures and Warner Brothers Television. Also, in fall of 2003, Simon & Shuster will publish DeGeneres' book comprised of comedic short stories and essays.  Ellen just wrapped up her 'Here and Now' comedy tour at the Beacon Theater in New York.  The final show was taped on May 2nd live and it is scheduled to air June 28, 2003.  Also,  DeGeneres is the voice of 'Dory' in the Disney/Pixar animated feature film called 'Finding Nemo' with Albert Brooks.  It hit theaters on May 30, 2003.

Ellen and her big brother Vance playing...

Ellen relaxing. :) She says that puberty was never explained to her as a child.

Ellen in her rain gear. Aww. :)

"Oh, no, there were no clues." -Ellen

Ellen, the emerging comedienne on the beach of Pass Christian.

Ellen with Betty and Vance...and of course her babydoll. :)

Ellen with her big brother Vance at Mardi Gras.

Ellen at thirteen years-old.  She autographed this photo for her mother, an omen of things to come.  What did she know? ;)

....Our Ellen today.

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