Running head; ELLEN DEGENERES

Ellen DeGeneres
Kierstyn Meredith
Desert Hills High School
Honors LA 10, 4th Period
November 14, 2016

Ellen DeGeneres

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Ellen Degeneres is a very influential person of the twentieth century. Her bold personality
and happy energy provide a positive influence in the world around her. Not only is Ellen
Degeneres one of Americas most well-known comedians and role models for the LGBT
community, but she is also known for her charitable philanthropic work throughout her career
(Biography.com, 2016).
Ellen DeGeneres was born on January 26, 1958 in Metairie, Louisiana. She spent most of
her childhood there living with her parents, Betty and Elliot, and older brother Vance with whom
she had great relationships with. Ellen had a normal childhood and was always a pretty happy
kid. Her father's job as an insurance salesman meant that they had to move a lot, so Ellen was
often the new kid. However, she found a way to use comedy as an icebreaker. At age 13,
DeGeneres parents divorced. She helped her mother through this difficult time by making her
laugh and giving her a reason to smile. Three years later, Betty remarried and moved to Atlanta,
Texas, taking her daughter with her, to once again be the new kid. Ellens mother told A&E
Television in an interview about her daugher that Ellens humor really opened a lot of doors for
her. During that time, Ellen was an average teenager with several boyfriends. Her high school
years were full of exploring and finding herself. This is where she first realized that she wasnt
really attracted to men and had stronger feelings towards women (Biography.com, 2016).
After graduating high school in 1976, Ellen moved back to New Orleans and attended the
University of New Orleans, but soon dropped out and tried to find a career that fit her
personality. She worked as a waitress, sold vacuum cleaners, was a secretary at a law firm, and
had other dead end jobs. It wasnt until she was 23 that Ellen really began to start her career as a
comedian. She started out performing for her friends, and then at local coffeehouses and comedy
clubs, but soon became the emcee at a club in New Orleans (Advameg, 2016). A lot of people

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really liked her act and responded positively. Neil Rosen, Entertainment Critic, NY1, said Ellens
act was very different from most at that time, but was a very clean act and clever act. She
entered a contest for Showtime Television and won, being named the funniest person in
Louisiana. She then went on to compete nationwide and won the title of Showtimes Funniest
Person in America. She was soon well known throughout the country and had a lot of pressure to
see what she would do next. In 1986, Ellen was invited on the Tonight Show Starring Johnny
Carson. After her act, she was invited to sit on the couch and have an on-camera chat with
Carson backstage. This was a huge honor for all comedians that went on the show and was
Carsons way of giving Ellen a gold star. She was also the first female to have received this
honor (Biography.com, 2016). In 1991, Ellen won Best Female Stand-Up Comic at the American
Comedy Awards (Advameg, 2016).
Ellen began acting in television series in 1991. Some of her most popular at that time
were Open House and Laurie Hill. In 1994 she starred in These Friends of Mine on ABC. The
network had a lot of faith in her and believed she really could make it go far. She was the ABC
spokesperson, announcing the premiere of every show in the fall lineup. She also co hosted the
1994 Emmy Awards (Ellen DeGeneres, 2013). The first season of her hit show had a number of
problems and did not go very well. The shows name was changed to Ellen by the second season
and soon, ratings and reviews were brought up. The sitcom featured the life of a bookstore
employee and her friends, finding humor in their everyday events. Ellen had many nominations
for Emmy awards at this time, and won the Peabody Award for her work on the show in 1997.
In the spring of 1997, Ellen made history by having her character come out as lesbian,
becoming the first gay lead character on a network television sitcom (Advameg, 2016). Sadly

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however, in April the show faced strong criticism and some of the shows sponsors withdrew
advertisements. This controversy led Ellen to its end in 1998 (Biography.com, 2016).
Ellen finally came out as a lesbian on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1997 around the
same time her character did on the hit show Ellen. In the late 1990s, she began a relationship
with actress Anne Heche. In 1999, the couple bought a home in the Hollywood Hills. Although
they were planning to get married, Ellen and Anne broke up in August of 2000. After dating
Alexandra Hedison for a few years, Ellen became involved with actress Portia de Rossi in 2004.
Four years later, in August of 2008, they married in what was perhaps the highest-profile gay
marriage after California legalized the unions (Biography.com, 2016).
In 2001, Ellen returned as host of the Emmy Awards, and used her humor to lift America
at a time of tragedy so soon after the 9/11 attacks. Soon after, she followed with her most
successful movie role as the voice of Dory in Disney/Pixars Finding Nemo. Ellen returned to
TV in 2003 as the host of her very own talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The show
features celebrity and musical acts, comedic bits, and frequent dance breaks showing off the
skills of Ellen and her guests. Ellen has earned a number of Emmy Awards and is among the
highest-rated shows in daytime television (Ellen, 2013). Over the years, Ellen has become a
popular choice when hosting major awards telecasts. Shes hosted the Grammys in 1996 and
1997; the Primetime Emmys in 2001 and 2005; and the Academy Awards in 2007 and 2014. In
2009, she was chosen to replace Paula Abdul as a judge on American Idol. Ellen has also
published a number of books including, My Point And I Do Have One (1995), Seriously ... I'm
Kidding (2011), and Home (2015), some of which were New York Times best sellers
(Biography.com, 2016).

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Amid her personal life and very successful career, Ellen is also the queen of giving
back. With a talk show that has been on television since 2003, winning 38 Emmys and 14
Peoples Choice Awards, Ellen has given away some $50 million dollars on her show... She has
raised $12.5 million for breast cancer, more than $10 million for families affected by Hurricane
Katrina, and more than $21 million to individuals and families who shared their stories on her
show (Dr. Cooper, 2016). Ellen was named the Peoples Choice favorite humanitarian in
2016, and chose St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital to receive the $200,000 donation that
comes with the prize (Stav, 2016). Ellens charitable acts are many such as giving a military
family living in poverty $50,000, raising $3 million for St. Judes and The Humane Society, and
helped create a charity with Ben Affleck that has benefited children in Germany and Southeast
Asia since 1987. She has also served as an advocate for local dog rescues, Farm Sanctuary,
saving elephant and seals and other efforts for animals. Her friend Melissa McCarthy described
Ellen perfectly when she said, When she hears about anyone in need, anywhere, she is the first
to step in and help them (Dr. Cooper, 2016). She has truly found a way to turn her success into
the helping lives of others.
Ellen told Fox News in a recent interview, Time is a strange thing. I was at rock bottom
and out of money, with no work in sight, but one step at a time, it gets better. It gets much better
(Fox News Network, 2016). And it really did for her. No matter what trials have come her way,
Ellen has always found a way to pick herself and others up with her humor. Being a light in a
world of darkness, she has truly shown an example of how to treat others with love and kindness.
Featured on Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People" and Forbes's "100 Most Powerful
Women" lists, DeGeneres has made an indisputable mark on American television as a well-

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known comedian and also by serving as a role model for the LGBT community, and serving the
world with her charitable works (Ellen, 2016).

References
Advameg. (2016). Ellen degeneres biography. Retrieved from
http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/Ca-Ge/DeGeneres-Ellen.html

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Biography.com Editors. (2016, June 9). Ellen degeneres biography. Retrieved from
http://www.biography.com/people/ellen-degeneres-9542420
Dr. Cooper, Lawrence. (2016, Jan 7). 8 times ellen degeneres has significantly changed lives.
Retrieved from http://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/articles/1108319/times-ellendegeneres-charitable-giving-changed-lives
Ellen DeGeneres. (1995). In Newsmakers. Detroit: Gale. Retrieved from
http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/bic1/BiographiesDetailsPage/BiographiesDetailsWindow?
disableHighlighting=true&displayGroupName=Biographies&currPage=&scanId=&query=&sear
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ce=Bookmark&u=pioneer&jsid=03fdb83952a9de22d821252defa55969
Ellen DeGeneres. (2013). In St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Detroit: Gale. Retrieved
from http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/bic1/BiographiesDetailsPage/BiographiesDetailsWindow?
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dId=BIC1&search_within_results=&p=BIC1&mode=view&catId=&limiter=&displayquery=&displayGroups=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&documentId=GALE
%7CK2419200297&windowstate=normal&activityType=&failOverType=&commentary=true&s
ource=Bookmark&u=pioneer&jsid=1ebf1b5ff463f3f61c2a027264654d88

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Fox News Network. (2016, Nov 2). Ellen degeneres says she hit rock bottom after coming out.
Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2016/11/02/ellen-degeneres-says-hitrock-bottom-after-coming-out.html
McHugh, C. (2016, Jan 25). 5 fun facts about ellen degeneres. Retrieved from
http://www.biography.com/news/ellen-degeneres-biography-facts
Stav Ziv. (2016, Jan 4). Ellen degeneres names peoples choice favorite humanitarian. Retrieved
from http://www.newsweek.com/ellen-degeneres-named-peoples-choice-favorite-humanitarian411296