The next film had DeGeneres co-hosting an educational look at energy with Nye. The show revolved around DeGeneres' falling asleep and finding herself in an energy-themed version of Jeopardy!, playing against an old rival, portrayed by Curtis, and Albert Einstein. The film also featured Bill Nye, Alex Trebek, Michael Richards, and Jamie Lee Curtis.
#GAY PRIDE SHOES 2016 SERIES#
DeGeneres starred in a series of films for a show named Ellen's Energy Adventure, which was part of the Universe of Energy attraction and pavilion at Walt Disney World's Epcot. Film careerĮllen's work in the late 1980s and early 1990s included the film Coneheads. ĭeGeneres lists Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett and Bob Newhart among her comedic influences. Īfter a 15-year hiatus from performing stand-up comedy, DeGeneres appeared in a 2018 Netflix stand-up special, Relatable. In the early 1980s she began to tour nationally, and in 1984 she was named Showtime's funniest person in America. DeGeneres cites Woody Allen and Steve Martin as her main influences at this time. By 1981, she was the emcee at Clyde's Comedy Club in New Orleans. She relates much of her childhood and career experiences in her comedic work.ĭeGeneres started performing stand-up comedy at small clubs and coffee houses. She also worked as a house painter, a hostess and a bartender. Penney and waitressing at TGI Fridays and another restaurant. After one semester, she left school to do clerical work in a law firm with a cousin, Laura Gillen. She moved back to New Orleans to attend the University of New Orleans, where she majored in communication studies. DeGeneres graduated from Atlanta High School in May 1976, after completing her first years of high school at Grace King High School in Metairie. When she was 15 or 16 years old, she was molested by her stepfather. Betty Jane and Ellen moved with Gruessendorf from the New Orleans area to Atlanta, Texas. Shortly after, Ellen's mother married Roy Gruessendorf, a salesman. Her parents filed for separation in 1973 and were divorced the following year. Of French, English, German, and Irish descent, she was raised a Christian Scientist. She has one brother, Vance, a musician and producer. 7.2 Sexual orientation and relationshipsĭeGeneres was born and raised in Metairie, Louisiana, to Elizabeth Jane ( née Pfeffer, born 1930), a speech therapist, and Elliott Everett DeGeneres (1925–2018), an insurance agent.
In January 2020, DeGeneres received the Carol Burnett Award at the Golden Globes for her work on television, becoming the first recipient after its inaugural namesake Carol Burnett. In 2016, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She has won 30 Emmys, 20 People's Choice Awards (more than any other person), and numerous other awards for her work and charitable efforts.
She also launched a lifestyle brand, ED Ellen DeGeneres, which comprises a collection of apparel, accessories, home, baby, and pet items. She has authored four books and started her own record company, Eleveneleven, as well as a production company, A Very Good Production. In 2008, she married her longtime girlfriend Portia de Rossi.ĭeGeneres has hosted the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, and the Primetime Emmys. Her character, Ellen Morgan, also came out to a therapist played by Winfrey, and the series went on to explore various LGBT issues, including the coming-out process. During the fourth season of Ellen in 1997, she came out as a lesbian in an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. She starred in two television sitcoms, Ellen from 1994 to 1998 and The Ellen Show from 2001 to 2002. In 2010, she served as a judge on the ninth season of American Idol. Wrong (1996), EDtv (1999), and The Love Letter (1999), and provided the voice of Dory in the Disney/ Pixar animated films Finding Nemo (2003) and Finding Dory (2016) for Nemo, she was awarded the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress, the first time an actress won a Saturn Award for a voice performance. As a film actress, DeGeneres starred in Mr. Her stand-up career started in the early 1980s and included a 1986 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. She starred in the sitcom Ellen from 1994 to 1998 and has hosted her syndicated television talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, since 2003. Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( / d ə ˈ dʒ ɛ n ər ə s/ də- JEN-ər-əs born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer.