- Is considering dragging Brittany Murphy and her mother onto her hit program to give them a lie detector test about the actress' early speech skills. Guests like Sharon Stone and Christina Ricci have poured scorn on Murphy's claims that she could talk at four-months-old, and now DeGeneres is keen to help the actress prove she's not lying. (July 27, 2004)
- Is one of the bearers of the 2004 Olympic Torch Relay.
- Swears she's not going to do another standup tour. (May 1, 2004)
- Has agreed to undergo a makeover at her chat show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, after pleas from her fans to dress more feminine. (October 27, 2003)
- Actor Ted Danson had his wedding anniversary saved by DeGeneres, after he ran out of ideas on how to celebrate it -- DeGeneres handed him a bundle of items related to bodies of water: a pair of tickets to go and see Mystic River, Justin Timberlake's Cry Me A River CD, DVDs of The River Wild and A River Runs Through It, a picture of Melissa Rivers, and a picture of Gene Hackman just for the hell of it. (October 13, 2003)
- Started her stint as a daytime chat show host Monday by thumb wrestling Jennifer Aniston -- Aniston, Ellen's first guest, was handed a cigarette dispensing decorative donkey as a gift, but had her eye on a pair of elbow-length evening gloves the host was planning to auction off for charity - and so DeGeneres offered to fight her for them. (September 9, 2003)
- DeGeneres has burned the ill-fated tour documentary her ex-lover Anne Heche directed, even though it cost her a fortune to make -- Heche and the project's cameraman Coleman Laffoon fell in love while they were touring with the comedienne and making the film, and the two have since wed; DeGeneres funded the project, but admits trying to salvage it after she and Heche broke up three years ago was too painful. (August 28, 2003)
- DeGeneres has an HBO special and is getting ready to host her own talk show, which premieres Saturday at 10 p.m. -- Her new HBO stand-up special seems designed as a transition to a time when, she hopes, her sexual status won't matter. (June 26, 2003)
- Hair color: Blonde
- Eye color: Blue
- Began her career as a stand-up comedian.
- Was voted Funniest Person in America in a Showtime contest back in 1982.
- Ellen came out to America in her sitcom ELLEN in 1994.
- Told her mother she was a lesbian when she was 18 years old. Her mom, Betty DeGeneres, has supported not only her daughter but is an avid gay rights supporter as well.
- Was a bartender, clothing salesperson, oyster shucker, vacuum salesperson, waitress and paralegal before making it big on the comedy circuit.
- Has two dogs named Bootsie and Muffin.
- Her comedic career began at Clyde's Comedy Club in 1981.
- Was the first woman comic to be invited to perform on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
- Best Female Club Standup: Comedy Awards 1991
- Named Entertainer of the Year by Entertainment Weekly 26 December 1997/2 January 1998, issues 411/412
- Intends to marry Anne Heche if Vermont's plans to legalize gay marriages go through. (1999)
- Spoke at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Pointed out that many film plots and images in Hollywood are heterosexist, meaning that the filmmakers allow heterosexual characters dominate the screen. She would like to see actors and actresses portray more gay and lesbian couples. Came out as a lesbian first to her mother Betty DeGeneres at the age of 18. Betty DeGeneres is a devoted gay rights activist. (1999)
- When Ellen came out as a lesbian on her show in April 1997, ABC's affiliate in Birmingham, Alabama refused to air the landmark episode. Some of the show's sponsors withdrew their advertisements, one of which was Chrysler.
- Was initially reluctant to do a love scene with Sharon Stone in IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK 2, but Ellen's girlfriend Anne Heche, who was directing this particular segment of the film, encouraged her to do it. Ellen eventually gave in.
- Split with partner Anne Heche after being together for 3 1/2 years. (August 2000)
- Her last name is pronounced duh-generous.
- Was paid $2,000,000 for MR. WONG (1996)
- Nominated for Outstanding Individual Perat Emmy Awards formance in a Variety or Music Program at Emmy Awards for Ellen DeGeneres: The Beginning (2001)
- Nominated for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special at Emmy Awards for Ellen DeGeneres: The Beginning (2001)
- Nominated for Outstanding Made at Emmy Awards for Television Movie at Emmy Awards for IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK 2 (2000)
- Nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series - Musical/Comedy at Golden Globe Awards for Ellen (1998)
- Nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series at Emmy Awards for Ellen (1998)
- Nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series at Screen Actors Guild Awards for Ellen (1998)
- Nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series at Emmy Awards for The Larry Sanders Show (1997)
- Nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress at Emmy Awards in a Comedy Series for Ellen (1997)
- Nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series at Screen Actors Guild Awards for Ellen (1997)
- Nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series - Comedy/Musical at Golden Globe Awards for Ellen (1996)
- Nominated for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program at Emmy Awards for The 38th Annual Grammy Awards (1996)
- Nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series at Emmy Awards for Ellen (1996)
- Nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series - Comedy/Musical at Golden Globe Awards for Ellen (1995)
- Nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series at Emmy Awards for Ellen (1995)
- Nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series at Screen Actors Guild Awards for Ellen (1995)
Quotes- "I'd like to paraphrase a very famous quote: In Germany, the Nazis first came for the Communists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist; then they came for the Jews and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew; then they came for the Catholics but I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me and by that time there was no one left to speak for me. When will we learn? We could substitute any number of different groups and the principle remains the same, which is that it's a shame, that as far as we've come we're still so intolerant and uncomfortable with diversity. "
- "I am so grateful that I have so much support and love in my life. My Mother is the most incredible Mother anyone could hope for. I'm so glad she had me and for her sake that I ended up doing something worthwhile, seeing that I weighed 10 pounds when I was born. Because of her pain, the world is a better place."
- "I got to a place where I needed to live my life freely. I didn't want to feel ashamed of who I was anymore. Thank God, literally, thank God for allowing me to get there. Some people never do. Some people hide a little bit of who they are because it's safer in this world to hide then to be yourself."
- "My life took a huge turn - so many people wanted to honor me, make me some kind of hero or leader, look to me to become political. I want to stress that this is not about me, it's about what I represent. My decision to be honest parallels anyone in history who has stood up for his or her rights."
- "Perhaps I should have become The Artist Formely Known as Lesbian."
- "I think they should have a Barbie with a buzz cut."
- "I'm a lesbian, an Aquarian, and a vegetarian."
- "People always ask me 'Were you funny as a child?' Well, I was an accountant."
- "I was raised around heterosexuals, as all heterosexuals are. That's where us gay people come from - you heterosexuals."
- "I ask people why they have deer heads on their walls. They always say because it's such a beautiful animal. There you go. I think my mother is attractive, but I have photographs of her."
- "My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She's ninety-seven now, and we don't know where the hell she is."
- "You say you're sick and tired of hearing about me? I've got news for you: I'M sick and tired of hearing about me."
Awards- Daytime Emmy Awards: Best Talkshow, The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2004)
- Annie Awards: Outstanding Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production, FINDING NEMO (2004)
- American Comedy Awards: Funniest Female Performer in a TV Special (Leading or Supporting) Network, Cable or Syndication, ELLEN DEGENERES: THE BEGINNING (2001)
- Golden Satellite Awards: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical, Ellen (1999)
- GLAAD Media Awards: Stephen F. Kolzak Award (1998)
- Emmy Awards: Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, Ellen (1997)
- American Comedy Awards: Funniest Female Performer in a TV Special (Leading or Supporting) Network, Cable or Syndication, The 46th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1995)
- American Comedy Awards: Funniest Female Stand-Up Comic (1991)
|
