Ellen DeGeneres |
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 "To
tell you you're fresh and clever & original, which was all I ever wanted to be. I
don't wanna be just good, I wanna be original, I wanna be myself and so that was amazing
to hear that from him." - Ellen DeGeneres to Oprah Winfrey on what Johnny Carson
said to her. Ellen DeGeneres is a pioneer. As the first out LesbiGay lead in a television sitcom, it also appears that Ellen has guts, too. Her comedy is a blend of word assimilation with the bizarre, with elements of her own wacky personality coming through. Ellen was born on Jan 26, 1958, in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. She has one brother, Vance, who is four years older. Raised a Christian Scientist, Ellen stopped practising the religion soon after her parents divorced, when she was thirteen. She also claims it was during this period that she discovered she had a knack for comedy. "My parents divorced when I was thirteen. My mother was going through a hard time, and I would try to make her feel better. Then, moving around to different schools, I used it as a way to meet people. Instead of being the pretty girl people flocked to, I was the one who said something to make them pay attention." Ellen and her mother then packed up their bags and moved to Atlanta, Texas, leaving her father and brother in New Orleans. After High School, Ellen returned to New Orleans and started working. She held a variety of jobs, including working as a waitress, hostess, oyster shucker, law firm clerk, and even door to door sales. She quickly realized she didn't want to "answer to a boss", and in 1981 when she was 23, she accepted a position as emcee in a venue called Clyde's Corner. When Clyde's closed a year later, she entered the "Funniest Person in New Orleans" contest, and won! This led to finally winning at the state and national levels, where she then headed off to San Francisco headlining as "The Funniest Person in America". In 1986, Ellen moved to Los Angeles, and worked at many venues, including The Improv in Hollywood. It was at the Improv that she was noticed by a booker for The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Ellen made her debut on The Tonight Show later the same year. Johnny loved her, and she became the first female comic ever invited by Carson to sit on the couch after a first appearance. She later went on to appear on Carson six times. Prior to Ellen, DeGeneres made two attempts at television roles. The first was as a ditzy secretary in "Open House", then as a nurse on "Laurie Hill", before starting work in 1993 on a spring replacement show titled "These Friends of Mine" where she starred as Ellen Morgan. The network loved the pilot, picked it up, and after making a dozen episodes, it became a hit. The next season the title was changed to simply "Ellen" and a few cast changes were made. The sitcom quickly gathered a loyal following. In 1995 Ellen made the leap into feature films, starring with Bill Pullman in the film "Mr. Wrong." She also wrote her first book, "My Point and I Do Have One" which entered its second printing even before its August 24 1995 U.S. release. She recently completed the filming of her second feature film, "Goodbye Lover" which as yet has no release date. Ellen's famous one hour coming out episode, titled "The Puppy Episode", aired in 1997, drawing record ratings, with an audience of 42 million. The rest is television history. It's unfortunate that only a year later, ABC made the decision to pull the plug on "Ellen" and the series was cancelled. 1999 has seen happiness for Ellen DeGeneres. She is romantically involved with actress Anne Heche, and the two make their home together in Los Angeles. Related Products
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