Tuesday, 9 August 2016

About Ellen DeGeneres

Beloved television icon and entertainment pioneer, Ellen DeGeneres' distinctive comic voice has resonated with audiences from her first stand-up comedy appearances through her work today on television, in film and in the literary world.
Ellen DeGeneres has made a home for herself in the daytime arena with her hit syndicated talk show, "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." The show enters its ninth season on September 12, fresh from winning the Daytime Emmy for "Outstanding Talk Show." During its eight seasons, the show has earned a total of 35 Daytime Emmy Awards. Additionally, DeGeneres has won eleven People's Choice Awards and most recently, the Teen Choice Award for "Choice Comedian" for a third consecutive year. Additionally, the show has won a Genesis Award and a GLAAD Media Award for "Outstanding Talk Show Episode."
DeGeneres has been included in Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women and was also included in Entertainment Weekly's 50 Most Powerful Entertainers. She was honored with Television Week's Syndication Personality of the Year and has been included in TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People.
DeGeneres had the honor of hosting the highly rated 79th Annual Academy Awards and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program." In addition to hosting the Oscars, DeGeneres has hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards three times. Her performance as host of the 2001 awards show garnered her rave reviews for providing a perfect balance of wit and heartfelt emotion for the post-September 11th telecast. DeGeneres served as host for an array of industry events, including the 38th and 39th Annual Grammy Awards, for which she earned an Emmy nomination.
DeGeneres also received critical acclaim for her HBO stand-up specials. "The Beginning" received two Emmy nominations in 2001, and the special entitled "Here and Now" was also nominated for two Emmys in 2003.
DeGeneres, an accomplished best-selling author, will release her third book on October 4th, titled, "Seriously... I'm Kidding," which includes a compilation of photos, quotes and stories from her life. DeGeneres' second book, "The Funny Thing Is...." was comprised of the author's comedic short stories and essays. It hit the New York Times Best Seller list upon its release. In 2005, DeGeneres was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for the audio version of the book. Her first book, "My Point... And I Do Have One," published in 1995, debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list.
Both on and off screen, DeGeneres' humanitarian efforts take center stage. This past year, DeGeneres brought awareness to the anti-bullying issue by creating a PSA titled "Be Kind." DeGeneres and the show partnered with the Trevor Project and Pacer Center to raise money and awareness for the cause. In addition, DeGeneres showed her support for her hometown of New Orleans, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Her efforts have resulted in "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" raising over 10 million dollars to improve the lives of New Orleans residents.
DeGeneres continues to share her love of animals and has brought attention to the Gentle Barn, an organization that rescues and rehabilitates animals. Overall, "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" has raised over 50 million dollars and brought attention to various causes, including global warming and breast cancer awareness. Additionally, DeGeneres served as spokesperson for General Mills' breast cancer awareness initiative, Pink for the Cure, and hosted special episodes of her show to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
DeGeneres' career began as an emcee at a local comedy club in her hometown of New Orleans, which led to national recognition in 1982 when her videotaped club performances won Showtime's "Funniest Person in America" honor. When DeGeneres moved to Los Angeles, she filmed her first HBO Special, "Young Comedians Reunion," then in 1986, "Women of the Night." That same year, DeGeneres became the first female comedian to be summoned by Johnny Carson to sit down with him after her performance.
DeGeneres began her acting career in television on FOX's sitcom, "Open House." She moved on to ABC's "Laurie Hill," prior to being offered a part on "These Friends of Mine" by ABC. After the first season, the show was renamed "Ellen." Running from 1994 to 1998, the show garnered record ratings, with DeGeneres receiving Emmy nominations each season in the Best Actress category. In 1997, DeGeneres was the recipient of the coveted Peabody Award as well as an Emmy for writing the critically acclaimed "Puppy Episode," in which her character came out as a gay woman to a record 46 million viewers. DeGeneres followed with the CBS sitcom, "The Ellen Show," which ran from 2001 to 2002.
In the course of producing and starring in "Ellen," DeGeneres received numerous accolades, including The People's Choice Award in 1995, two Golden Globe nominations and two Screen Actors Guild nominations. Other television credits include Executive Producing and starring with Sharon Stone in the Emmy-nominated "If These Walls Could Talk II" for HBO, as well as a guest appearance on the "Larry Sanders Show," for which she received another Emmy nomination.
DeGeneres has also been successful in her feature film work. DeGeneres scored unprecedented popular and critical response to her character, Dory, the fish with extremely short-term memory, in the blockbuster animated feature film, "Finding Nemo." DeGeneres' feature film credits include "EDTV" for director Ron Howard, "Mr. Wrong," "The Love Letter" for Dreamworks, New Regency's "Goodbye Lover," and "Coneheads."
DeGeneres also served as the fourth judge on "American Idol" during its ninth season. The judging panel included, Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi.
In May 2010, DeGeneres announced eleveneleven, a record label created in partnership with Telepictures, which will find new acts and platform them on the talk show, with the first release from 12-year-old Internet singing sensation, Greyson Chance.
DeGeneres has become a sought after spokesperson who's been featured in highly successful and popular campaigns, including American Express, CoverGirl and vitaminwater zero.

Ellen DeGeneres is the most visible gay or lesbian public figure in America

More than anyone else, Ellen DeGeneres is the face of LGBT America. Still.
That’s the verdict of two new Pew Research Center surveys, one of the general U.S. population and the other of LGBT Americans specifically.
Not only was the comedian and television host by far the most frequently cited example of a gay or lesbian public figure in the general-population survey, she and President Obama were the leaders when LGBT Americans were asked to name a well-known figure who’s been important in advancing the rights of LGBT people.
DeGeneres was already a well-known comedian and star of her eponymous sitcom when she came out publicly as a lesbian 16 years ago. Since then, she’s established herself as a highly successful talk-show host, voice actress (“Dory” in Finding Nemo) and commercial spokesperson. A 31-year-old bisexual woman in our survey captured DeGeneres’ appeal and significance as well as anyone: “[S]he has been out for so long that it is no longer an issue, and older white women feel comfortable with her show. She normalizes LGBT people.”
FT_13.06.12_LGBT_publicFigures_LGBT-420Nearly a quarter of LGBT respondents cited President Obama, who publicly reversed his previous opposition to same-sex marriage and spoke about it, and LGBT rights more generally, in his second inaugural address this past January.
Jason Collins, a center for the NBA’s Washington Wizards, was the second-most frequently mentioned gay or lesbian public figure in the general-population survey. Just before the survey was conducted, Collins became the first active male professional athlete in a major North American team sport to come out publicly as gay; he’s due to become a free agent next month. (The LGBT survey was conducted before Collins’ announcement.)
FT_13.06.12_LGBT_publicFigures_GP-420It’s worth noting, though, that almost four-in-ten Americans (38%) said they couldn’t name any gay or lesbian entertainers or public figures, including 61% of people age 65 and older.
Two-thirds of LGBT adults said well-known people who are themselves open about being LGBT “helps a lot” in making U.S. society more accepting of the community generally; nearly as many said that about non-LGBT public figures supporting LGBT issues. However, 46% didn’t offer the name of a national public figure as important in advancing LGBT rights.

Friday, 26 February 2016

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Wednesday, 17 February 2016

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi adopt a ‘Kid’


Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi are the proud parents of a nine-week old pooch named Kid.
DeGeneres, 57, made the announcement on Thursday’s show.
“I have not talked about this yet, but we have a new puppy,” she said. “Portia and I got a puppy and his name is Kid so now we have a kid. Yep. I mean, he is absolutely adorable.”
Although the couple is thrilled at the new addition, they’re not so pleased with the constant after-hours attention Kid needs. DeGeneres said it’s “not cute” to wake up at 11, and 1 and 3 and 5 for all his puppy needs.
“It really makes me appreciate what it’s like to be a mother,” she added. “Because like I’m trying to hold a puppy while I’m trying to make coffee. And I can’t do anything. He doesn’t let me do anything.”
There’s always been speculation as if and when DeGeneres and de Rossi will ever have a child. “And I named him Kid because, you know, people… There have been rumors forever,” DeGeneres began. “‘When are you and Portia gonna have a kid?’ So, now I can say we have a Kid. So it can just stop.”

John Krasinski Explains Why Sitting At Leonardo DiCaprio's Table Was So Awkward

"[T]hat sounds really cool, except I didn't get a chance to meet him and I didn't want to be like, 'Hey man, I'm the guy that doesn't have anybody,'" he said. "And then they won everything, so I'm in the middle of hugs and people are like, 'This is the best year ever!' And I was like, 'Wasn't it?' And then everybody went up and gave their speech I felt really pretty stupid."

Krasinski was a little bit confused about what to do amid the celebrations.

"Speaking of ['The Revenant' director] Alejandro [G. Iñárritu], when he won he said hi to everyone and thank you—because they all worked on the movie—and then turned to me and there was that moment of like, 'Why are you here?' and I was like, 'Congratulations!'"

Oh, John, you keep us young.

This article was written by Cavan Sieczkowski from Huffington Post and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.

Saturday, 30 January 2016

Ellen DeGeneres: The Oscars host who came out of the cold

In September, Ellen DeGeneres told the audience of her talkshow about the pros and cons of hosting the Academy Awards: "Pro: a lot of fancy designers will want to approach me and want me to wear a beautiful, expensive gown. Con: ain't no way in hell I'm wearing a gown." The audience erupted in cheers.

Such vocal approval is an indication of how far both DeGeneres's fortunes and US public attitudes towards sexuality and gender have shifted. At the turn of the century, you could have been excused for thinking DeGeneres was down and out.

After spending two decades establishing herself as one of the most popular comedians in the US, in 1997 she gambled everything on coming out as a lesbian, both in real life and in character on the hit sitcom that bore her name – and she seemed to lose. Advertisers deserted her show, her relationship with Anne Heche became tabloid fodder, she sank into depression and her career seemed to stall.

Look at her now. DeGeneres hasn't just bounced back; she's a bona fide American superstar, with a juggernaut of a talk show, nearly three billion views on her YouTube channel, and more Twitter followers than Oprah Winfrey, CNN or any member of One Direction. She has done it on her own terms. And she definitely wears suits, not gowns – as she will when she hosts the awards for a second time on Sunday.

DeGeneres has never been one to think small. Born outside New Orleans in 1958, she once said she decided early in life "I wanted to have money, I wanted to be special, I wanted people to like me, I wanted to be famous." One of the key aspects of her success is that she has achieved this, lost it all and come back stronger without coming across as ambitious or egocentric, let alone nasty or mean. Her amiability and approachability are crucial to her appeal, and perhaps her most politically significant attributes too.

Overcoming adversity is a motif that repeats itself in DeGeneres' life. When she was a 21-year-old college dropout, she fought with her girlfriend Kat and left their apartment. When Kat found her at a rock concert and begged her to come home, Ellen ignored her. Minutes later, Kat was killed in a car crash. Devastated, DeGeneres almost fell into self-destruction but found herself in her work. She impulsively embarked on what would become her comedy career, writing a routine called A Phone Call to God that she decided – one day – she would perform on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Seven years of dedicated gigging later, in 1986, she did just that – and was the first female comedian he invited over for a chat after her routine.

In 1994 DeGeneres landed her own ABC sitcom, called Ellen. Like Seinfeld, it combined wry observational standup with stories about social awkwardness: bookstore worker Ellen was basically likeable but clumsy and needy, with a tendency to ramble nervously and veer off on tangents. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given her penchant for deflection and self-effacement, Ellen was hiding something.

Rumours about her sexuality grew and hints were dropped on the show until in 1997 both Ellen the character and DeGeneres the performer came out as gay. Oprah was involved in both cases, as therapist to the former and talkshow host to the latter when DeGeneres appeared on her show. Degeneres also gave an interview to Time magazine, appearing on the cover with the strapline "Yep, I'm Gay".

"It's important to remember no one had done anything like that before," says Matt Kane of Glaad, the US lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender media advocacy group. "To come out on that scale – Ellen occupied a position in US pop culture that meant she introduced a lot of viewers to the reality of being gay or lesbian in a way they hadn't confronted."

The coming out sparked a mini culture war, with many praising the comedian's courage while others recoiled. The TV evangelist Jerry Falwell branded her "Ellen DeGenerate".

Initial support from advertisers and the network slipped away, audiences fell, and in May 1998 Ellen was cancelled. Four months later, Will & Grace – the first network sitcom with a lead character who was out from the start – debuted to considerable success. But Ellen was out in the cold. "I didn't work for three years," she has said. "I was so angry. I thought: I earned this. I didn't get this because I was beautiful; I didn't get this because I had connections in the business. I really worked my way up to a show, a sitcom that was mine that was successful, that was on for five years. I did what was right: I came out, which was good for me and ultimately it was the only thing I could do. And then I got punished for it." Meanwhile, her public profile took a hammering, not least because for the first time the press had a celebrity lesbian couple to fixate on in DeGeneres and Heche. Their unabashed displays of affection, including at the Clinton White House, were a lightning rod for criticism until they split in 2000.

By then, DeGeneres was re-establishing herself as a major standup. She was praised when she hosted the Emmys soon after 9/11 – asking "what would upset the Taliban more than a gay woman wearing a suit in front of a room full of Jews?" – and secured a new sitcom on CBS. Momentum was gathering. In 2002, the lesbian culture website AfterEllen launched, its name confirming DeGeneres's coming out as a watershed moment. And in 2003, she stole the film Finding Nemo as scatterbrained Pacific regal blue tang Dory.

In 2003, she launched The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Combining celebrity guests and comedy shtick – dancing with the audience, social-media blooper segments – it was fun and feelgood but in a comfy, pally way that contrasted with Oprah's messianic vibe. It won several Emmys in its first year and ratings climbed. They haven't stopped yet.

In 2004, DeGeneres started dating the actor Portia di Rossi, whom she married in 2008 and lives with in apparently blissful, tabloid-unfriendly domesticity.

"She's a great symbol of how far we've come," says Kane. "From losing nearly all her major sponsors after she came out, she's now one of America's most popular talk show hosts. Her screen presence is very welcoming. She can be quick-witted and sharp without being mean-spirited, which has really endeared her to audiences. She connects by doing what she does best: talking about shared experiences."

Prejudice against any given group is harder to maintain once people get to know a member of it. "Housewives who might have been disapproving when Ellen came out have got to know her," says Kane. "They see she's not the frightening activist they might have thought, but someone they want to spend time with on a daily basis."

DeGeneres' new mainstream popularity was cemented in 2007 when she hosted the Oscars for the first time. The fact that she was the first openly gay person to do so was perhaps less interesting than the sense that she was tapped because of her upbeat tone, a marked shift from two years of distinctly barbed hosting from Chris Rock and Jon Stewart. Now DeGeneres was the go-to act to keep everyone calm.

"These days it seems that everyone loves DeGeneres," W magazine noted. "Her distinctive hip populism cuts across divergent demographics while alienating no one … She just seems so nice and so normal." It might have taken a decade, but DeGeneres had reclaimed her position as a kind of national best buddy. But she has kept getting bigger. Her talk show goes from strength to strength, clocking up ever-growing ratings, 33 Emmys to date and A-list guests (Leonardo DiCaprio and Meryl Streep in recent weeks). Last month, the New York Times called her the new Oprah", noting her extraordinary advertising pull and growing range of branded products and media ventures, and suggesting her show has "helped fuel a full-fledged cultural movement, in which bullying is not OK".

Certainly, DeGeneres is using her industry clout to push things forward. Through her company, A Very Good Production, she is currently producing sitcom One Big Happy, about a gay woman and a straight man (Elisha Cuthbert and Nick Zano), lifelong friends who have a baby just as he meets the love of his life. DeGeneres will even graduate from comic relief to leading fish in Finding Dory, the sequel to Finding Nemo, scheduled for release in 2016.

And of course she has been invited to host the Oscars again – notably in the wake of another couple of fractious years courtesy of the bizarre Hathaway-Franco double act of 2012 and Seth MacFarlane's bad-taste bonanza in 2013. "When she was first announced as an Oscar host, some people saw it as a risk," says Kane. "Now it seems like a natural fit or even a safer choice."

DeGeneres was once asked about the moment when Johnny Carson invited her over to chat after her debut appearance on The Tonight Show. "It catapulted my career," she acknowledged, but "that's not why I wanted to do it. I wanted to do it because … I wanted people to get me." A bumpy three-decade ride later, it's safe to say that America gets Ellen DeGeneres, and it likes her.
Potted profile

Born 26 January 1958 in Metairie, Louisiana

Age 56

Career In 1986 she became the first female comedian to be invited for an on-screen chat with Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. From 1994-1998 she appeared in the sitcom Ellen. After that was cancelled, she experienced a hiatus before returning with her talk show.

Low point After coming out as a lesbian in Ellen and in real life in 1997, advertisers pulled out of the show and it was cancelled after one more season.

High point Her appearance as host of the Emmys soon after 9/11.

What she says "My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She's 97 now, and we don't know where the hell she is."

What they say about her "She combines her cosy charm with a coldly brilliant cynic's eye." – Leo Benedictus, the Guardian

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi: Couple allegedly attending therapy to save marriage?


Star magazine claims that Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi are visiting a couple's therapistGetty

American talk show host/comedian Ellen DeGeneres and her wife Portia De Rossi are again hit by reports that their relationship is in trouble.

According to Star magazine, the 57-year-old Oscar host and the 42-year-old Ally McBeal star have been allegedly visiting a couple's therapist as a final attempt to save their marriage.

"It was a very unhealthy situation, but they have begun the healing process. They are finally dealing with their issues," an alleged source said.

"Portia often complains that she feels bullied. With Ellen's show on hiatus for the summer, she is home bossing Portia around all day and expecting her to be at her beck and call," the insider added.

"They fight a lot during the sessions," the source said.

DeGeneres married the Australian-American actress in 2008. However, there have been several reports since 2013 that the couple's marriage was on the rocks.

DeGeneres has done her best to quash the divorce rumours.

"The tabloids had a photo of Portia not wearing her wedding ring. She goes, 'I didn't wear it because when I ride horses and I'm holding the reins, it gives me a blister'!" DeGeneres told People last year in March.

"The truth is, and this is corny, I fall more in love with Portia all the time. I really do. She surprises me all the time," she said.

"It's what anyone experiences when you find that person that gets you, wants to take care of you, wants the best for you. We're really lucky because we know how rare it is," DeGeneres added.

Tuesday, 12 January 2016

UB education student appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Wednesday, September 10

September 9, 2014


When thieves took off with more than $30,000 worth of band instruments – and brutally damaged ones they didn’t bother to take from the school where she teaches music – Melissa Salguero, a master’s degree student at the University of Bridgeport, went online for help.

Among those who were moved by her crowdfunding and YouTube pleas: Ellen DeGeneres, who invited Salguero to attend the taping of her popular afternoon talk show. Salguero was happy to be in the audience, but when DeGeneres called Salguero up to the stage to pay a public tribute to her, Salguero was stunned.

“Advocating for my students on national TV was a once-in-a-lifetime event,” she said. “I couldn’t stop crying.”

The Ellen DeGeneres Show will be aired on Wednesday, September 10.

Salguero won’t reveal what happens, but she will watch the show at the Cox Student Center at UB with her classmates from the School of Education.

She is earning a Master of Science in Secondary Education with a concentration in music.

Her professor Frank Martignetti, who directs music education at the School of Education, decided the graduate seminar should watch the show. “Melissa is an example of the best that the UB School of Education has to offer. Her ability to engage the community in support of her students is a model to all of us in the music education community,” he said. “We’re immensely proud of her.”

For the past six years, Salguero has been teaching at P.S. 48 in the South Bronx, among the poorest districts in the city. The average family income is $16,000 a year, and Salguero commutes over two hours from her home in Bridgeport to get to school by 7 a.m., to lead band practice before a full day of classes. When school lets out in the South Bronx, she commutes back to UB to take late-afternoon and evening classes and “usually makes it” on time.

“I love it,” she says. “I want to share my passion and love for music with students.”

But Salgueros’s drive was put to the test last April, when thieves broke into P.S. 48 last April and took off with saxophones, flutes, horns, an electronic keyboard, and other band instruments that were too costly for the school to immediately replace.

“I used it as a teachable moment to be flexible and be positive,” she said. “If my students saw me distraught and horrified, which I was when I walked through the doors that morning, that wouldn’t be good. So they saw me handling the situation maturely, and they’ll emulate that. The lesson was about staying positive.”

She logged onto the crowd-funding site, GoFundMe.com to raise money for new instruments. So far, donors have chipped in just over $2,600 toward her $30,000 goal.

“My students cannot believe there are people outside of their neighborhood who’ve heard of P.S. 48 and who want to help us. They can’t fathom that. It’s awesome to see. The lesson for them has been if you have a goal or a dream, don’t stop.”

5 reasons Ellen DeGeneres is awesome

Once again, Ellen DeGeneres demonstrated her awesomeness before a breathless nation.

The comedian and talk show commanded one of the funniest and most engaging Academy Award ceremonies in recent history Sunday, March 3.

Her awesomeness as host included that hilarious pizza money gag, the awesome selfie with half of Hollywood and welcomed Anne Hathaway to the stage as the “first white presenter” after talking about the likelihood that “Twelve Years a Slave” would win Best Picture.

The performance should not have surprised anyone who has watched this marketing genius at work.

Ellen is always awesome and here are five reasons why:

She is a great girlfriend

Ellen is married to actress Portia de Rossi, but she is everyone’s girlfriend. She’s welcoming, funny and seems the kind of friend you would not mind standing in a long line with because she’d crack you up the entire time. Plus she gives stuff away.

She’s nerdy cool

With her upbeat attitude, Ellen makes plaid and white flats look stylish day in and day out. She’s goofy from her grin to her hairstyle. She looks good, but doesn’t look like she spends 9 hours in front of a mirror painting her face.

She dances

Ellen is not a good dancer. She’s a great dancer. She does what she wants on the dance floor. She feels the beat. She has the rhythm.

“Doesn’t it feel good to dance?” she asked Bradley Cooper on a 2012 show. “No matter if it is good or bad, it just feels good.”

She’s a master flirt

Ellen flirts in that innocent way extremely personable do with everyone — guests, audience members, men and women. It is all in good fun. She’s kissed singer Justin Timberlake and hilariously gawked at singer Katy Perry’s ample bosom in a viral photo at the 2013 Grammys. Imagine her charms at work against Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

She’s a do-gooder who loves her mama

By all appearances, Ellen and her mother, Betty DeGeneres, have a wonderful relationship. That has no doubt helped shape her generous spirit. Ellen is an animal rights activist and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights advocate.

She had used her celebrity to raise millions for Toys for Tots.

“I love toys, I love tots. I love tater tots. Who doesn’t love tater tots,” Ellen said during a speech she made as part of a Duracell Toys for Tots campaign.


DeGeneres Show producer makes contact regarding UCC's 'Get Ellen to Synod' campaign

A producer for The Ellen DeGeneres Show has contacted the UCC's communications director, asking for more information about the UCC's campaign to get the popular TV personality to attend the denomination's national General Synod, July 1-5, in Tampa, Fla.

"Evidently, it was a news report in Tampa about our campaign that finally got through to Ellen and her staff," said the Rev. J. Bennett Guess. "We were contacted by one of Ellen's producers and asked to submit more information about our request of her."
After telling the producer about General Synod and why the UCC's planning committee thinks Ellen should address the UCC, Guess received a written response: "I just wanted to let you know I passed your information and request along to our executives. Our staff here deals with the show, but Ellen's life outside the show, including appearances, is handled by a different team. I know they are aware of your request and hopefully will be in touch with you."

"I at least feel good knowing that, at this phase, Ellen is aware of our campaign," Guess says, "but we're going to have to significantly ramp up our grassroots effort if we're going to make it impossible for Ellen to ignore our invitation. But if Betty White's fans can get her to host SNL, we can convince Ellen DeGeneres to come to Tampa."
Tampa's major league baseball team, the Tampa Bay Rays, may be lending a hand to the UCC's efforts as well. Guess said he was contacted recently by a team representative who expressed interest in having DeGeneres toss the first pitch at a game when she comes to Synod.

"Getting the whole city of Tampa involved could really give our invitation a boost as well as ensure that the region won't miss the fact that the UCC is coming to Florida," Guess says.
One of the most effective methods of generating publicity, Guess says, is for local churches to initiate contact with the local TV station that airs The Ellen DeGeneres Show and to demonstrate how your local church is active in the national campaign.


"By creating a fun video and letting your local affiliate know about it, you are not only advancing the campaign but attracting attention for the UCC in general," Guess says. "Don't forget that your appropriate network TV station has a vested interest in promoting Ellen's show, so take advantage of that."
A "Get Ellen to Synod" Facebook page now has more than 6,000 fans



Stories about Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres is one of the most popular contemporary comedians and the host of a successful daytime talk show. She is perhaps best known to young audiences as the voice of the endearing but absentminded fish Dory in the blockbuster animated hit Finding Nemo (2003), a role that perfectly captured her rambling, seemingly unrehearsed comic style. After rising through the ranks of stand-up comedy during the 1980s and early 1990s, DeGeneres became a successful television star with her show Ellen in the mid-1990s. Her career became temporarily derailed in the late 1990s, but she got back on track a few years later, surpassing her earlier successes by a long shot. During 2003 DeGeneres published a best-selling book of short stories and essays, toured across the United States with a new stand-up routine, voiced the part of Dory in Finding Nemo, and launched her syndicated talk show. Displaying the self-assurance that comes from a string of successful career moves, DeGeneres explained to Nicholas Fonseca of Entertainment Weekly how she feels about her latest venture: "I've never been so passionate about something. I will probably do this for the rest of my career."

A late-blooming comedian

DeGeneres was born outside New Orleans and spent most of her childhood there, living with her parents and her older brother, Vance. As a child, DeGeneres spent much of her free time exploring the city. She recalled to Liz Scott of New Orleans Magazine, "I rode my bike everywhere. All over the campus [of Newcomb College]. All over uptown. You know, people can grow up in New Orleans without realizing how unique a city it is. I remember thinking that it was a really neat place." When DeGeneres was thirteen years old, her parents divorced, and she moved with her mother to Atlanta, Texas. As quoted in the St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture,she recalled using comedy to help her mother through the painful period after the divorce: "My mother was going through some really hard times and I could see when she was really getting down, and I would start to make fun of her dancing," DeGeneres remembered. "Then she'd start to laugh and I'd make fun of her laughing. And she'd laugh so hard she'd start to cry, and then I'd make fun of that. So I would totally bring her from where I'd seen her start going into depression to all the way out of it."

"I'm doing a talk show. It's not my job to get into an argument with somebody about religion or politics or sexuality or anything. It is my job to make people laugh."

After DeGeneres graduated from high school in 1976, she moved back to New Orleans, holding down a series of jobs, none of which suited her personality. She worked for a time in a law firm but felt stifled by the dress code. She held a number of restaurant jobs, from hostess to bartender to oyster shucker. She also worked at a retail clothing store and as a house painter. Ultimately she realized that she did not like following other people's rules, and she would have to make a career for herself that allowed for independence. At the age of twenty-three, she started to flesh out a comedy routine, first performing just for friends and then at local coffeehouses and comedy clubs. Soon she became the master of ceremonies, or emcee, at a New Orleans comedy club. In 1982 she entered a national talent contest held by the cable network Showtime, sending in a videotape of her stand-up act. When DeGeneres won the contest, earning the title of "Funniest Person in America," she went immediately from local New Orleans comic to nationally recognized up-and-coming comedian. Over the next several years, she traveled around the country performing stand-up comedy, and she appeared on several HBO specials.

In 1986 DeGeneres made history in her first-ever appearance on the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Most comedians who appeared on the Tonight Show performed their stand-up routine and then returned backstage, never being invited to sit on the couch and have an on-camera chat with Carson. The invitation to sit down with Carson paid tribute to a comedian's talent and stature. A female comedian had never been asked to sit on the couch after a first-time performance on the show. The night DeGeneres debuted on the Tonight Show in 1986, Carson brought her over to the couch. She had arrived.

Breaking ground

In 1991 DeGeneres was honored as best female stand-up comic at the 1991 American Comedy Awards. About the same time, she branched out to begin acting in television series. She appeared in a couple of short-lived sitcoms, Open House and Laurie Hill, before earning her own show. These Friends of Mine premiered on ABC in March of 1994, receiving mixed reviews and decent ratings. The show starred DeGeneres as Ellen Morgan, an employee (and later owner) of a bookstore called Buy the Book. It focused on the lives of Ellen and her friends, finding humor in the mundane, everyday events of the characters' lives. By the beginning of the second season, the show had undergone major changes, including its title, which became Ellen. The reviews and the ratings steadily improved, as more and more viewers connected with DeGeneres's oddball humor and appealing, average-gal persona. DeGeneres earned numerous nominations for Emmy Awards, and in 1997 she won the prestigious Peabody Award for her work on the show.

In the spring of 1997, DeGeneres made pop-culture history by having her character come out as a lesbian, becoming the first gay lead character on a network television sitcom. That show, called "The Puppy Episode," garnered forty-six million viewers and brought DeGeneres an Emmy Award for best comedy writing. At the same time, DeGeneres herself came out to millions with a cover story in Time magazine announcing that she is gay. The announcement came as no surprise—fans and journalists had speculated that it was coming—but it still generated a media storm. Many fans wrote supportive letters, while others were scandalized by the news. During the 1997–98 season, Ellen began losing viewers. Many observers suggested that the show had fundamentally changed when the main character's sexual orientation became the focus of numerous episodes. Some believed that the network simply did not want the controversy generated by the announcement about Ellen's sexuality. Some major advertisers had pulled out, and the network, fearful of offending viewers, began attaching warning labels to episodes that showed Ellen kissing another woman or discussing her sexual orientation. The show was cancelled after the 1997–98 season.

After her show's cancellation, DeGeneres went through a difficult period, both professionally and personally. Her highly publicized relationship and August of 2000 breakup with actress Anne Heche (1969–) eroded much of the goodwill fans felt toward her—or at least that is what DeGeneres believed, as she explained in an article inPeople magazine: "I went through a phase, whether it was true or not, where my perception was, 'Everyone hates me now,' and it felt horrible." She appeared in a number of films during this period, including EDtv and The Love Letter, but none of these established her as a successful film actress. In 2001 DeGeneres starred in a short-lived sitcom called The Ellen Show, which was praised by reviewers but never attracted a large audience.

Amid these disappointments, DeGeneres's professional life hit one distinctly positive note, setting the stage for what some have described as her career's second act. Soon after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, DeGeneres was asked to host the prime-time Emmy Awards, a program that had been delayed twice due to the

From left, Christiana Aquilera, Molly Shannon, and Ellen Degeneres, during a taping of The Ellen Degeneres Show .
AP/Wide World Photos. Reproduced by permission.tragedy. As many in the entertainment industry struggled over how to amuse audiences—or whether they should even try—in the somber aftermath of 9/11, DeGeneres impressed her fellow actors and millions of viewers with what Fonseca described inEntertainment Weekly as a "witty, respectful, and wise" performance.

Finding her audience—again

Over the next year or so, DeGeneres began showing up on television more and more often. She hosted Saturday Night Live, appeared on an episode of Will and Grace, and occupied the center square on the primetime game show Hollywood Squares. Suddenly, in 2003, DeGeneres was everywhere. She returned to stand-up with a hugely successful thirty-five-city tour, culminating with an HBO comedy special called Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now. She published a best-selling book of comic essays called The Funny Thing Is..., and she lent her voice to what became the highest-grossing animated movie of all time: Disney/Pixar's Finding Nemo. The character of the blue tang fish Dory seemed tailor-made for DeGeneres's wide-eyed, naive, and intensely likable persona, and in fact the role was written expressly for her. In a September of 2003 article in Entertainment Weekly, Andrew Stanton, the film's director and cowriter, explained why DeGeneres was his only choice for that character: "Everybody has that friend who's funny merely for existing. That's Ellen. You're not waiting for a punchline with her. You're just waiting for her to speak so you can start laughing."

In the fall of 2003, DeGeneres found herself once again at the center of a self-titled television program; this time she was not the star of a sitcom but the host of a syndicated daytime talk show. In its first season, The Ellen DeGeneres Show earned positive reviews and solid ratings across the nation. The successful year was topped off with a record twelve Emmy Award nominations in 2004, the most ever received by a talk show in its debut season. According to an article in the Washington Post, when she heard the news about the Emmy nominations, DeGeneres responded with a comment typical of her self-criticizing, slightly insecure comedic style: "They told me, you got nominations for every single category except the song, and I instantly said, 'What's wrong with our song?'" In addition to three technical awards, DeGeneres's program won the 2004 Emmy for outstanding talk show. Basking in a post-Emmy glow, DeGeneres commented in an article at CNN.com: "I have fun every day. It's the best job I ever had."

The joys of DeGeneres's professional successes are underscored by her stable and happy personal life. She has spent several years in a relationship with photographer and actress Alexandra Hedison. The two share a home on a three-acre spread in the Hollywood Hills. In a late 2003 article in People, DeGeneres reflected on her career, concluding that both the highs and the lows have been valuable to her: "Right now I'm in such a good place, and I'm so grateful for every step of the way, because it makes me appreciate this time even more."



Monday, 11 January 2016

Ellen DeGeneres Biography

Ellen DeGeneres


With her own talk show, Ellen DeGeneres is one of America's most well-known comedians, also serving as a prominent gay/lesbian role model.

“I think what saved me is being honest. I think I somehow had the courage to do something and to say something that I knew would possibly end my career. Instead of making business more important, I made my soul and my life more important. And I think by being truthful, and being honest, that saved me.”
—Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres - Funniest Person in America (TV-14; 1:41) Ellen DeGeneres spent many years in local stand up clubs refining her act until she submitted her routine to Showtime and won the title Funniest Person in Louisiana, ultimately leading the way to the national title.
Synopsis

Born on January 26, 1958, in Metairie, Louisiana, Ellen DeGeneres hit it big as a stand-up comedian before starring on her own sitcom, Ellen. In 1997, she came out as gay, and became a staunch advocate of LGBT rights. She has been the host of her own award-winning talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, since 2003, and married girlfriend Portia de Rossi in 2008.
Early Life

Ellen Lee DeGeneres was born January 26, 1958, in Metairie, Louisiana, to an insurance salesman and a working mother who divorced when DeGeneres was a teenager. When she was growing up, DeGeneres dreamed of becoming a veterinarian, but she gave up the idea because she was "not book smart." Instead, she waited tables, sold vacuum cleaners, painted houses and worked as a legal secretary.

DeGeneres's older brother, Vance, an actor/comedian and former correspondent for The Daily Show, was long considered the humorous member of the family. Then once, during a public speaking event, DeGeneres found herself frightened by the crowd and used humor to get through the experience. She was a hit, and received offers to do stand-up comedy. She began performing in 1981, bolstered by her mother's moral and financial support.
Stand-up Comedy

At the age of 23, DeGeneres began performing at a local coffeehouse. She got her big debut in 1986 when, acting on a tip from Jay Leno, The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson sent a booking agent to catch her act at the Improv in Hollywood. As a result of that engagement, DeGeneres appeared on The Tonight Show and earned the distinction of being the only female comic to be invited by Johnny Carson to sit on the famed "couch" during her first visit.

DeGeneres then began making regular appearances on the talk show circuit, including performances on The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Later with Greg Kinnear,Larry King Live, and Good Morning, America. She was also profiled in detail on ABC's PrimeTime Live.

Sitcom History

Her wit won over audiences, and DeGeneres finally found success as an actress with her own prime-time sitcom—the self-titled television series, Ellen. The series was originally titled These Friends of Mine, but was renamed in 1994. From that point, the show evolved from its beginnings as an ensemble effort into a showcase for DeGeneres.

The show faced strong criticism when, in April 1997, DeGeneres's character became the first lead in sitcom history to openly acknowledge her homosexuality on air. An ABC affiliate in Birmingham, Alabama, refused to air the landmark episode. Fearing controversy, some of the show's sponsors, Daimler Chrysler among them, withdrew advertisements.

Several episodes following her reveal had gay themes and, throughout the remainder of the season, DeGeneres and ABC executives faced a storm of criticism. But the show also received rounds of applause from gay-friendly activists—including DeGeneres's mother, Betty DeGeneres, who appeared on numerous talk shows in support of her daughter. Despite a supportive audience, an Emmy Award for the coming-out episode and the show's groundbreaking place in television history, Ellen was canceled in 1998.

But DeGeneres had already made the move to the big screen, starring in the dark comedy Mr. Wrong (1996) as a woman in search of the perfect man. She also appeared in the comedy EdTV (1999), starring Matthew McConaughey, and the television production of If These Walls Could Talk 2(2000), in which she shared a much publicized love scene with Sharon Stone.
Talk Show Host

Returning to television in 2003, Ellen DeGeneres became a big hit with daytime viewers with her self-titled talk show, Ellen. Since its inception, the show has won a slew of Daytime Emmy and People's Choice Awards.

Also in 2003, DeGeneres lent her voice to the animated box office smash,Finding Nemo. The next year she received two Emmy Award nominations for her stand-up comedy special Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now.

A unique combination of kind and funny, Ellen DeGeneres became a popular choice to host major awards telecasts. She was tapped to host the Grammys in 1996 and 1997; the Primetime Emmys in 2001 and 2005; and the Academy Awards in 2007 and 2014. Underscoring her popularity, DeGeneres in 2009 was chosen to fill the coveted fourth slot as a judge on American Idol, replacing Paula Abdul.

DeGeneres is also the author of several books, including My Point ... and I Do Have One (1995) and Seriously ... I'm Kidding (2011). Her film work slowed after her talk show took off, but she returned to the studio for production ofFinding Dory, set for a 2016 release.
Personal Life

For several years, DeGeneres dated actress Anne Heche and, in 1999, the couple bought a home in Los Angeles. Although at one point they publicly announced their desire to be married, the couple broke up in August 2000.

DeGeneres then dated Alexandra Hedison for a few years before becoming involved with actress Portia de Rossi in December 2004. DeGeneres married de Rossi on August 16, 2008, in what was perhaps the highest-profile gay marriage after California legalized the unions

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