Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres is a prominent American comedian, television host, and advocate known for her sharp wit and engaging humor. She gained fame through her sitcoms, notably *Ellen* (1994-1998) and *The Ellen Show* (2001-2002), before launching the highly successful *The Ellen DeGeneres Show* in 2003, which won several Daytime Emmy Awards. DeGeneres is also recognized for voicing the character Dory in Pixar's *Finding Nemo* and its sequel, *Finding Dory*. Beyond her entertainment career, she has been a vocal advocate for LGBTQ rights, animal rights, and awareness of sexual abuse, having publicly shared her own experiences to encourage others to seek help. DeGeneres' contributions have extended to literature, with multiple best-selling books and significant online media presence through platforms like ellentube. Despite her achievements, she faced controversy in 2020 regarding the workplace environment of her show, leading to her decision to conclude the series in 2022 after 19 seasons. DeGeneres' impact includes raising awareness for important social issues while maintaining a connection with millions of fans through her humor and authenticity.
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Ellen DeGeneres
Television Show Host
- Born: January 26, 1958
- Place of Birth: Metairie, Louisiana
Although DeGeneres is a comedian who is known for her quick wit and dry humor, she is also an advocate for serious issues including LGBTQ rights, sexual abuse of teenage girls, and animal rights.
Following the success of sitcoms Ellen (1994–1998) and The Ellen Show (2001–2002), Ellen DeGeneres launched The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2003. The show won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show in 2004 and for the years 2006–2008. DeGeneres also won People’s Choice Awards in 2005–8 for Favorite Daytime Talk Show Host and Favorite Funny Female Star. The year 2003 saw the release of the popular animated Pixar film Finding Nemo, in which DeGeneres voiced Dory the fish, Marlin’s friend. She also performed her stand-up comedy routine “Here and Now” in cities across the United States.
In addition to her success as a comedian and television personality, DeGeneres also found success in 2003 as an author. Her second book, The Funny Thing Is . . ., a collection of comedic essays, became a New York Times best seller. She then published a third book, Seriously . . . I’m Kidding, in 2011. Four years later, she published a book about California architecture as well as home décor and design titled Home.
DeGeneres’s humorous views about everyday experiences—evident both in her stand-up comedy and in her books—and her experience as a talk show host have helped her land prominent emcee positions, most notably as host of the Emmy Awards (2001) and the Academy Awards (2007). She also judged one season of American Idol, the popular reality television–singing competition, in 2009.
DeGeneres has served as a vocal advocate of human rights and animal rights. In 1997, she publicly announced her sexual orientation. She began dating actress Portia de Rossi in 2004. The couple wed on August 16, 2008, in California, where same-sex marriage had recently been legalized. Also in 2004, DeGeneres revealed to Allure magazine that her stepfather had sexually abused her as a teenager. DeGeneres hoped her revelation would encourage teenage girls caught in the same situation to seek help. Both DeGeneres and de Rossi have worked for animal rights. In 2009, the couple were jointly awarded the Wyler Award, a Humane Society honor given to public figures who publicly support animal rights.
In 2014, DeGeneres and Warner Bros. released ellentube, a website and iOS app that features video clips from the show and its fans. According to Paige Albiniak for Broadcasting & Cable in 2014, ellentube adds to DeGeneres’s web presence which was already strong. DeGeneres’ media presence reached an average of 100 million page views for EllenTV.com, an average of 100 million viewers per month for The Ellen Show’s YouTube channel, and 33 million Twitter followers for @TheEllenShow.
DeGeneres voiced the starring role of Dory in Finding Dory, the 2016 sequel to 2003’s Finding Nemo. Later that year, she was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. Following a preview episode in late 2017, she began serving as the host of the game show Ellen's Game of Games on network television. Returning to stand-up, she released a special, Relatable, on the streaming service Netflix in 2018. Within its first seasons on the air, Ellen's Game of Games proved popular, earning DeGeneres Emmy nominations in 2018 and 2019 in the category of Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program. Working behind the scenes, she also helped bring Dr. Seuss's classic work to the small screen in 2019 by beginning to serve as executive producer for the animated Netflix adaptation Green Eggs and Ham. In early 2020, her lengthy career was recognized when she was the recipient of the Carol Burnett Award at the Golden Globe Awards ceremony.
In 2020 DeGeneres became involved in a controversy concerning the workplace environment of her show. Multiple employees pubicly categorized it as "toxic." DeGeneres would later apologize to her audience and production staff for these allegations. In May 2021, DeGeneres announced that the upcoming season would be its last. On May 26, 2022, after ninteen years on television, the Ellen DeGeneres Show concluded its last episode.
Impact
The Ellen DeGeneres Show has received multiple Daytime Emmy Awards and maintains an audience of millions of people per episode. Critics have praised DeGeneres for her ability to bring humor to everyday experiences. DeGeneres’s honesty and self-awareness around both her sexual orientation and her early experiences as a teenager have helped others. Additionally, her animal rights advocacy has brought nationwide awareness to the issue.
Bibliography
Albiniak, Page. “Ellen DeGeneres Launches New Digital Video Site, ellentube.” Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media, 30 Oct. 2014, www.broadcastingcable.com/news/ellen-degeneres-launches-new-digital-video-site-ellentube-135224. Accessed 22 May 2024.
Dalby, Margaret. "Ellen DeGeneres Announces New Series Five Months After Talk Show Ended." Desert News, 21 Oct. 2022, www.deseret.com/entertainment/2022/10/21/23416670/ellen-degeneres-new-show. Accessed 22 May 2024.
“Ellen DeGeneres.” IMDb, 2024, www.imdb.com/name/nm0001122/. Accessed 22 May 2024.
DeGeneres, Ellen. Seriously . . . I’m Kidding. Grand Central, 2011.
“Ellen DeGeneres Molested as Teen.” CBS News, CBS News Entertainment, 18 May 2005, www.cbsnews.com/news/ellen-degeneres-molested-as-teen/. Accessed 22 May 2024.
James, Meg. “For Ellen DeGeneres, Things Are Going Along Nicely.” Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2013, www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-for-ellen-degeneres-things-are-going-along-nicely-20130405-dto-htmlstory.html. Accessed 27 June 2016.
Otterson, Joe. "Ellen DeGeneres Says She's Grateful for 'Hardest Times of Her Life' at Golden Globes." Variety, 5 Jan. 2020, variety.com/2020/tv/news/ellen-degeneres-golden-globes-carol-burnett-award-1203457022/. Accessed 22 May 2024.
Yandoli, Krystie Lee."Former Employees Say Ellen’s “Be Kind” Talk Show Mantra Masks A Toxic Work Culture."BuzzFeed, 16 Jul. 2020,www.buzzfeednews.com/article/krystieyandoli/ellen-employees-allege-toxic-workplace-culture. Accessed 22 May 2024.
Zinoman, Jason. "Ellen Degeneres Is Not as Nice as You Think." The New York Times, 12 Dec. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/arts/television/ellen-degeneres.html. Accessed 22 May 2024.