Ellen Degeneres Biography
Probably one of the most popular and longest serving talk show hosts today and compared to legends like Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres has done it all from hosting the world’s politicians, tycoons, celebrities, fashion designers and top news anchors, hers is a career that is constantly in the eyes of the public.
DeGeneres was born on January 26 1958 in Metairie, Louisiana, USA to Elliott DeGeneres and Betty Jane DeGeneres, she was brought up in a comfortable middle-class family where religious beliefs of Christianity were greatly upheld. Her academic life was spent at the Grace King High School in Metairie, Louisiana, the Atlanta High School in Atlanta, Georgia and the University of New Orleans in New Orleans where she graduated with a degree in communication studies.
Her happy life was cut off when she approached teenage hood and her parents split up and went separate ways, used to the life of care and dependence on two parents DeGeneres was crushed and for a while she remained bitter and angry. After the period was over she regained her former self and accepted the new life although as the eldest child she had to assist in many of the household chores, after school she would go and perform odd jobs from working as a waitress to holding a sales job for a clothing shop.
DeGeneres remained a happy child that always looked at life from a comical perspective even when times were hard noticing this, her friends and family suggested that she go professional at a comedian since she was good at causing humour. DeGeneres begun with small performances at local events before she grew on to entertainment establishments in New Orleans, she expanded to include other performances in various cities before auditioning for stand-up comedy shows. By 1986 DeGeneres was a household name in the stand-up comedy scene, her popularity reigned on into the early 90’s when she was asked to feature in a show that would revolve around her real life character.
The show, named Ellen was first aired in 1994 to a warm reception by the public, DeGeneres became one of the most looked out for acts in comedy and she rivalled many of her male counterparts in the industry. DeGeneres continued to appear in the show until the season finale in 1998. In 2001 she returned with another show centred on her, it was named The Ellen Show and it ran until 2002.
DeGeneres is however famous for her role as the talk show host of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the show which premiered in 2004 has been running since then. It has risen to become one of the most watched and highly rated shows in the US, The Ellen DeGeneres Show is ranked top next to others like The Tyra Banks Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Besides her own productions DeGeneres has worked for other big names like American Idol, Cover Girl Cosmetics and American Express.
She is a lesbian and a vocal supporter of the right of Gays and Lesbians in America and around the world.
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