Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, actress, television host, writer, and producer. She began her career in stand-up comedy in the early 1980s, gaining national attention with a 1986 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. She starred in the television sitcoms Ellen (1994–1998) and The Ellen Show (2001–2002). She also hosted the syndicated television talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003–2022), for which she received 33 Daytime Emmy Awards.
In April 1997, DeGeneres publicly came out as a lesbian on the cover of Time with the words "Yep, I'm gay" and after "The Puppy Episode", became the first openly gay lead character on an American network television show. DeGeneres also had a successful film career, starring in Mr. Wrong (1996), EDtv (1999), The Love Letter (1999), and most notably voicing the character Dory in Finding Nemo (2003) and Finding Dory (2016); for her performance in Finding Nemo, DeGeneres won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her other accolades include the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, 20 People's Choice Awards—more than any other individual—and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. In 2020, she became the second-ever recipient of the Carol Burnett Award for her contributions to television.
DeGeneres has also released several stand-up specials, including HBO's The Beginning (2000) and Here and Now (2003), and Netflix's Relatable (2018) and For Your Approval (2024). She is widely recognized for hosting major awards ceremonies, including the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, and Primetime Emmy Awards. Outside of entertainment, DeGeneres has authored four books and founded the record label eleveneleven and the production company A Very Good Production. She also launched the lifestyle brand ED Ellen DeGeneres, offering apparel, home goods, and pet products.
In 2021, DeGeneres announced the end of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, following multiple allegations of workplace bullying. The controversy led to internal investigations and a sharp decline in public support, culminating in her decision to retire from show business in 2024.
Early life and education
Ellen Lee DeGeneres was born and raised in Metairie, Louisiana, to Elizabeth Jane "Betty" (née Pfeffer) (born 1930), a speech therapist, and Elliott Everett DeGeneres (1925–2018), an insurance agent. She has one brother, Vance, a musician and producer. She was raised a Christian Scientist. Her parents filed for separation in 1973 and were divorced the following year. Shortly after, her mother married Roy Gruessendorf, a salesman. Betty Jane and Ellen moved with Gruessendorf from the New Orleans area to Atlanta, Texas. Vance stayed with his father.
When she was 15 or 16 years old, DeGeneres was molested by her stepfather. Gruessendorf used her mother's recent breast cancer diagnosis as an excuse to touch her inappropriately, saying he needed to examine her breasts for lumps. Eventually, he tried to break down her door and sexually assault her, prompting her to run away from home and spend the night in a hospital. DeGeneres told her mother about the abuse a few years later, but Betty did not believe her, and remained married to Gruessendorf for 18 years afterward. She finally realized that DeGeneres had been telling the truth when his accounts of his behavior toward his stepdaughter kept changing. Gruessendorf died in 1997.
DeGeneres graduated from Atlanta High School in May 1976, after completing her first years of high school at Grace King High School in Metairie. She moved back to New Orleans to attend the University of New Orleans, where she majored in communication studies. After one semester, she left school to do clerical work in a law firm with a cousin, Laura Gillen. Her early jobs included a stint at J. C. Penney Alternate Link and waitressing at TGI Fridays and another restaurant. She also worked as a house painter, a hostess and a bartender. She relates much of her childhood and career experiences in her comedic work.
Career Stand-up comedy DeGeneres started performing stand-up comedy at small clubs and coffee houses. By 1981, she was the emcee at Clyde's Comedy Club in New Orleans. DeGeneres cites Woody Allen and Steve Martin as her main influences at this time. In the early 1980s she began to tour nationally, and in 1984 she was named Showtime's funniest person in America. DeGeneres lists Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett and Bob Newhart among her comedic influences.
After a 15-year hiatus from performing comedy, DeGeneres appeared in a 2018 Netflix stand-up special, Relatable. She released another special, For Your Approval, through Netflix in September 2024.
Film career DeGeneres's work in the late 1980s and early 1990s included the film Coneheads. DeGeneres starred in a series of films for a show named Ellen's Energy Adventure, which was part of the Universe of Energy attraction and pavilion at Walt Disney World's Epcot. The film also featured Bill Nye, Alex Trebek, Michael Richards, and Jamie Lee Curtis. The show revolved around DeGeneres's falling asleep and finding herself in an energy-themed version of Jeopardy!, playing against an old rival, portrayed by Curtis, and Albert Einstein. The next film had DeGeneres co-hosting an educational look at energy with Nye. The ride first opened on September 15, 1996, as Ellen's Energy Crisis, but was quickly given the more positive-sounding name Ellen's Energy Adventure. The ride closed permanently on August 13, 2017.
DeGeneres provided the voice of Dory, a friendly fish with short-term memory loss, in the 2003 animated Disney/Pixar film Finding Nemo. The film's director, Andrew Stanton, said that he offered the role to DeGeneres because he had seen an episode of her show where she changed the subject five times before one sentence had finished.Stanton states this on the Finding Nemo DVD running commentary. For her performance as Dory, DeGeneres won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress, Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie from the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, and the Annie Award from the International Animated Film Association, for Outstanding Voice Acting. She was also nominated for a Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also provided the voice of the dog in the prolog of the Eddie Murphy feature film Dr. Dolittle. Her win of the Saturn Award marked the second time the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films has given an acting award to a voice performance; Robin Williams had previously won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as the Genie in Aladdin. DeGeneres reprised her role in Finding Dory, the 2016 sequel to Finding Nemo.
In April 2026, it was announced that DeGeneres would reprise her role once again as Dory in an upcoming short film in the Finding Nemo franchise.
Television career
1989–2002
DeGeneres's first regular TV role was in a short-lived Fox sitcom called Open House in 1989, a spin-off of the show Duet. She played the role of Margo Van Meter, a receptionist at the Juan Verde Real Estate company. The show co-starred Alison LaPlaca and Mary Page Keller. In 1992, producers Neal Marlens and Carol Black cast DeGeneres in their sitcom Laurie Hill, in the role of Nurse Nancy MacIntyre. The series was canceled after only four episodes, but Marlens and Black soon cast her in their next ABC pilot, These Friends of Mine, which they co-created with David S. Rosenthal.
Inspired by her comedy career, These Friends of Mine was renamed Ellen after the first season. The ABC show was popular in its first few seasons due in part to DeGeneres's style of observational humor; it was often referred to as a "female Seinfeld".
Ellen reached its height of popularity in April 1997, when DeGeneres came out as a lesbian on the cover of Time (with the headline, "Yep, I'm gay") and subsequently The Oprah Winfrey Show. Her character on the sitcom also came out of the closet to her therapist, played by Oprah Winfrey. The coming-out episode, titled "The Puppy Episode", was one of the highest-rated episodes of the show. The series returned for a fifth season but experienced falling ratings and was canceled.
DeGeneres returned to television in 2001 with a new CBS sitcom, The Ellen Show, which was canceled after 13 episodes. In 2007, a former writer said she treated the writers "like shit" saying "Why do you keep writing these unfunny jokes?" After her sitcoms, DeGeneres would later re-establish herself as a successful talk show host.
2003–2017
DeGeneres launched a daytime television talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, in September 2003. One of several celebrity-hosted talk shows surfacing at the beginning of that season, including those of Sharon Osbourne and Rita Rudner, her show has consistently risen in the Nielsen ratings and received widespread critical praise. It was nominated for 12 Daytime Emmy Awards in its first season, winning four, including Best Talk Show. The show won 25 Emmy Awards for its first three seasons on the air. For much of the duration of the show, DeGeneres was known for dancing with the audience at the beginning of the show and during commercial breaks. She often gave away free prizes and trips to be in her show's studio audience with the help of her sponsors. DeGeneres later stated that she stopped dancing as it became an expectation and too much of a burden.
DeGeneres celebrated her thirty-year class reunion by flying her graduating class to California to be guests on her show in February 2006. She presented Atlanta High School with a surprise gift of a new electronic LED marquee sign. DeGeneres made a surprise appearance at Tulane University's May 2006 commencement in New Orleans. Following George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton to the podium, she appeared in a bathrobe and furry slippers. "They told me everyone would be wearing robes", she said. Ellen made another commencement speech at Tulane in 2009.
The show broadcast for a week from Universal Studios Orlando in March 2007. Skits included DeGeneres going on the Hulk Roller Coaster Ride and the Jaws Boat Ride. DeGeneres was placed on bed rest in May 2007 due to a torn ligament in her back. She continued hosting her show from a hospital bed, tended to by a nurse, explaining "the show must go on, as they say." Guests sat in hospital beds as well. On May 1, 2009, DeGeneres celebrated her 1000th episode with celebrity guests such as Oprah Winfrey, Justin Timberlake and Paris Hilton, among others. Jennifer Aniston and Justin Timberlake surprised DeGeneres on her 2,000th show in December 2015.
DeGeneres replaced Paula Abdul as a judge on the ninth season of American Idol. Her role started after the contestant auditions, at the beginning of "Hollywood Week". It is reported that DeGeneres also signed a contract to be a judge on the show for at least five seasons. She made her American Idol debut on February 9, 2010. However, on July 29, 2010, DeGeneres and Fox executives announced that the comedian would be leaving American Idol after one season. In a statement, DeGeneres said that the series "didn't feel like the right fit for me".
DeGeneres began hosting the NBC game show Ellen's Game of Games during the 2017–2018 television season. Based on games played on her talk show, the series previewed on December 18, 2017, with regular episodes starting the following January. It would run for four total seasons until May 2021, with its cancellation announced in January 2022.
2018–2022