Ellen DeGeneres is an American stand-up comedian, television host and is also an actress. She is widely known for her show “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”. DeGeneres was born on 26th January 1968 to parents Betty Jane Pfeffer and Elliott DeGeneres. She attended the “Grace King High School” in Louisiana and later graduated from “Atlanta High School” in 1976. She attended University of New Orleans taking major in communication studies but dropped out later to work in a law firm for a clerical position.
She started performing stand up comedies at small clubs and coffee houses. She had also started to stage events and programs at Clyde’s Comedy Club, in New Orleans by 1981. In 1982 she became the Showtime’s Funniest Person in America.
In 1994, her comedy material became the successful sitcom “Ellen” (originally titled these friends of mine). The show was popular because of her style of observational humor and was often referred to as the “Female Seinfeld”.
She also starred in a series of films for a show called “Ellen’s Energy Adventure”. In 2001 she came out with the sitcom “The Ellen Show”. In 2001 she also hosted the Emmy Awards after the 9/11 attack and she carried it off so well in the wake of the tragedy that she received several standing ovations for her performance. She also hosted 2005 Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony in held three weeks after the Hurricane Katrina.
She lent her voice for animated movie “Finding Nemo” in which she gave voice to the character “Dory”. The role won her many awards including the Saturn Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for “Best Supporting Actress”; it was the first time this award was given to a voice performance. She also won the 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”.
In 2003 she launched the daytime television talk show “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”. It went on to be nominated for 11 Daytime Emmy Awards and won her four awards which included the award for the Best Talk Show.
She was selected to host the 79th Academy Awards Ceremony in 2005, which made her the first openly gay person to have hosted the event. Her performance yet again won over her guest. She was nominated for an Emmy Award as the host of Academy Awards Broadcast.
