Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres is an American comedian, television talk show host, writer, producer, author and activist for gay issues. Her daytime talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show began in 2003 and is presently one of the highest rated and awarded shows on television. Ellen has also hosted awards shows such as The Academy Awards (2007, 2014), The Grammy Awards (1996, 1997), and The Emmy Awards (1994, 2001, 2005).

Born on January 26, 1958 in Metairie, Louisiana, Ellen’s zodiac sign is Aquarius. Her middle name is Lee.

Ellen DeGeneres – Her Politics

She is a firm liberal and a supporter of the Democratic party. She is close to former President Barack Obama, having invited him on her talk show and also being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from him in 2016. “It’s easy to forget now just how much courage was required for Ellen to come out on the most public of stages 20 years ago,” Obama said at the ceremony, which was an emotional moment for DeGeneres. (1)

Ellen is also a vocal critic of Republican President Donald Trump. When asked why she won’t invite Trump on her show, DeGeneres replied, “He’s against everything that I stand for. We need to look at someone else who looks different than us and believes in something that we don’t believe in and still accept them, and still let them have their rights.” (2)

She has also been critical of Eric Trump. When Eric tweeted about a “deep state” conspiracy because his Twitter feed suggested that he follow Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and DeGeneres, Ellen tweeted back at the Trump son the following: “I just wanna say, Eric, I am honored that you think that I’m powerful enough to be part of a government conspiracy…I’ve got my gay agenda meetings on Mondays. On Wednesday, Beyoncé and I host an Illuminati brunch.”

Ellen DeGeneres – Her Religion

When she was a child Ellen was raised under the Christian Scientist faith, a belief that one’s mental beliefs can have an effect on one’s physical world.

When Ellen’s father passed away in 2018, she spoke of her father’s beliefs. “He was Christian Science his entire life. He never had medicine his whole life. He never went to a doctor. We never had a vaccination. We never had medicine growing up and he lived to be 92.” (4)

However, Ellen practices a certain new age way of spirituality in her life today. She explains her philosophy in this way:

“I think all religion is based on what happens after this life. You live a certain way so that when you die, things can be good. But why can’t things be good now? Why can’t you understand that you’re in heaven now? That’s how I live. I believe in God. I think that God is everywhere. Every morning I look outside, and I say, ‘Hi, God.’ Because I think that the trees are God. I think that our whole experience is God.” (5)

She also practices and advocates for transcendental meditation.

Ellen DeGeneres – Gay Rights

Ellen came out as a lesbian in 1997 in a very public way, as a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show. DeGeneres’ coming out placed her underneath an intense public spotlight, mentioned constantly in news headlines and mainstream TV reporting. At the time she was one of the highest profile celebrities to come out as gay.

Ellen also leveraged the moment to also out her on-screen character in her TV sitcom Ellen. “The Puppy Episode” became the highest-watched episode in the history of the series. It also made history as the first top-billed television role for a gay character.

Ellen DeGeneres – Her Relationships

Since 2004 Ellen has been in a relationship with actress Portia de Rossi. They married in August 2008. de Rossi has since taken the surname of DeGeneres.

Before her marriage to Portia, Ellen was in a three-year relationship with another actress, Anne Heche. Ellen also has an earlier romantic relationship with Alexandra Hedison, a photographer.

Ellen has a brother named Vance who is a musician. Her mother is Elizabeth, a retired speech therapist.

Ellen DeGeneres – Trivia & Miscellaneous Facts

She is a vegan and also a champion of animal rights. Ellen routinely promotes veganism and her animal causes on her talk show.

Sources:

1: The Guardian

2: Vanity Fair

3: The Washington Post

4: Today

5: Good Reads

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