Ellen Degeneres Biography

After voicing the character of ?Dory? in the animated film, ?Finding Nemo,? Ellen?s bringing her charm and wit back to the small screen this fall as host of her very own daytime TV talk show, ?The Ellen DeGeneres Show,? premiering September 8th.

Ellen recently completed a critically acclaimed 35-city U.S. standup comedy tour called ?Here and Now,? which took her to comedy clubs around the country and culminated in HBO?s highest-rated comedy special of the season. She also served as a guest Center Square for two weeks at a time this past year on the syndicated game show ?Hollywood Squares.?

A pioneer and television icon, Ellen DeGeneres made history in April 1997, when her on-screen persona, ?Ellen Morgan? from the series ?Ellen,? became the first openly gay leading character on television. Her groundbreaking legacy, however, began in 1986 during her first appearance on ?The Tonight Show? when she became the first and only woman to be summoned by Johnny Carson to sit down with him after her performance.

Ellen?s career began as an emcee at a local comedy club in her hometown of New Orleans, which led to national recognition in 1982 when her videotaped club performances won Showtime?s ?Funniest Person In America.? Soon after moving to Los Angeles, she filmed her first HBO Special ?Young Comedians Reunion,? followed by 1986?s ?Women of the Night? and 1989?s ?Command Performance: One Night Stand? for which she received a Cable Ace nomination. DeGeneres was also named ?Best Female Standup? at the 1991 American Comedy Awards.

Ellen?s foray into network television began with a role on Fox?s ?Open House.? She then took a spot on ABC?s ?Laurie Hill? until she was offered a leading role on ?These Friends of Mine? by ABC, which after its first season, became ?Ellen.? The show garnered record ratings with DeGeneres receiving Emmy nominations each season in the ?Best Actress? category. In 1997 she was the recipient of the coveted Peabody Award. In the same year she earned an Emmy for writing the critically acclaimed ?Puppy Episode? when her character came out as a gay woman to a record 46 million viewers. She recently starred in CBS?s, ?The Ellen Show.?

In the course of producing and starring in ?Ellen,? DeGeneres received numerous accolades including The People?s Choice Award in 1995, two Golden Globe nominations and two Screen Actors Guild nominations. Her other television credits include Executive Producing and starring with Sharon Stone in the Emmy nominated ?If These Walls Could Talk II? for HBO as well as a guest appearance on the ?Larry Sanders Show,? for which she received another Emmy nomination.

Ellen?s feature film credits include Disney/Pixar?s animated blockbuster ?Finding Nemo,? Ron Howard?s ?EDTV?, ?The Love Letter? from Dreamworks, New Regency?s ?Goodbye Lover,? ?Coneheads? and ?Mr. Wrong? in which she starred with Bill Pullman.

In July 2000, DeGeneres returned to standup embarking on a three-month tour of major theatres across the country that culminated in her critically acclaimed and Emmy nominated special ?The Beginning.?

Last year, Ellen hosted the 2001 Primetime Emmy?s and garnered rave reviews for her performance in which she combined her signature humor with heartfelt emotion and gave the post-September 11 telecast audience a reason to laugh.

But Ellen?s talents go beyond just TV and film. In 1995, her first book ?My Point?And I Do Have One? debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, and in 1997 she released her comedy CD, ?Taste This.? Ellen?s second book hits stores this October. Comprised of comedic short stories and essays, the aptly named ?The Funny Thing Is?? is published by Simon & Schuster.

Since she was first nationally recognized in 1982 as a comedian in New Orleans, Ellen?s many contributions to the entertainment industry have earned her numerous accolades including a Golden Apple Award as Female Discovery of the Year from the Hollywood Women?s Press Club, a Lucy Award honoring women in Television and Film, as well as an Amnesty International Award.