Ellen DeGeneres Overview
Ellen DeGeneres was a renowned name in the world of television especially in the category of stand-up comedians, who was born on 26th January, 1958, to Betty DeGeneres and Elliott DeGeneres, in Metairie, Louisiana. One of the major turning points in her life can be regarded as her appearance in the show, titled The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. This remarkable comedienne was also cast in a few movies before she signed her first sitcom Open House for the Fox network. Although the show went off air after a few episodes, it earned her due recognition. This was followed by a few more sitcoms where her performance turned out to be exceptional and catapulted her to the zenith of American stand-up comedy. Her most notable show entitled The Ellen DeGeneres Show has been amusing people for more than a decade.
Started Her Career
When Ellen DeGeneres was a teenager, her parents divorced, and as quoted by her she applied innovative tricks to make her mother laugh in order to help her deal with the rough phase. Her mother remarried, and thereafter, she lived with her mother and step-father. She received education from institutions such as Grace King High School and Atlanta High School. Then she went back to New Orleans where she enrolled at the University of New Orleans as a student of communication studies. However, she soon dropped out from the university and engaged in many odd jobs such as waitress, hostess, bartender, and house painter, until she found her true calling. She began to perform stand-up comedy at public places like clubs and coffee houses. Soon her popularity spread far and wide.
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Career Trajectory
Her first stand-up comedy performances were at coffee houses and clubs. In early 1980s, she became the Master of Ceremonies at the Clyde's Comedy Club in New Orleans. During the same time, she traveled to different nations and was also titled as the Funniest Person in America by the American television network Showtime. In 1986, she was seen at The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson where the host cited similarities between her and the famous American stand-up comedian Bob Newhart. She was the first comedian to have been invited to the talk show. In 1989, she appeared in a sitcom Open House which was aired on Fox channel and worked in a sitcom Laurie Hill where she played a character named Nurse Nancy MacIntyre in 1992. Although the show was wrapped up after four episodes, her performance was appreciated, and earned her a new show, titled These Friends of Mine. She presented the Emmy Awards in 2001, and the same year, she re-appeared on television with the sitcom The Ellen Show which aired on the CBS network. This was followed by the talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show which was hosted by her.
Most Iconic Talk Show
Ellen DeGeneres most famous, iconic, and long-running show was The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which was launched in 2003. This show has earned several Emmy Awards in categories such as Outstanding Talk Show, Outstanding Talk Show Host, and Outstanding Special Class Writing. She married Australian actress, named Portia de Rossi, on 16th August, 2008. Both of them follow veganism, and the official site of her show The Ellen DeGeneres Show even has a segment Going Vegan With Ellen where she endorses Meatless Mondays and also has recipes of vegan food items. She was entitled Woman of the Year by PETA and Forbes also ranked her at 46 in the Most Powerful Women in the World list.
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