Born January 26, 1958 in Metairie, Louisiana

January 26, 1958

DeGeneres was born in 1958, in Metairie, Louisiana to Elliot DeGeneres, a salesman, and Elizabeth (Betty) Jane Pfeffer. She is of French, English, German and Irish descent. Along with her brother Vance DeGeneres, actor and guitarist for the rock band Cowboy Mouth, Ellen was raised as a Christian Scientist until the age of 13.

Parents Separate

December 4, 1973

Ellen's mother, Betty and her father, Elliot, filed for separation on December 4, 1973. The divorce was finalized in January 1974. Shortly after the divorce, Betty Jane remarried to Roy Gruessendorf, who also worked as a salesman. Betty Jane and Ellen moved away with Gruessendorf from the New Orleans area to Atlanta, Texas. Vance stayed with their father in New Orleans.

Ellen Graduates from HIgh School

May 21, 1976

DeGeneres graduated from Atlanta High School on May 21, 1976, after completing her first years of high school at Grace King High School in Metairie, Louisiana. DeGeneres moved back to New Orleans to attend the University of New Orleans, where she majored in communications. After one semester, she left school to do clerical work in a law firm along with cousin Laura Gillen. She also held a job selling clothes at the chainstore the Merry-Go-Round at the Lakeside Shopping Center in New Orleans. Other working experiences included being a waitress at TGI Friday's and another restaurant, a house painter, a hostess, a bartender. Finally, DeGeneres realised she didn't want to "answer to a boss" and started to figure out what she really wanted to do.

Ellen Tries Stand-up

January 1, 1979

Ellen started performing stand-up comedy at small clubs and coffeehouses before working her way up to emcee Clyde's Comedy Club by 1981. According to imdb.com, her comedy during this period was described as a "distaff version of Bob Newhart." In the early 1980s, she began to tour nationally, eventually winning the title of funniest person in America in a competition sponsored by the cable network Showtime. She was then able to work at higher profile venues. She appeared for the first time on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1986.

Ellen lands a role in "Open House"

August 27, 1989 - July 21, 1990

Relatively unknown, Ellen lands a role as Margo Van Meter, an eccentric co-worker of star Alison LaPlaca (who played Linda). Open House also had Mary Page Keller and Chris Lemmon. A total of 28 episodes were produced. Also featured were Philip Charles MacKenzie, Danny Gans), and Nick Tate.

Coneheads

July 23, 1993

Ellen makes a cameo appearance in the 1993 movie based on the Saturday Night Live sketches about the Coneheads. As was the case with the previous SNL skit-inspired film The Blues Brothers, Coneheads has been said to have made an "accidental" or "unintentional" political statement or social commentary about the nature of the immigrant experience in America, the filmmakers' ostensible intent being merely to entertain.

"Ellen"

March 29, 1994 - July 22, 1998

Ellen's comedy material was turned into the subject matter of the successful 1994-1998 sitcom Ellen (called These Friends of Mine during its first season). The ABC show was popular in its first few seasons due in part to DeGeneres's style of quirky observational humor; it was often referred to as a "female Seinfeld."

Ellen reached its height of attention in February 1997, when DeGeneres made her homosexuality public on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Subsequently her character on the sitcom came out of the closet in April telling her therapist (played by Oprah Winfrey) that she was gay. The outing episode, entitled "The Puppy Episode," was one of the highest-rated episodes of the show, but later episodes of the series would fail to match its popularity, and after declining ratings, the show was canceled. DeGeneres returned to the stand-up comedy circuit, and would later re-establish herself as a successful talk show host.

Ellen's Energy Adventure

September 15, 1996

DeGeneres starred in a series of films for a show named Ellen's Energy Adventure, which is part of the Universe of Energy attraction and pavilion at Walt Disney World's Epcot. The film also featured Bill Nye (the science guy), Alex Trebek, Michael Richards and Jamie Lee Curtis. The show revolved around DeGeneres 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 hosting an educational look at energy, co-hosted with Nye. The ride first opened on September 15, 1996, as Ellen's Energy Crisis but was quickly renamed to the more positive-sounding Ellen's Energy Adventure.

Ellen and Love: Anne Heche

January 1, 1997 - December 1, 2000

DeGeneres' relationship with former Another World actress Anne Heche turned into material for the tabloid press. After several years in the spotlight, Heche broke up with DeGeneres and went on to marry cameraman Coley Laffoon. DeGeneres then had a relationship with actress/director/photographer Alexandra Hedison. They appeared on the cover of The Advocate magazine (after their split-up had already been announced to the press). Since 2004, DeGeneres has been in a relationship with Arrested Development and former Ally McBeal star Portia de Rossi. DeGeneres and de Rossi currently live in Beverly Hills with 3 dogs and 4 cats.

The Ellen Show

September 24, 2001 - January 11, 2002

DeGeneres returned to series television in 2001 with a new CBS sitcom, The Ellen Show. Though her character was again a lesbian, it was not the central theme of the show. The Ellen Show received critical praise[citation needed] but low viewership and was canceled after one season.

Ellen Hosts the Emmy Awards

November 4, 2001

Ellen received wide exposure on November 4, 2001, when she hosted the Emmy Awards-TV show. Presented after two cancellations due to network concerns that a posh ceremony following the September 11, 2001 attacks would appear insensitive, the show required a more somber tone that would also allow viewers to temporarily forget the tragedy. DeGeneres received several standing ovations for her performance that evening which included the line: "We're told to go on living our lives as usual, because to do otherwise is to let the terrorists win, and really, what would upset the Taliban more than a gay woman wearing a suit in front of a room full of Jews?"

Finding Nemo

May 30, 2003

DeGeneres lent her voice to the role of Dory, a fish with short-term memory loss, in the summer 2003 hit animated Disney/Pixar film Finding Nemo. The film's director, Andrew Stanton, claimed that he chose her because she "changed the subject five times before one sentence had finished" on her show. The movie returned DeGeneres to the limelight, with critics giving her rave reviews. DeGeneres won the Saturn Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films 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" for her work. She was also nominated for a Chicago Film Critics Association Award in the "Best Supporting Actress" category. She also provided the voice of the dog in the prologue of the Eddie Murphy film Dr. Dolittle.

Talk Show: The Ellen DeGeneres Show

September 1, 2003 - Now

In September 2003, DeGeneres launched a daytime television talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Amid a crop of several celebrity-hosted talk shows surfacing in 2003 (including Sharon Osbourne and Rita Rudner), DeGeneres' show has consistently risen in the Nielsen Ratings and received widespread critical praise. It was nominated for 11 Daytime Emmy Awards in its first season, winning four, including Best Talk Show. The show has won 15 Emmy Awards in its first three seasons on the air. The Ellen DeGeneres Show is the first talk show in television history to win the Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show for its first three seasons. DeGeneres is known for her dancing and singing with the audience at the beginning of the show and during commercial breaks. She often gives away free prizes and trips to her studio audience with the help of her sponsors. On November 17, 2005, the show was played in reverse.

2005 Emmy Awards

September 18, 2005

In August 2005, DeGeneres was selected once again as host of the 2005 Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony, which was held on September 18, 2005. (The awards show came three weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, making it the second time Ellen hosted the Emmys following a national tragedy.) Because Ellen is from New Orleans, the tragedy hit close to home. When she announced that she would again host the Emmys, she joked, "You know me, any excuse to put on a dress." She also hosted the Grammy Awards in 1996 and in 1997.

Ellen Hosts Oscar Night

September 7, 2006

On September 7, 2006, DeGeneres was selected to host the 79th Academy Awards ceremony, which took place on February 25, 2007. This makes her the first openly gay or lesbian person to have hosted the event. During the Awards show DeGeneres said, "What a wonderful night, such diversity in the room, in a year when there's been so many negative things said about people's race, religion and sexual orientation. And I want to put this out there: if there weren't blacks, Jews and gays, there would be no Oscars, or anyone named Oscar, when you think about that." Reviews of her hosting gig were positive, with one saying, "DeGeneres rocked, as she never forgot that she wasn't just there to entertain the Oscar nominees but also to tickle the audience at home." In fact, Regis Philbin said in an interview that "the only complaint was there's not enough Ellen."

DeGeneres was nominated for an Emmy Award as host of the Academy Awards broadcast, but the award went to Tony Bennett.

Ellen Bedridden due to Back Injury

May 1, 2007

In May 2007, DeGeneres was placed on bed rest due to a torn ligament in her back. She continued hosting her show from a hospital bed, tended to by a male nurse, explaining "the show must go on, as they say." Guests sat in hospital beds as well.

A Puppy Named Iggy

October 16, 2007

On October 16, 2007, DeGeneres made an impassioned on-air plea for the return of a dog, Iggy, she and her girlfriend Portia de Rossi had adopted from Mutts and Moms dog rescue agency three weeks prior. Her hairdresser's daughter Ruby bonded with Iggy so DeGeneres transferred ownership in violation of the adoption agreement. Agency owner Marina Batkis retrieved Iggy while the family filmed the event. The family called for police intervention, but a microchip in the dog was still registered to the agency, so the dog was returned to the rescue agency. DeGeneres' agents left a voicemail for Batkis soon-after stating (in part) "We're filing a legal case against you. We're going to be contacting the media. This is not going to be good for your store or your organization." DeGeneres acknowledged she had violated the agreement and begged the agency to reconsider the decision but Iggy was placed in a new home. On 18 October 2007 DeGeneres reported that the owners of the rescue agency received death threats and she asked that people not use violence as a means to an end. She also said that this was the last time she would talk about this subject unless Iggy was eventually given to Ruby who has declined offers of other dogs as replacement

2007 Writers Guild strike

November 5, 2007 - Feburary 12, 2008

DeGeneres, like many actors who are also writers, is a member of both the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA). Thus, although DeGeneres supported the 2007 WGA strike she was not allowed to join it. Her representatives said that she was competing with other first-run syndicated shows during the competitive November sweeps period, and that she could not break her contracts or risk her show lose its time slot. As a show of solidarity with the strikers, DeGeneres omitted her monologue (which is typically written by WGA writers) during the strike. The WGAE condemned her, and said that she was "not welcome in NY", while the AFTRA defended her.