Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres (born Ellen Lee DeGeneres on January 26, 1958 in Metairie, Louisiana, USA) is an American actress, stand-up comedian, and currently the Emmy Award-winning host of the syndicated talk show "The Ellen DeGeneres Show".

Whenever DeGeneres' friends put together a show or party, DeGeneres was asked to do a comedy routine. She did an act and was soon asked to perform as a stand-up comedian at small clubs and coffeehouses, and eventually became the emcee at Clyde's Comedy Club (the only comedy club in New Orleans at the time). While working at Clyde's in 1981, DeGeneres recorded her club performances.

After traveling around the United States performing her comedy act, she was chosen in a national competition in 1982 by the cable channel Showtime as the funniest person in America. She then appeared on late night television and comedy programs.

Soon afterward, DeGeneres was invited to perform on the Tonight Show by booking agent and producer Jim McCawley for her first appearance in 1986. She was the first comedienne to ever be asked over to the couch to visit with Johnny Carson on her first visit. McCawley truly believed that she was going to be a hit and often spoke in praise of her when her name was mentioned.

She also appeared as a stand-up comedian as early as on the HBO Tenth Annual Young Comedians special, where she was introduced as an up-and-coming talent by Young Comedians show veteran Harry Anderson.

Before getting her own show, DeGeneres began her television career on the short-lived TV sitcom "Open House" (1989-1990) and "Laurie Hill" (1992).

DeGeneres has also performed two HBO stand-up specials. The first was called "Ellen DeGeneres: The Beginning" (2000) and was taped live at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. Her most recent one, which was taped in the same location, was entitled "Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now" (2003). After she began her talk show, DeGeneres said she would no longer do stand-up shows and tours.

Apart from performing a stand-up comedian, Ellen DeGeneres played in a successful American sitcom "Ellen" (1994-1998). The TV show reached its height of attention in April 1997 when DeGeneres (and her character on the show) came out of the closet on national television and publicly declared that she was a lesbian. In spite of the controversy, or perhaps because of it, the outing episode, entitled "The Puppy Episode," was one of the highest-rated episodes of the show. After sinking ratings, the show was canceled, and DeGeneres returned to the stand-up comedy circuit. Not forgetting the nosedive her lucrative network television show took, Ellen would later re-establish herself as a successful talk show host.

Nowadays, she is a host of a successful daytime television talk show, "The Ellen DeGeneres Show", which was launched by her in September, 2003. 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 on the air.

On September 7, 2006, DeGeneres was chosen to host the 79th Academy Awards ceremony, which will take place on February 25, 2007.