DeGeneres, Ellen (1958—)

views updated

DeGeneres, Ellen (1958—)

Ellen DeGeneres attracted massive media attention when she came out as a lesbian on her television show in 1997. Known as "the puppy episode," the program stirred controversy and drew criticism from conservative sectors. DeGeneres and her partner, actress Anne Heche, came out at the same time, DeGeneres appearing on the covers of national magazines. The caption accompanying her photograph on the cover of Time read, "Yep, I'm Gay." Her place in history as TV's first gay lead character was thus secured.

Born in New Orleans in 1958, DeGeneres' sometimes difficult life inspired her to use humor as a coping device. After her parents' divorce when she was 13, she and her mother, Betty, moved to Texas. It was a hard time, and DeGeneres used humor to buoy her mother's spirits. "My mother was going through some really hard times and I could see when she was really getting down, and I would start to make fun of her dancing," DeGeneres has said. "Then she'd start to laugh and I'd make fun of her laughing. And she'd laugh so hard she'd start to cry, and then I'd make fun of that. So I would totally bring her from where I'd seen her start going into depression to all the way out of it."

After graduating from high school in 1976, DeGeneres moved back to New Orleans where she worked a series of dead-end jobs: house painter, secretary, oyster shucker, sales clerk, waitress, bartender, and vacuum salesperson. At the encouragement of friends, she tried out her comedy on an amateur-hour audience, in 1981. Her act went over well, and her niche had been found. Only a year later, she entered and won Showtime's "Funniest Person in America" contest. The title, which brought both criticism and high expectations, was her springboard to stardom.

One of her better-known stand-up routines, "A Phone Call to God," came from one of her own darkest moments of despair, when a close friend and roommate had been killed in a car accident while out on a date. The girl was only 23, and it seemed very unfair to DeGeneres. She wanted to question God about a lot of things that seemed unnecessary, and again she turned to humor. She sat down one night and considered what it would be like if she could call God on the phone and ask him about some of the things that troubled her. As if it was meant to be, the monologue poured from her pen to paper, and it was funny, focusing on topics such as fleas and what their purpose might be. DeGeneres performed "A Phone Call to God" on the Johnny Carson show six years later. Everything clicked that night, and Carson signaled her over to sit on the couch after her performance. She was the only female comedian Carson ever called to come over and talk to him on a first appearance on the Tonight Show.

DeGeneres continued on the comedy circuit and started acting; one memorable performance was with dancing fruit in Very Fine juice commercials. She eventually landed small roles in several short-lived television series: Duet, Open House, and Laurie Hill. Her feature acting debut was in the 1993 movie Coneheads.

By 1994 she was starring in a series called These Friends of Mine on ABC. The first season was aided by a prime slot, following Tim Allen's Home Improvement. The network had such confidence in her that they announced that she would be the ABC spokesperson for radio ads and on-air promos, allowing her to introduce the debut of every show in the fall lineup. She also co-hosted the 1994 Emmy Awards ceremony.

Despite DeGeneres' fervent backing by ABC, the show had a number of problems, not the least of which were critical comparisons to Seinfeld, and a number of personnel changes on both sides of the camera. The show's name was changed to Ellen for its second season, its concept was changed, and Ellen was given more creative input.

By the third season, Ellen had failed to find an audience, however, and the show needed a boost. DeGeneres and her producers decided to announce the character's homosexuality to give the show a new edge—and to tell the truth. As DeGeneres told Time : "I never wanted to be the lesbian actress. I never wanted to be the spokesperson for the gay community. Ever. I did it for my own truth." After months of hinting around on the show, Ellen came out in an hour-long episode featuring guest stars Laura Dern, Melissa Etheridge, k.d. lang, Demi Moore, Billy Bob Thornton, and Oprah Winfrey. The result was a clamor among conservatives and the religious right; evangelist Jerry Falwell called DeGeneres a "degenerate." The show won an Emmy for best writing in a comedy series, and a Peabody award for the episode. Entertainment Weekly named DeGeneres the Entertainer of the Year in 1997. In 1998, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance against Defamation (GLAAD) awarded DeGeneres the Stephen F. Kolzak Award for being an openly gay celebrity who has battled homophobia. The series itself was given the award for Outstanding TV Comedy. The show was even praised by vice president Al Gore for forcing Americans "to look at sexual orientation in a more open light."

In the following season the show continued to focus mainly on gay issues, despite declining ratings, and ABC decided not to renew the show for a sixth season. Critics noted that the show had become one-dimensional, with Ellen's homosexuality overshadowing all other topics. As the show declined, however, DeGeneres began branching out, writing a book, My Point … And I Do Have One, in 1996 and releasing an album collection of stand-up material called Taste This. She also had her first leading role in a film, a romantic comedy with actor Bill Pullman called Mr. Wrong. Meanwhile, her series was picked up in syndication by the Lifetime channel in 1998.

—Emily Pettigrew