Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres is an American comedian, chat show host and actress. She presents a weekly chat show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and became a judge on American Idol commencing with the 2010 series.

Biography

Ellen DeGeneres was born on Jan. 26, 1958, and grew up in New Orleans, LA. DeGeneres first realized her gift for comedy following the break-up of her parents Betty and Elliott in 1974, when her sense of humor proved helpful in consoling her mother. Betty remarried a short time later, with DeGeneres moving with the new couple to the northeast Texas town of Atlanta. Sadly, DeGeneres’ older brother Vance, whom she idolized, stayed behind. In Atlanta, DeGeneres had to endure not only being a new kid in town at the age of 16, but her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to undergo a mastectomy. As DeGeneres would later disclose, during that time her stepfather made inappropriate sexual advances towards her, which she kept secret for years. On the surface, things might have looked rosy for a teenager who was a member of the varsity tennis team and had several boyfriends, but Ellen desperately wanted to quit school and get away from her stepfather. She hung in long enough to get her diploma in 1976, after which she packed up and headed straight back to New Orleans.