Ellen Degeneres Research Paper

You might think Ellen is just a comedian, but there is way more to her and her life. As Ellen Degeneres stated, “I think they should have a barbie with a buzz cut.” Ellen loves herself, which is one of her best traits. Unlike most people in the world, she appreciates everyone and everything including herself. She is not trying to be anyone else besides herself all the time, she is independent and doesn't care what others think about her. Ellen Degeneres is an influential figure in not only the entertainment world but she has also changed how people view same sex marriage. After a very tough divorce of her parents at age 13, Ellen helped her mother heal from a broken heart. Later on, when college was coming up, she decided to stay close to home and go to University of New Orleans where she majored in communication. When she was very disappointed she left to work in a law firm. After, she started working as a waitress, bartender, house painter, oyster shucker, and various other odd jobs. For fun she put a comedy
routine together for her friends, and later was asked to perform in local coffee shops. While getting more noticed by the locals she started traveling all around the country to different clubs performing. Getting more and more busy, she was named Funniest Person of the Year in 1982. Later on in 1986, she was invited to perform on the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. She was the first female comedian who got to sit and chat on live TV. Ellen has appeared on several TV shows like, Open House and Laurie Hill. She starred in “These Friends of Mine” which soon turned into the Ellen show. With many accomplishments, comes hardships. For Ellen she had to deal with people judging her on her view of same sex marriage. Ellen publicly announced she was gay in 1997. “I just happened to be gay, and I just didn't feel like keeping it a secret so I announced it” she stated. April 14, 1997 she appeared on TIME magazine with her partner also showing to the public. She became officially the 1st prime time show to feature an openly gay lead character. After These Friends of Mine changed to Ellen it was a success and earned nominations for Golden Globes, American Comedy, and Emmy Awards. Her show has won multiple times in the People's Choice Awards for Favorite Talk Show Host. After 9/11, Emmys were delayed twice, but CBS wanted to come back in the american spirit, so they hired Ellen to perform a comedy act where she totally helped others recover from the brutal time in history. On May 1, 2009 Ellen Degeneres celebrated her 1,000th episode on her show. Believe it or not, Ellen also is the author of My Point and I Do Have One, Seriously I’m Kidding, and The Funny Thing Is… “It’s good to do something that scares you,” Ellen stated, when she hosted the Academy Awards.
In the entertainment field, she is a comedian and a very kind, caring human. She just wants to help others always whenever and wherever. In 2003, Degeneres voiced “Dory” in the Disney animated movie, “Finding Nemo” while that movie was such a hit, they asked her back to make a movie called, “Finding Dory” which comes out in 2016. People who are gay or lesbian have been influenced by Ellen because she shows that you should follow your heart regardless of what people think. Ellen’s brother Vance Degeneres caused much sibling rivalry in New Orleans. When he moved, he attracted all of the girls, and Ellen got very upset at that. He motivated her to become famous and noticed, which happened and she got all of the attention and glory. Ellen was one of the first shows with a gay host and did it all by herself, so the whole field of entertainment was
revolutionized.
Ellen is a role model because she shows people that you should enjoy yourself, appreciate who you are, and everything because it doesn't last too long. Without Ellen people would judge gay marriages or couples. Thanks to her, the whole community isn't criticized, even though they shouldn't be anyway, people now view it very differently. When you first think of Ellen Degeneres, you think of the word “amusing;” however as you can see there is more to her than that.