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Ellen DeGeneres Facts & Worksheets

Ellen DeGeneres is an American television host, comedian, writer, actress, and producer.

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Ellen DeGeneres is an American television host, comedian, writer, actress, and producer. Aside from these, she is known for her advocacies in pushing animal rights and the inclusivity of LGBTQIA+ in society. She is the main host of The Ellen Degeneres Show from 2003 to 2022. The said television show is very popular across the globe. As a result, she received 33 Daytime Emmy Awards.

See the fact file below for more information on Ellen DeGeneres, or you can download our 27-page Ellen DeGeneres worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE

  • On January 26, 1958, DeGeneres was born. Her mother, Elizabeth Jane and an insurance agent father, Elliott Everett DeGeneres raised her in Metairie, Louisiana.
  • Her brother, Vance, is a musician and at the same time a producer. Despite having French, English, German, and Irish ancestors, she was raised as a Christian Scientist.
  • Her parents separated in 1973 and got divorced the following year. Soon after, Ellen’s mother married salesman Roy Gruessendorf. Jane and Ellen moved to Atlanta, Texas, with Gruessendorf from the New Orleans area. On the other hand, Vance chose to remain at home with his father.
  • When she was 15 or 16 years old, her stepfather molested her. She considered this as her most terrifying experience in life. 
  • In May 1976, DeGeneres graduated from Atlanta High School after spending her first years of high school at Grace King High School in Metairie. She went to the University of New Orleans to study communication studies. 
  • Degeneres’ dropped out of the said university after one semester. After this, she worked as a clerical assistant in a law firm with her cousin. Among her early jobs was a stint at J. C. Penney and working as a waitress at TGI Fridays and another restaurant. She also worked as a hostess, house painter, and bartender. In her comedy work, she shares extensively about her professional and childhood circumstances.

CAREER

STAND-UP COMEDY

  • DeGeneres began her stand-up comedy career in small clubs and coffee shops. She assumed the role of emcee at Clyde’s Comedy Club in New Orleans in 1981. She refers to Woody Allen and Steve Martin as her main influences at the time. In the early 1980’s she began touring nationally. During 1984 she was named Showtime’s funniest person in America.
  • Among her comedic influences are Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, and Bob Newhart.
  • She had a 15-year hiatus from stand-up comedy, after this, DeGeneres returned in 2018 with the Netflix stand-up special entitle “Relatable.”

FILM CAREER

  • Ellen starred in the Coneheads, one of her movies from the late 1980s and early 1990s. DeGeneres starred in a series of films for a show called Ellen’s Energy Adventure, which was part of Walt Disney World’s Epcot’s Universe of Energy attraction and pavilion. Bill Nye, Alex Trebek, Michael Richards, and Jamie Lee Curtis also appeared in the film. 
  • The show is all about DeGeneres falling asleep and waking up in an energy-themed Jeopardy!, who is pitted against an old foe, played by Curtis and Albert Einstein. 
  • In the following film, DeGeneres and Nye co-hosted an educational look at energy.

TELEVISION CAREER

  • Her first regular TV role was in the Fox sitcom “Open House,” which aired for a short time. 
  • DeGeneres’ character was Margo Van Meter, an office worker at Juan Verde Real Estate. Alison LaPlaca and Mary Page Keller also appeared on the show. In year 1992, producers Neal Marlens and Carol Black cast DeGeneres in the role of Nurse Nancy MacIntyre in their sitcom Laurie Hill. 
  • The show was cancelled after four episodes, despite this, Marlens and Black were so impressed with DeGeneres’ performance that they quickly cast her in their next ABC pilot. The team collaborated with David S. Rosenthal to plan and develop “These Friends of Mine” show. 
  • During its first season, Ellen’s comedy career served as the inspiration for the sitcom “Ellen.”
  • Ellen’s popularity peaked in April 1997, when DeGeneres came out as a lesbian on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
  • Her character on the sitcom also came out to her therapist, who was played by Oprah Winfrey.
  • The coming-out episode, titled “The Puppy Episode,” was one of the show’s highest-rated episodes. 
  • The show returned for a fifth season but was cancelled due to low ratings.
  • DeGeneres returned to television in 2001 with The Ellen Show, a new CBS sitcom that was cancelled after 13 episodes. 
  • In September 2003, DeGeneres debuted The Ellen DeGeneres Show, a daytime television talk show. They said TV show became a hit because of DeGeneres’ skills in interviewing her A-lister guests. 
  • Her show, one of several celebrity-hosted talk shows that debuted at the start of that season, including those hosted by Sharon Osbourne and Rita Rudner.
  • During its first season, it was nominated for 11 Daytime Emmy Awards and won four, including Best Talk Show. 
  • For its first three seasons, the show received 25 Emmy nominations. DeGeneres is well-known for her audience dancing and singing at the start of the show and during commercial breaks. She engages a lot to her audience. 
  • She was also included as one of the judges in the American Idol show. 
  • In July 2020, BuzzFeed News published articles in which anonymous former employees accused the show of being a toxic workplace, accused the executive producers of harassment, and claimed an environment filled with racist comments and microaggressions.
  • Warner Media launched an investigation. In a letter of apology to her team, DeGeneres stated that everyone will be treated with respect and that she didn’t want anyone to raise a voice on her show.
  • Following the investigation, three executives left. The show vowed to change the culture; DeGeneres apologized again during the eighteenth season’s September 2020 premiere.
  • Her DJ, Stephen “Witch” Boss, was promoted to producer, and has filled in as host for DeGeneres.
  • DeGeneres announced on May 12, 2021, that she would be ending her talk show at the end of its nineteenth season in 2022.
  • Ellen’s talk show was cancelled last May 26, 2022. 
  • Jennifer Aniston and Alecia Beth Moore (aka Pink) appeared as guests on the show. Ellen’s family, including Portia de Rossi – her wife, sat in the audience.

PERSONAL LIFE

  • DeGeneres came out as a lesbian in 1997. There was an intense spark in American tabloids when Ellen disclosed her sexual orientation. 
  • Betty DeGeneres, DeGeneres’ mother, describes being shocked when her daughter came out in her book Love, Ellen; she is also an active member of PFLAG – an organization that provides confidential peer support, education support, and advocacy to LGBTQ+ people. She also serves as a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign’s Coming Out Project.
  • DeGeneres began a romantic relationship with actress Anne Heche the same year she came out, which lasted until August 2000. In 2004, DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi started their romantic relationship.
  • Following the repeal of California’s same-sex marriage ban, DeGeneres and de Rossi were engaged and married in August 2008 at their home in Beverly Hills, California, where they live with their furbabies – four dogs and three cats.
  • The passage of Proposition 8 called their marriage into question, but a subsequent California Supreme Court decision upheld it because it occurred before November 4, 2008.
  • Portia filed a petition on August 6, 2010 to legally change her name to Portia Lee James DeGeneres.

ADVOCACIES

  • DeGeneres has previously stated that she is a vegan and a “big animal lover.” This is very evident because she and Portia are certified fur parents. De Rossi is a vegan as well. She organized a vegan outreach website called “Going Vegan with Ellen.”
  • “Going Vegan with Ellen” is a section in The Ellen DeGeneres Show website where she promoted “Meatless Mondays” and featured vegan recipes. Her plans to open Bokado, a vegan tapas bar in Los Angeles, fell through. 
  • Wayne Pacelle, CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, has previously appeared on DeGeneres’ show to discuss the group’s work on animal protection laws. 
  • Because of her advocacies and contributions to promoting and protecting animal rights, she was honored as PETA’s “Woman of the Year” in 2009.
  • Aside from this, she is also considered a philanthropist. She contributed $25,000 in April 2013 to defeat Tennessee’s Ag-Gag anti-whistleblower legislation, which would have prohibited undercover investigators from documenting animal abuse on farms.

Ellen DeGeneres Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Ellen DeGeneres across 27 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching kids about Ellen DeGeneres, who is an American television host, comedian, writer, actress, and producer.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  1. Ellen DeGeneres Facts
  2. Knowing Ellen
  3. Career Path
  4. Fact or Bluff
  5. Crossword
  6. Through your Lense
  7. Between the Lines
  8. It’s Your Time to Shine!
  9. Ellen DeGeneres
  10. Wanna Draw?
  11. Stand Up!

Frequently Asked Questions

What made Ellen DeGeneres famous?

She was in the sitcom Ellen from 1994 to 1998. This earned her a Primetime Emmy Award. She also hosted The Ellen DeGeneres Show for 19 years. This is a syndicated television talk show. She received 33 Daytime Emmy Awards for hosting this show.

How much does Ellen make per show?

DeGeneres earns an average of $50 million dollars every year from The Ellen DeGeneres Show. With approximately 174 episodes each season, DeGeneres earns around $287,356 per episode.

Who is richer, Oprah or Ellen?

Oprah Winfrey is worth $2.5 billion. This is 80% more than DeGeneres who is worth $500 million.

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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