Ellen Degeneres Research Paper

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Pages: 4

Ellen DeGeneres was born on January 26th, 1958 in the town of Metaire, Louisiana to two working parents. Her older brother, Vance, was often considered the comedian of the family, appearing on The Tonight Show and other humorous sit-coms. Ellen also possessed a witty humor at a young age, however, she did not realize her potential, as she saw the spot of the funny child as already filled. When she was in her teens, Ellen’s parents filed a divorce, forever changing their household. Ellen moved to Atlanta, Texas with her mother. Whenever the divorce caught up with her mother and she would begin to slip into depression, Ellen would poke fun at her, but in a good natured way. She would joke around until her mother was laughing so hard that tears ran down her face. This was one of the first times that Ellen could see that a career in humor was an option for her, and not only for her older brother, Vance.

Before she was the star that we all know today, Ellen waited tables, sold vacuum cleaners, painted houses, and worked as a legal secretary. Though she hopped from job to job she always knew what she was destined to do: comedy. She began her journey to fame when she became scared at a public speaking event and used humor
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Many ABC supporters did not welcome the news, and turned their backs on the show by pulling ads, leaving ABC to make a negative profit. ABC was given no choice but to turn their backs on the show as well. Ellen was cancelled on April 24th, 1998, nearly a year after her coming out, due to the nonexistent profit and uproar from the anti-gay community. Though she was knocked down by those against homosexuality, she was applauded for her courage by the gay community and numerous other groups. After seeing the injustice towards those who were openly homosexual, Ellen became a staunch advocate for gay