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Ellen
DeGeneres,
host of her very own daytime TV talk
show,
“The
Ellen
DeGeneres
Show,”
is also
knows as
the
voice of
the
character
of
“Dory”
in the
blockbuster
animated
film,
“Finding
Nemo.”
Ellen
recently
completed
a
critically
acclaimed
35-city
U.S.
standup
comedy
tour
called
“Here
and
Now,”
which
took her
to
comedy
clubs
around
the
country
and
culminated
in HBO’s
highest-rated
comedy
special
of the
season.
She also
served
as a
guest
Center
Square
for two
weeks at
a time
this
past
year on
the
syndicated
game
show
“Hollywood
Squares.”
A
pioneer
and
television
icon,
Ellen
DeGeneres
made
history
in April
1997,
when her
on-screen
persona,
‘Ellen
Morgan’
from the
series
“Ellen,”
became
the
first
openly
gay
leading
character
on
television.
Her
groundbreaking
legacy,
however,
began in
1986
during
her
first
appearance
on “The
Tonight
Show”
when she
became
the
first
and only
woman to
be
summoned
by
Johnny
Carson
to sit
down
with him
after
her
performance.
Ellen’s
career
began as
an emcee
at a
local
comedy
club in
her
hometown
of New
Orleans,
which
led to
national
recognition
in 1982
when her
videotaped
club
performances
won
Showtime’s
“Funniest
Person
In
America.”
Soon
after
moving
to Los
Angeles,
she
filmed
her
first
HBO
Special
“Young
Comedians
Reunion,”
followed
by
1986’s
“Women
of the
Night”
and
1989’s
“Command
Performance:
One
Night
Stand”
for
which
she
received
a Cable
Ace
nomination.
DeGeneres
was also
named
“Best
Female
Standup”
at the
1991
American
Comedy
Awards.
Ellen’s
foray
into
network
television
began
with a
role on
Fox’s
“Open
House.”
She then
took a
spot on
ABC’s
“Laurie
Hill”
until
she was
offered
a
leading
role on
“These
Friends
of Mine”
by ABC,
which
after
its
first
season,
became
“Ellen.”
The show
garnered
record
ratings
with
DeGeneres
receiving
Emmy
nominations
each
season
in the
“Best
Actress”
category.
In 1997
she was
the
recipient
of the
coveted
Peabody
Award.
In the
same
year she
earned
an Emmy
for
writing
the
critically
acclaimed
“Puppy
Episode”
when her
character
came out
as a gay
woman to
a record
46
million
viewers.
She
recently
starred
in
CBS’s,
“The
Ellen
Show.”
In
the
course
of
producing
and
starring
in
“Ellen,”
DeGeneres
received
numerous
accolades
including
The
People’s
Choice
Award in
1995,
two
Golden
Globe
nominations
and two
Screen
Actors
Guild
nominations.
Her
other
television
credits
include
Executive
Producing
and
starring
with
Sharon
Stone in
the Emmy
nominated
“If
These
Walls
Could
Talk II”
for HBO
as well
as a
guest
appearance
on the
“Larry
Sanders
Show,”
for
which
she
received
another
Emmy
nomination.
Ellen’s
feature
film
credits
include
Disney/Pixar’s
animated
blockbuster
“Finding
Nemo,”
Ron
Howard’s
“EDTV”,
“The
Love
Letter”
from
Dreamworks,
New
Regency’s
“Goodbye
Lover,”
“Coneheads”
and “Mr.
Wrong”
in which
she
starred
with
Bill
Pullman.
DeGeneres
has also
served
as host
for
several
industry
events
including
the 38th
and 39th
Annual
Grammy
Awards,
for
which
she
earned
an Emmy
nomination,
the 46th
Annual
Primetime
Emmy
Awards,
receiving
an
American
Comedy
Award,
the VH1
Honors,
which
garnered
her a
Cable
Ace
Award,
VH-1
“Diva’s
Las
Vegas”
and The
Saturday
Night
Live
Christmas
Special.”
In
July
2000,
DeGeneres
returned
to
standup
embarking
on a
three-month
tour of
major
theatres
across
the
country
that
culminated
in her
critically
acclaimed
and Emmy
nominated
special
“The
Beginning.”
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