Ellen DeGeneres is a comedian, television host, actress, writer, producer, and LGBTQ activist. She starred in the popular sitcom "Ellen" from 1994 to 1998 and has hosted her syndicated TV talk show, "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," since 2003.

Her stand-up career started in the early 1980s and included a 1986 appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson." As a film actress, DeGeneres starred in Mr. Wrong, EDtv, and The Love Letter, and provided the voice of Dory in the Pixar animated films Finding Nemo and Finding Dory; for Finding Nemo, she was awarded the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress, the first time an actress won a Saturn Award for a voice performance. In 2010, she was a judge on "American Idol" for its ninth season.

During the fourth season of her sitcom "Ellen" in 1997, she came out as a lesbian in an appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Her character, Ellen Morgan, also came out to a therapist played by Winfrey, and the series went on to explore various LGBTQ issues, including the coming-out process. This made her the first openly lesbian actress to play an openly lesbian character on television. In 2008, she married her longtime girlfriend Portia de Rossi.

DeGeneres has hosted the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, and the Primetime Emmys. She has authored several books and started her own record company, Eleveneleven, as well as a production company, A Very Good Production. She also launched a lifestyle brand, ED Ellen DeGeneres, which comprises a collection of apparel, accessories, home, baby, and pet items. She has won 30 Emmys, 20 People's Choice Awards (more than any other person), and numerous other awards for her work and charitable efforts. In 2016, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. On January 5, 2020, DeGeneres won the Golden Globes Carol Burnett Lifetime Achievement Award.

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