Trivia

Is only the second woman to host the Oscars on her own. The first was Whoopi Goldberg.

Used to sell vacuum cleaners before she was discovered.

When Ellen came out as a lesbian on her show in April 1997, ABC's affiliate in Birmingham, Alabama, refused to air the landmark episode. Some of the show's sponsors, including Chrysler, withdrew their advertisements.

Quit smoking cigarettes using the Allen Carr method (also known as Easy Way). She had been a longtime smoker and was having trouble quitting.

Ellen lived in the apartment used in Annabelle (2014). While promoting the movie in her show, she explained: "The apartment in the movie was my first apartment that I moved to in L.A. That was the building I lived in; where they shot the movie. I was watching it going: 'That looks familiar' and it was my building. It was scary back then too.".

Ellen and her girlfriend, Portia de Rossi, got married on August 16, 2008 at Ellen's home in Beverly Hills, California.

She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television at 6270 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California, on September 4, 2012.

Worked as a paralegal before becoming a comedian.

She has Cajun/French, English, Irish, German, and distant Dutch and Swiss-German ancestry. Her surname is French.

Good friends with Courteney Cox, Katy Perry, Jennifer Aniston, Oprah Winfrey, Pamela Anderson, Justin Timberlake, Kristin Chenoweth, and Steve Harvey.

Animal advocate and co-owner of Halo.

Voted "Funniest Person in America" (1982).

Was the first female stand-up guest to be called to the "hot seat" on her first guest appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962).

When she appeared on the April 14, 1997, cover of Time magazine, readers voted it the magazine's best ever.

Was initially reluctant to do a love scene with Sharon Stone in If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000), but Ellen's then-girlfriend Anne Heche, who was directing this particular segment of the film, encouraged her to do it. Ellen eventually gave in.

After the cancellation of her sitcom "Ellen", Ellen was out of work for 3 years as no one was booking her after coming out on her sitcom. She was nearly broke until Andrew Stanton offered her the role of Dory, the memory challenged Blue Tang fish in "Finding Nemo". A role in which many feel she stole the movie.

Has written two books, "My Point... And I Do Have One", a New York Times bestseller for six months, and "The Funny Thing Is...", also a New York Times bestseller.

Auditioned for the role of Jody in Pulp Fiction (1994), but Rosanna Arquette was cast instead.

Winner of the 2012 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, awarded by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Younger sister of Vance DeGeneres.

Her last name is pronounced "duh-generous".

Has two dogs named Bootsie and Muffin.

As of June 2017, she is the only female to host the Emmy Awards and the Academy Awards.

Named "Entertainer of the Year" by Entertainment Weekly 26 December 1997/2 January 1998, issues 411/412.

American Comedy Award for "Funniest Female Stand-Up Comic" (1991).

Split with girlfriend Anne Heche on August 16, 2000. The two were introduced by writer Roger Friedman and actor Vince Vaughn at a "Vanity Fair" party at Morton's restaurant on March 24, 1997. DeGeneres made her relationship with Heche red-carpet official just 16 days after they met. Before that, she had never gone public with any of her girlfriends.

Gave the commencement speech at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. (May 2009)

She is a sweetheart of the fraternity Sigma Tau Gamma.

Has an annual salary of $75 million for Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003).

Was the only female comedian to be invited to sit with Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962).

Ellen's first major-league baseball game was at Target Field in Minnesota, home of the Minnesota Twins. She answered two questions right about Joe Mauer and got a Minnesota Twins Joe Mauer jersey.

She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, by President Barack Obama, in a live televised ceremony held in the East Room of the White House, on November 22, 2016, along with 20 other recipients, the largest and final Medal of Freedom ceremony of Obama's presidency. At that ceremony, the 21 recipients, in alphabetical order, were: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elouise Cobell (posthumous award given to her son), Ellen DeGeneres, Robert De Niro, Richard Garwin, Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, Frank Gehry, Margaret Hamilton (as Margaret H. Hamilton), Tom Hanks, Rear Admiral Grace Hopper (posthumous award given to her niece), Michael Jordan, Maya Lin, Lorne Michaels, Newton Minow, Eduardo Padron (as Eduardo Padrón), Robert Redford, Diana Ross, Vin Scully, Bruce Springsteen, and Cicely Tyson.

Was sued by record labels for unpaid licenses for the songs she plays on her talk show but the suit was quickly settled.

Is 11th cousin to Madonna.

Daughter of Betty DeGeneres.

Spoke at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Pointed out that many film plots and images in Hollywood are "heterosexist", meaning that the filmmakers allow heterosexual characters to dominate the screen. She would like to see actors and actresses portray more gay and lesbian couples. (1999)

Worked as a bartender and a hostess at a restaurant.

Contrary to urban legend, Ellen never auditioned for the role of Phoebe Buffay on Friends (1994) and she never turned it down.

Owns a production company called A Very Good Production.

Collects watches.

Is 14th cousin, twice removed, to Kate Middleton.

Always sets her watch to Mountain Standard Time.

Worked as a floor clerk at JC Penny.

Attended and graduated from Atlanta High School in Atlanta, Texas (1976).

Ellen was raised as a Christian Scientist until the age of 13, when her parents divorced. When Ellen's mother remarried, they converted to her new husband's beliefs.

Ended her four-year relationship with photographer-director Alexandra Hedison. (December 2004)

Worked as a waitress at Fridays.

Has a net worth of $345 million. (May 2017)

In 2010, Ellen founded her record label eleveneleven with her TV production company A Very Good Production. Its first-signed artist was teen sensation Greyson Chance, after he created quite a stir on YouTube. The genesis of Ellen's company name resulted from her frequent sightings of 11:11 on digital timepieces, her chance discovery of the singer on the 11th of the month, and the fact that his soccer jersey number was 11. Ellen's name also has two lower case adjacent L's, which resemble the number 11.

In 2009, PETA named her Woman of The Year.