Ellen DeGeneres is an American actress, stand-up comedian and TV host. She started her career doing stand-up at coffee houses and small clubs. In 1981, Ellen joined the New Orleans-based Clyde’s Comedy Club, where she performed emcee duties. The following year, Showtime called Ellen the “Funniest Person in America.”

In 1986, Ellen DeGeneres made her first appearance on the “Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” and was invited for a chat after the show, a gesture considered a great honor from Carson. In 1989 to 1990, she was one of the artists on the Fox sitcom “Open House.”

In 1993, Ellen DeGeneres made her film debut with a small role in the comedy flick “Coneheads.” The following year, DeGeneres landed her biggest break with her own ABC sitcom called “Ellen.” In 1996 and 1997, she hosted the Grammy Awards. Another big event in 1997 was Ellen’s appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” where DeGeneres publicly came out that she was a lesbian, making her one of the first celebrity big names to come out.

When her show “Ellen” was cancelled in 1998, she came back to her roots as a stand-up comic and toured around U.S. In 2001-2002, Ellen DeGeneres appeared in her CBS sitcom “The Ellen Show.” In 2003, she was flooded with awards after portraying the forgetful fish Dory in the Disney/Pixar animation “Finding Nemo.” That same year, she launched her own daytime talk show called “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” Her show’s first year receive 11 Daytime Emmy nominations, four of which she took home. On its first three seasons, The Ellen DeGeneres Show has took home 25 Emmy Awards.

In 2010, Ellen DeGeneres entered a new era in her career when she replaced Paula Abdul as judge for the 9th season of American Idol. Aside from hosting her talk show, Ellen DeGeneres has also launched her own record label called “ElevenEleven,” which hopes to give ordinary people a shot at stardom, such as the label’s first signed artist 12-year-old YouTube star Greyson Chance.