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Ellen Degeneres Research Paper

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Ellen DeGeneres is regarded as one of the greatest female television personalities of all times. She is an award winning host of a highly rated daytime talk television program and a comedian. She is well known to the contemporary generation as the endearing and ‘sweet’ voice of the Dory in Finding Nemo. Her role in the animation brought out her natural comic style. DeGeneres is a not a new household name in the spheres of American entertainment. During the mid-90s, she starred in the highly rated show called ‘Ellen’. In the late 1990s, she came out of the closet and announced that she was gay. Since then, she has been at the forefront in advocating for the rights of the LGBT group. In 2008, she married her longtime girlfriend Portia de Rossi …show more content…

DeGeneres launched her acting career by landing on a spot in Open House, where she acted the role of a real estate employee (Scott, 1994). She impressed on the aforementioned role and was casted in Laurie Hill, where she acted as a nurse. Based on her performance in Laurie Hill, she was casted in the highly rated sitcom called These friends of mine. Ellen DeGeneres career started rising to the peak steadily after the aforementioned sitcom changed its name to Ellen. More viewers connected with her appeal and oddball humor. This improved the ratings and reviews of Ellen. Her creativity and comic in the show earned her a Peabody award and many Emmy award nominations (Degeneres, …show more content…

She is regarded as an idol among young actresses and actors who are also members of the LGBT. Her announcement generated a huge media storm in Canada, Europe and America. Some of her fans wrote supportive emails and letters in solidarity with her sexuality choice. Ellen DeGeneres regards 1997-98 as the lowest point in her career. Reviews and ratings of her show took a nose dive because her sexuality was the epic center of the subsequent episodes. At some point, a subsidiary of ABC in Birmingham declined to air the episode when she declared her sexual orientation. Some of the corporations withdrew their sponsorships of her show for fear of being linked to her controversy. Ellen DeGeneres changed America’s television industry by coming out as gay (Tauber & Jordan, 2003). She managed to convince the American society that entertainers too should have freedom to choose their preferred sexual orientation. Most scholars agree that Ellen DeGeneres created precedence as the first lead actress to announce that she is a member of LGBT on national television. Soon after her announcement it became a norm for actress, singers, comedians, and actors to come out of the closet despite the fact that most Americans marginalize members of LGBT. Most advertisers in her show cancelled their commitment contracts for fear of offending Americans. The show was later cancelled due to heavy criticism from viewers

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