Ellen DeGeneres
Stand-up comedian · Cotswolds, England

Ellen DeGeneres

Who Ellen DeGeneres is

American comedian, actress and television host who began in stand-up in the early 1980s and drew national attention with a 1986 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. She starred in the sitcom Ellen (1994–1998), hosted The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003–2022), voiced Dory in Finding Nemo, and released stand-up specials on HBO and Netflix, including The Beginning (2000), Relatable (2018) and For Your Approval (2024). She said in 2024 that she would retire from show business; an April 2026 report said she would return to voice Dory in a Finding Nemo short.

At a glance

Born
1958
Based in
Cotswolds, England
Style
Clean observation, Clean
Came up through
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Stand-up specials
One Night Stand: Ellen DeGeneres, One Night Stand: Ellen DeGeneres 2 – Command Performance, The Beginning and 3 more
Albums
Taste This
Podcasts
My Point...And I Do Have One, The Funny Thing Is..., Seriously...I'm Kidding and 1 more
On screen
Open House, Ellen, The Ellen Show and 15 more

Specials, shows and podcasts

Stand-up specials

Albums

On screen

Podcasts

Where they got their start

Came up the same way

Other comedians in SUCDb who came through The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson:

The Launching Pads: the shows the comedians came through →

Comedians like Ellen DeGeneres

Each linked to them by something on the record — a stage they both came through, a bill, a show, a style or a home town.

Every stand-up comedian with a page, A to Z →

Career timeline

  1. 1958Born
  2. 1989Open House (Margo Van Meter, 1989–1990) On screen
  3. 1990One Night Stand: Ellen DeGeneres (1990, HBO) Special
  4. 1992One Night Stand: Ellen DeGeneres 2 – Command Performance (1992, HBO) Special
  5. 1992Laurie Hill (Nurse Nancy MacIntyre, 1992) On screen
  6. 1993Coneheads (Coach, 1993) On screen
  7. 1994Ellen (Ellen Morgan, 1994–1998) On screen
  8. 1995My Point...And I Do Have One (book, 1995) Book
  9. 1996Grammy Awards (host, 1996 and 1997) On screen
  10. 1996Mr. Wrong (Martha Alston, 1996) On screen
  11. 1996Ellen's Energy Adventure (star, Epcot's Universe of Energy, 1996–2017) On screen
  12. 1996Taste This (1996) Album
  13. 1999EDtv (Cynthia, 1999) On screen
  14. 2000The Beginning (2000, HBO) Special
  15. 2000If These Walls Could Talk 2 (Kal, TV film, 2000) On screen
  16. 2001The Ellen Show (Ellen Richmond, 2001–2002) On screen
  17. 2001Primetime Emmy Awards (host, 2001 and 2005) On screen
  18. 2003Here and Now (2003, HBO) Special
  19. 2003The Ellen DeGeneres Show (host, 2003–2022) On screen
  20. 2003Finding Nemo (Dory, voice, 2003) On screen
  21. 2003The Funny Thing Is... (book, 2003) Book
  22. 200779th Academy Awards (host, 2007) On screen
  23. 2010American Idol (judge, 2010) On screen
  24. 2011Seriously...I'm Kidding (book, 2011) Book
  25. 201486th Academy Awards (host, 2014) On screen
  26. 2015Home (book, 2015) Book
  27. 2016Finding Dory (Dory, voice, 2016) On screen
  28. 2017Ellen's Game of Games (host, 2017–2021) On screen
  29. 2018Relatable (2018, Netflix) Special
  30. 2024For Your Approval (2024, Netflix) Special

Questions about Ellen DeGeneres

What stand-up specials has Ellen DeGeneres released?

One Night Stand: Ellen DeGeneres, One Night Stand: Ellen DeGeneres 2 – Command Performance, The Beginning, Here and Now, Relatable and For Your Approval.

What podcast do they host?

My Point...And I Do Have One, The Funny Thing Is..., Seriously...I'm Kidding and Home.

What TV shows and films are they in?

Open House, Ellen, The Ellen Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, 79th Academy Awards and American Idol, among 18 credits.

Where did they get their start?

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (the appearance that drew national attention).

Where are they based?

Cotswolds, England, as their record gives it.

When were they born?

In 1958.

Who are some comedians like them?

Sinbad (also in Coneheads), Albert Brooks (also in Finding Nemo), Andy Gross (also in The Ellen DeGeneres Show), Erin Jackson (also in The Ellen DeGeneres Show) and Janet McNamara (also in American Idol).

The full SUCDb record

The full record — the career in order, the specials and credits, and the sources for each — is on SUCDb, with a button to add them to your D.O.C., your twelve.

Their SUCDb record →

Sources

Updated 5 October 2026 · the record checked 27 September 2026