Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/lesbian-comedy-ellen-degeneres-gets-674861)

Ellen DeGeneres is hero to many people all across the United States and all around the world. She inspires people on a daily basis to be generous and to do good things for the community. Ellen had done numerous things to help impact the world in a positive way. These actions include coming out as gay and helping people in the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community come out to their own family and friends, continuously donating to charities and helping out the less fortunate, and supporting and spreading the word for people to live an animal-cruelty free life.

Ellen and her wife, Portia (http://www.gazettenet.com/home/2469898-95/degeneres-ellen-prize-gay)

Ellen was born on January 26, 1958 to a loving family. She grew up making jokes and using her humor to her advantage. Comedy became a big part of her life, as she later became a comedian. One of her inspirations, Bob Newhart said, "I've heard performers mention that I was an influence, Ellen [DeGeneres] especially. "She's mentioned several times that she watched me do stand-up... and she said, 'That's what I want to do.' And boy, has she done it..."  She found herself appearing regularly on many TV shows where she would perform her comedy. With the audience she gained, she got a sitcom called "Ellen." In 1997, Ellen came out on her show after she felt like she just was not being herself. She had said,"I had everything I'd hoped for, but I wasn't being myself. So I decided to be honest about who I was. It was strange: The people who loved me for being funny suddenly didn't like me for being... me." In the scene where she came out, the studio audience cheered for her and clapped. She was supported by many viewers and non-viewers, but also received negative comments from religious people. Even though it was hard for her, and she lost part of her audience and her sponsors, she fought through it. She was the first public figure to announce that she was gay, and that inspired a lot of people who were afraid to come out, come out. She had done it on public television, so why could not they?

When she came out, she reminded people that homosexuality was a thing. Now, Ellen is a big supporter of LGBT rights, and represents the community. She has inspired many people to come out and to see that they should just be who they are. Ellen continues to raise awareness for issues in the community like anti-gay bullying and how it causes suicides in young teenagers. In 2008, Ellen married her girlfriend of four years. Their wedding made big news, and was very inspiring to the LGBT community. Ellen DeGeneres has proven to be a definite hero to the people in the LGBT community and to many others.

Ellen giving away a check (http://southsoundmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/EllenDonates1.jpg)

One of the things that Ellen is known for, is her generosity, hence the nickname, Ellen DeGenerous. She supports, and has raised over 50 million dollars for 30 or more different causes, and 44 or more charities/non-profitable organizations. Ellen has also won multiple awards for her charitable actions. Instead of using her fame for pointless things, Ellen uses it to spread the word about important and good causes, and she educates people about them. She tries to persuade her millions of followers and viewers to donate to the different charitable causes. Ellen cares a lot about other people and does anything to help them. Usually, she does giveaways on her talk show and gives the poor and less fortunate things like clothes, money, and even cars. Ellen also helps out struggling families by inviting them on her show and letting them share their inspiring stories. She then does not let them leave without some kind of gift, whether it is a bunch of products or a huge check. A news site once said about Ellen, "Recently, Ellen DeGeneres gave a $10,000 gift to a waitress who treated two National Guard soldiers to their lunch. This act was yet another example of Ellen's generosity, standing alongside the dozens of causes to which she lends her name." Ellen had awarded a random woman that she did not know, a large sum of money just for doing a good thing. This is why Ellen definitely deserves the nickname Ellen DeGenerous.

Ellen spreading the word on animal rights (http://www.idablog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/ellen-1.jpg)

The last reason why Ellen is considered a hero, is because Ellen supports animal rights. Animal rights is something that Ellen is extremely passionate about, and is one of the main issues that she focuses on. In 2008, Ellen and her wife publicly announced that they were choosing to go vegan and that they were going to stop using animal products. They said that it was definitely hard at first, but that it was worth it. Ellen said, "I personally chose to go vegan because I educated myself on factory farming and cruelty to animals, and I suddenly realized that what was on my plate were living things, with feelings. And I just couldn't disconnect myself from it any longer..." PETA, the largest organization that supports animal rights in the world, awarded Ellen with their "person of the year" award in 2009. In their congratulations letter to Ellen, they said, "From exposing millions of viewers to a vegan diet to discussing the importance of adopting animals rather than buying them to having guests who teach your audience lessons about respecting animals, you have been an unrelenting voice for animals. You are a shining example of kindness and compassion for animals, and we thank you." Ever since she has gone vegan, Ellen has received negative comments from the vegan community because she has eaten eggs and is a spokesperson for  CoverGirl, a company that supports testing on animals. Regardless of the negative comments, Ellen is still extremely supported and is doing a lot more to help animals than the majority of people in the world. It is the reason why Ellen is a hero to more than just people, but also to animals.