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Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen Lee DeGeneres (born January 26, 1958) is an American stand-up comedienne, television hostess and actress. 

She hosts the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and is also a judge on American Idol, having joined the show in its ninth season.



She has hosted both the Academy Awards and the Primetime Emmys. As a film actress, she starred in Mr. Wrong, appeared in EDtv and The Love Letter, and provided the voice of Dory in the Disney-Pixar's animated film Finding Nemo. She also starred in two television sitcoms, Ellen from 1994 to 1998 and The Ellen Show from 2001 to 2002. In 1997, during the fourth season of Ellen, she came out publicly as a lesbian in an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Shortly afterwards, her character Ellen Morgan also came out to a therapist played by Winfrey and the series went on to explore various LGBT issues as well as the coming out process. She has won twelve Emmys and numerous awards for her work and charitable efforts.

Ellen DeGeneres' Career in Stand Up Comedy

DeGeneres started performing stand-up comedy at small clubs and coffeehouses. By 1981 she was the emcee at Clyde's Comedy Club in New Orleans. Degeneres describes Woody Allen and Steve Martin as her main influences at this time.[2] In the early 1980s she began to tour nationally, being named Showtime's Funniest Person in America in 1982. In 1986 she appeared for the first time on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, who likened her to Bob Newhart. When Carson invited her over for an onscreen chat after her performance, she became the first female comedian in the show's history to whom this honor was bestowed.

Ellen DeGeneres Early screen work

Television and film work in the late 1980s and early 1990s included roles on television in Open House and in the film Coneheads.
Ellen (sitcom, 1994–1998)

DeGeneres' comedy material became the basis of the successful 1994-1998 sitcom Ellen, named These Friends of Mine during its first season. The ABC show was popular in its first few seasons due in part to DeGeneres' style of quirky observational humor; it was often referred to as a "female Seinfeld."

Ellen reached its height of popularity in February 1997, when DeGeneres made her homosexuality public on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Subsequently her character on the sitcom came out of the closet in April to her therapist, played by Oprah Winfrey, that she was gay. The coming out episode, entitled "The Puppy Episode", was one of the highest-rated episodes of the show, but later episodes of the series would fail to match its popularity, and after declining ratings, the show was canceled. DeGeneres returned to the stand-up comedy circuit, and would later re-establish herself as a successful talk show host.

Ellen's Energy Adventure

DeGeneres starred in a series of films for a show named Ellen's Energy Adventure, which is part of the Universe of Energy attraction and pavilion at Walt Disney World's Epcot. The film also featured Bill Nye, Alex Trebek, Michael Richards and Jamie Lee Curtis. The show revolved around DeGeneres falling asleep and finding herself in an energy-themed version of Jeopardy!, playing against an old rival, portrayed by Curtis, and Albert Einstein. The next film had DeGeneres hosting an educational look at energy, co-hosted with Nye. The ride first opened on September 15, 1996, as Ellen's Energy Crisis but was quickly renamed to the more positive-sounding Ellen's Energy Adventure.

The Ellen Show

DeGeneres received wide exposure on November 4, 2001 when she hosted the televised broadcast of the Emmy Awards. Presented after two cancellations due to network concerns that a lavish ceremony following the September 11, 2001 attacks would appear insensitive, the show required a more somber tone that would also allow viewers to temporarily forget the tragedy. DeGeneres received several standing ovations for her performance that evening which included the line: "We're told to go on living our lives as usual, because to do otherwise is to let the terrorists win, and really, what would upset the Taliban more than a homosexual woman wearing a suit in front of a room full of Jews?"

In August 2005, DeGeneres hosted the 2005 Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony which was held on September 18, 2005. This was three weeks after Hurricane Katrina, making it the second time she hosted the Emmys following a national tragedy. She also hosted the Grammy Awards in 1996 and in 1997.

Ellen DeGeneres Voice acting

DeGeneres lent her voice to the role of Dory, a fish with short-term memory loss, in the summer 2003 hit animated Disney/Pixar film Finding Nemo. The film's director, Andrew Stanton, claimed that he chose her because she "changed the subject five times before one sentence had finished" on her show. For her performance as Dory, DeGeneres won the Saturn Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for "Best Supporting Actress"; "Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie" from the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards; and the Annie Award from the International Animated Film Association for "Outstanding Voice Acting". She was also nominated for a Chicago Film Critics Association Award in the "Best Supporting Actress" category. She also provided the voice of the dog in the prologue of the Eddie Murphy feature film Dr. Dolittle.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

DeGeneres launched a daytime television talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show in September 2003. Amid a crop of several celebrity-hosted talk shows surfacing in at the beginning of that season, such as those of Sharon Osbourne and Rita Rudner, her show has consistently risen in the Nielsen Ratings and received widespread critical praise.

It was nominated for 11 Daytime Emmy Awards in its first season, winning four, including Best Talk Show. The show has won 25 Emmy Awards in its first three seasons on the air. DeGeneres is known for her dancing and singing with the audience at the beginning of the show and during commercial breaks. She often gives away free prizes and trips to her studio audience with the help of her sponsors.

DeGeneres celebrated her thirty-year class reunion by flying her graduating class to California to be guests on her show in February, 2006. She presented Atlanta High School with a surprise gift of a new electronic LED marquee sign.

In May 2006, DeGeneres made a surprise appearance at the Tulane University commencement in New Orleans. Following George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton to the podium, she came out in a bathrobe and furry slippers. "They told me everyone would be wearing robes," she said.

The show broadcast for a week from Universal Studios Orlando in March 2007. Guests that week included Jennifer Lopez and Lynyrd Skynyrd, and skits included DeGeneres going on the Hulk Roller Coaster Ride and the Jaws Boat Ride.

In May 2007, DeGeneres was placed on bed rest due to a torn ligament in her back. She continued hosting her show from a hospital bed, tended to by a nurse, explaining "the show must go on, as they say." Guests sat in hospital beds as well.

On May 1, 2009, DeGeneres celebrated her 1000th episode, featuring celebrity guests such as Oprah, Justin Timberlake, Paris Hilton, among others.
79th Academy Awards

Ellen DeGeneres at the Emmy Awards, 1997

On September 7, 2006, DeGeneres was selected to host the 79th Academy Awards ceremony, which took place on February 25, 2007. This makes her the first openly gay or lesbian person to have hosted the event. During the Awards show DeGeneres said, "What a wonderful night, such diversity in the room, in a year when there's been so many negative things said about people's race, religion and sexual orientation. And I want to put this out there: if there weren't blacks, Jews and gays, there would be no Oscars, or anyone named Oscar, when you think about that." Reviews of her hosting gig were positive, with one saying, "DeGeneres rocked, as she never forgot that she wasn't just there to entertain the Oscar nominees but also to tickle the audience at home." In fact, Regis Philbin said in an interview that "the only complaint was there's not enough Ellen."

Ellen DeGeneres and the 2007 Writers Guild strike

DeGeneres, like many actors who are also writers, is a member of both the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA). Thus, although DeGeneres verbally supported the 2007 WGA strike she did not support it when she crossed the picket line the day after the strike began. Her representatives said that she was competing with other first-run syndicated shows during the competitive November sweeps period, and that she could not break her contracts or risk her show lose its time slot. As a show of solidarity with the strikers, DeGeneres omitted her monologue during the strike, typically written by WGA writers. The WGA condemned her while the AFTRA defended her.

Ellen DeGeneres Commercial spokeswoman

In November 2004, DeGeneres appeared, dancing, in an ad campaign for American Express. Her most recent American Express commercial, a two-minute black-and-white spot where she works with animals, debuted in November 2006 and was created by Ogilvy and Mather. In 2007, the commercial won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Commercial.

DeGeneres began working with Cover Girl Cosmetics in September 2008, for which she has been criticized, as her animal-friendly values clash with Procter and Gamble's (the maker of Cover Girl Cosmetics) animal testing. Her face is the focus of new Cover Girl advertisements starting in January 2009. The beauty campaign will be DeGeneres' first.

h1. Ellen DeGeneres and American Idol

On September 9, 2009, it was confirmed that DeGeneres would replace Paula Abdul as a judge of the ninth season of American Idol. Her role will start only after the contestant auditions. DeGeneres also reportedly signed a contract to be a judge on the show for at least five seasons.



In November 2004, DeGeneres appeared, dancing, in an ad campaign for American Express. Her most recent American Express commercial, a two-minute black-and-white spot where she works with animals, debuted in November 2006 and was created by Ogilvy and Mather. In 2007, the commercial won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Commercial.

DeGeneres began working with Cover Girl Cosmetics in September 2008, for which she has been criticized, as her animal-friendly values clash with Procter and Gamble's (the maker of Cover Girl Cosmetics) animal testing. Her face is the focus of new Cover Girl advertisements starting in January 2009. The beauty campaign will be DeGeneres' first.

Ellen DeGeneres and American Idol

On September 9, 2009, it was confirmed that DeGeneres would replace Paula Abdul as a judge of the ninth season of American Idol. Her role will start only after the contestant auditions. DeGeneres also reportedly signed a contract to be a judge on the show for at least five seasons.

Cascada

Cascada

Born Natalie Horler in Bonn, Germany on September 23, 1981, and is of English descent. As she explains it, "As my parents had moved from England to Germany a year earlier, I grew up here with them and my two sisters. My mother Christine is a foreign language teacher and my father David is a jazz musician with the WDR Big Band in Cologne. It is, of course, from him that I inherited my passion for music. He taught himself everything he knows from a young age, and has made such an enormous success of himself that I can only hope to achieve what he has today."

Who is Cascada?

"When I was very young I would often do recordings in my father's studio at home, a lot of the time Jazz and Disney songs. I could never really say when I started singing. I just enjoyed it so much and I knew at a very, very early age that I wanted to be a singer. Also, I've always taken different kinds of dancing lessons, like step dance, jazz dance, hip-hop and street dance, and have acted in a few amateur plays as a teenager. As my father often directed the music of these plays, I also helped him with the vocal recordings and rehearsals. Next to dance music, I also love soul music and due to my father, I love jazz as well." When asked who she admires, Natalie answers, "I admire just about anyone who has a set of vocals to die for! Really, it doesnt matter who it is; if it's Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Lauryn Hill, Boyz II Men or just someone I happen to hear singing gospel music in church-- I'll listen and love it!"&nbsp;<br /><br />On how Cascada came to be, Natalie explains... "At eighteen I started doing studio work. Here and there I'd record some tracks for different DJ's and that's how I ended up meeting Manuel Reuter (Manian) and Yann (Yanou). We did a couple of songs together and they soon became quite successful."

Cascada is comprised of singer Natalie Horler and two DJ/producers Yanou and DJ Manian. Cascada (formerly known as Cascade) is recognized around the world as the trio behind the hit songs "Miracle" and "Everytime We Touch".

The project was originally named "Cascade", but was changed due to legal conflicts to "Cascada". The name "Cascade" can be found on some older CDs and records put out by the group, namely the first editions of their hit song "Miracle", but this error was soon corrected. The original versions are now out of stock and production, and may very well be considered a piece of history in the long run.

Cascada has worked on many projects for DJ Manian and a 2 Vibez song produced by Bass-T entitled "Sometimes". Yanou and DJ Manian create the beats and melodies that power Cascada's tracks.

Cascada released the album Everytime We Touch on February 21, 2006.

In December 2005 Cascada released a cover of Maggie Reilly's "Everytime We Touch" in the United States. The song peaked at #10 on March 11, 2006 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, #5 on the Billboard Pop 100 chart, #4 on the Billboard Hot Digital chart, and #1 on the Billboard Dance Radio Airplay chart. Robbins ENT has stated that they are excited by the success of this single without a ballad version to carry it on radio.

Everytime We Touch (2005–2007)

Cascada experienced mainstream success in the United Kingdom and the United States almost a year after releasing their second American single, "Everytime We Touch", which interpolates the chorus of a 1992 Maggie Reilly song of the same name. The song gained platinum and gold certifications across the globe, being certified platinum by the RIAA. Soon after the popularity of the single skyrocketed, an album was recorded and released in a matter of months, and a music video for "Everytime We Touch" was also distributed for promotion.

A total of eight singles were released from the album, four of which have been released in the United Kingdom: "Everytime We Touch", "Truly Madly Deeply" (originally by Savage Garden),"Miracle" and "A Neverending Dream" (originally by X-Perience)all of which gained top 10 status apart from "A Neverending Dream", which charted at #46. The U.S. saw the re-release of "Miracle" shortly after "Everytime We Touch"'s breakthrough, receiving high radio rotation and reaching the lower ends of the U.S. charts. Their album Everytime We Touch has experienced success in the UK Album chart where it remained up in the top forty for twenty-four weeks, peaking at #2.he album experienced success on the U.S. charts as well. The success of the album gained them two World Music Award nominations, winning them World's Best-Selling German Artist. Additionally, the album has sold over 5 million copies world-wide.

Aida Yespica

Aida Yespica Modeling Career

Aida Yespica Italian Model

Aida Yespica Jaime moved to Milan, Italy to start her modeling career back in 2003. She has become a big star in the Italian entertainment business and has graced the covers of multiple magazines including GQ and Maxim. Aida appears regularly in Fashion TV and RAI doing photoshoots, fashion commercials or as a presenter.

Aida Yespica TV Star

Aida Yespica in Entertainment

Aida became a reality TV star through L'isola dei Famosi (Celebrity Survivor's Italian version) and Supervivientes (the Spanish version of Telecinco). Aida's fiery temperament made her a favorite among both Italian and Spanish fans. She is beginning to work as an actress; her first appearance is on the TV movie Domani è un'altra truffa.

Miss Venezuela Aida Yespica

Pageant participation

Aida Yéspica's career began in the Miss Venezuela pageant in 2002. As Miss Amazonas, she represented the state of Amazonas. Although Mariangel Ruiz won the pageant, Yespica became a big favorite among the press. Despite her relatively average height (1.73m or 5'8"), her 90cm-60cm-90cm (36"-24"-36") measurements captured significant attention.

Aida Yespica represented the state of Amazona

Berlusconi Controversy

In January 2007 Veronica Lario, the wife of Italian [then former] Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi published a scathing front page letter to the editor in "La Repubblica," in which she asked Berlusconi to apologize for flirting openly with two women at a public event. In the letter, she said that her dignity had been violated. Berlusconi's party issued a public statement saying he would always protect her dignity. However, at an awards dinner only weeks later, Berlusconi was quoted as saying "If I wasn't already married I would marry you right away" to Mara Carfagna, a representative of Forza Italia, and "With you I'd go anywhere" to Yéspica.

Sultry Aida Yespica

Personal life

Yéspica has a son, Aron, born on 27 November 2008, with her former boyfriend, footballer Matteo Ferrari. In January 2009, Yéspica and Ferrari split up after two years of living together in Turkey. She also had a relationship with Adrian Mutu. Yéspica has been living in Spain since April 2011. Her current boyfriend is Philipp Plein.