Betty Jane DeGeneres (née Pfeffer; born May 20, 1930) is an American
LGBT rights
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Notably, , 33 ...
activist
Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
. She is the mother of
Ellen
Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena and Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004.
People named Ellen include:
* Ellen Adarna (born 1988), Filipino actress
* Elle ...
and
Vance DeGeneres
Vance Elliott DeGeneres (born September 2, 1954) is an American actor, comedian, musician, film producer and screenwriter, known for his work in television and movies.
Early life
DeGeneres was born at Touro Infirmary in New Orleans, Louisiana t ...
and the first straight spokeswoman for the
Human Rights Campaign
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGB ...
's National Coming Out Project and an active member of
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
PFLAG is the United States' first and largest organization uniting parents, families, and allies with people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+). PFLAG National is the national organization, which provides support ...
(PFLAG). She gained notability following her lesbian daughter Ellen's highly publicized
coming out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
in 1997.
Life and career
![Donna & Kris with Betty DeGeneres (255623801)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Donna_%26_Kris_with_Betty_DeGeneres_%28255623801%29.jpg)
The youngest of three daughters, DeGeneres was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1930, during the height of the Great Depression.
Her father was German and her mother was Irish.
Her sisters (Helen and Audrey) were not involved in day-to-day family life while DeGeneres was in her late teens, but the sisters did become close in adulthood.
She attended
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
(LSU) for two years, studying speech language pathology to become a speech therapist. While in college she performed in a number of plays with
Joanne Woodward
Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward (born February 27, 1930) is an American actress. A star since the Golden Age of Hollywood, Woodward made her career breakthrough in the 1950s and earned esteem and respect playing complex women with a charact ...
, who would go on to be an Academy Award-winning actress.
She married Elliott DeGeneres in 1952. The couple divorced in 1974. Shortly afterwards, DeGeneres married Roy Gruessendorf, who moved the family to Texas. DeGeneres was diagnosed with
breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...
shortly after her second marriage. Their marriage ended in the early 1990s; Gruessendorf died in 1997. In 2005, Ellen spoke publicly for the first time about the molestation she had suffered from her stepfather when she was a teenager. DeGeneres returned to LSU after the age of 50 to complete her master's degree in speech pathology.
DeGeneres is the author of two books: ''Love, Ellen: A Mother Daughter Journey'' and ''Just a mother''. In ''Love, Ellen: A Mother Daughter Journey'', Betty describes her reaction to her daughter coming out as a lesbian, and her path from passive acceptance to becoming a passionate advocate for LGBT rights. She also describes the media scrutiny she received after Ellen came out. Her second book, ''Just a mother'', continues these themes. She also wrote a column for the (now defunct) website
PlanetOut
PlanetOut, Inc. is an online media company or entertainment company exclusively targeting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) demographic.
Originally founded as an early internet-based media company by Tom Reilly in 1995, it opera ...
called "Ask Betty."
DeGeneres appeared as an extra in the episode "
The Puppy Episode
"The Puppy Episode" is a two-part episode of the American situation comedy television series ''Ellen''. The episode details lead character Ellen Morgan's realization that she is a lesbian and her coming out. It was the 22nd and 23rd episode of ...
" of the television sitcom ''
Ellen
Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena and Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004.
People named Ellen include:
* Ellen Adarna (born 1988), Filipino actress
* Elle ...
'', in which her daughter Ellen's character comes out. DeGeneres appears in many episodes of ''
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was prod ...
'', sitting in the audience.
DeGeneres survived
breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...
and discusses this during public appearances.
References
External links
Betty DeGeneres talks about her life before and after her daughter Ellen Degeneres publicly announced that she is a lesbian, National Public Radio, March 26, 1998
{{DEFAULTSORT:Degeneres, Betty
1930 births
20th-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century American women writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American women writers
American columnists
American women activists
LGBT rights activists from the United States
Living people
Writers from New Orleans
American women columnists
American women non-fiction writers
Women civil rights activists