Events

379 – Emperor Gratian elevates Flavius Theodosius at Sirmium to ''Augustus'', and gives him power over all the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire.

1419 – Hundred Years' War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England completing his reconquest of Normandy.

1511 – Mirandola surrenders to the French.

1520 – Sten Sture the Younger, the Regent of Sweden, is mortally wounded at the Battle of Bogesund.

1607 – San Agustin Church in Manila is officially completed; it is the oldest church still standing in the Philippines.

1764 – John Wilkes is expelled from the British House of Commons for seditious libel.

1788 – The second group of ships of the First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay.

1795 – The Batavian Republic is proclaimed in the Netherlands bringing to an end the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands.

1806 – The United Kingdom occupies the Cape of Good Hope.

1812 – Peninsular War: After a ten day siege, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, orders British soldiers of the Light and third divisions to storm Ciudad Rodrigo.

1817 – An army of 5,423 soldiers, led by General José de San Martín, crosses the Andes from Argentina to liberate Chile and then Peru.

1829 – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's ''Faust Part 1'' receives its premiere performance.

1839 – The British East India Company captures Aden.

1840 – Captain Charles Wilkes circumnavigates Antarctica, claiming what became known as Wilkes Land for the United States.

1853 – Giuseppe Verdi's opera ''Il Trovatore'' receives its premiere performance in Rome.

1861 – American Civil War: Georgia joins South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama in seceding from the United States.

1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Mill Springs – The Confederacy suffers its first significant defeat in the conflict.

1871 – Franco-Prussian War: In the Siege of Paris, Prussia wins the Battle of St. Quentin. Meanwhile, the French attempt to break the siege in the Battle of Buzenval will end unsuccessfully the following day.

1883 – The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey.

1893 – Henrik Ibsen's play ''The Master Builder'' receives its premiere performance in Berlin.

1899 – Anglo-Egyptian Sudan is formed.

1915 – Georges Claude patents the neon discharge tube for use in advertising.

1915 – World War I: German zeppelins bomb the towns of Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn in the United Kingdom killing more than 20, in the first major aerial bombardment of a civilian target.

1917 – Silvertown explosion: 73 are killed and 400 injured in an explosion in a munitions plant in London.

1920 – The United States Senate votes against joining the League of Nations.

1935 – Coopers Inc. sells the world's first briefs.

1937 – Howard Hughes sets a new air record by flying from Los Angeles, California to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes, 25 seconds.

1942 – World War II: Japanese forces invade Burma

1945 – World War II: Soviet forces liberate the Łódź ghetto. Out more than 200,000 inhabitants in 1940, less than 900 had survived the Nazi occupation.

1946 – General Douglas MacArthur establishes the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo to try Japanese war criminals.

1949 – Cuba recognizes Israel.

1953 – 68% of all television sets in the United States are tuned in to ''I Love Lucy'' to watch Lucy give birth.

1960 – Japan and the United States sign the US-Japan Mutual Security Treaty

1969 – Student Jan Palach dies after setting himself on fire 3 days earlier in Prague's Wenceslas Square to protest the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union in 1968. His funeral turned into another major protest.

1975 – An earthquake strikes Himachal Pradesh, India

1977 – President Gerald Ford pardons Iva Toguri D'Aquino (a.k.a. "Tokyo Rose").

1977 – Snow falls in Miami, Florida. This is the only time in the history of the city that snow has fallen. It also fell in the Bahamas.

1978 – The last Volkswagen Beetle made in Germany leaves VW's plant in Emden. Beetle production in Latin America would continue until 2003.

1981 – Iran Hostage Crisis: United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity.

1983 – Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie is arrested in Bolivia.

1983 – The Apple Lisa, the first commercial personal computer from Apple Inc. to have a graphical user interface and a computer mouse, is announced.

1986 – The first computer virus released into the wild is a boot sector virus dubbed (c)Brain, created by the Farooq Alvi Brothers in Lahore, Pakistan, reportedly to deter piracy of the software they had written.

1991 – Gulf War: Iraq fires a second Scud missile into Israel, causing 15 injuries.

1993 – Czech Republic and Slovakia join the United Nations.

1996 – The barge ''North Cape'' oil spill occurs as an engine fire forces the tugboat ''Scandia'' ashore on Moonstone Beach in South Kingstown, Rhode Island.

1997 – Yasser Arafat returns to Hebron after more than 30 years and joins celebrations over the handover of the last Israeli-controlled West Bank city.

1999 – British Aerospace agrees to acquire the defence subsidiary of the General Electric Company plc, forming BAE Systems in November 1999.

2006 – A Slovak Air Force Antonov An-24 crashes in Hungary.

2006 – The New Horizons probe is launched by NASA on the first mission to Pluto.

2007 – Turkish Journalist Hrant Dink is assassinated in front of his newspaper's office by 17 year old Turkish ultranationalist Ogün Samast.

Births

399 – Pulcheria, Byzantine empress (d. 453)

1544 – King Francis II of France (d. 1560)

1736 – James Watt, Scottish inventor (d. 1819)

1739 – Joseph Bonomi the Elder, Italian architect (d. 1808)

1752 – James Morris III, American army officer (d. 1820)

1757 – Augusta Reuss-Ebersdorf, German Princess (d. 1831)

1798 – Auguste Comte, French philosopher (d. 1857)

1807 – Robert E. Lee, American Confederate general (d. 1870)

1808 – Lysander Spooner, American philosopher (d. 1887)

1809 – Edgar Allan Poe, American writer and poet (d. 1849)

1813 – Sir Henry Bessemer, English inventor (d. 1898)

1832 – Ferdinand Laub, Czech violinist (d. 1875)

1833 – Alfred Clebsch, German mathematician (d. 1872)

1839 – Paul Cézanne, French painter (d. 1906)

1848 – John F. Stairs, Canadian businessman (d. 1904)

1848 – Matthew Webb, English swimmer/diver (d. 1883)

1851 – Jacobus Kapteyn, Dutch astronomer (d. 1922)

1863 – Werner Sombart, German sociologist (d. 1941)

1871 – Dame Gruev, Bulgarian revolutionary (d. 1906)

1874 – Hitachiyama Taniemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 19^th Yokozuna (d. 1922)

1876 – Wakashima Gonshirō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 21^st Yokozuna (d. 1943)

1876 – Dragotin Kette, Slovenian poet (d. 1899)

1878 – Herbert Chapman, English football player and manager (d. 1934)

1879 – Boris Savinkov, Russian writer (d. 1925)

1887 – Alexander Woollcott, American intellectual (d. 1943)

1889 – Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Swiss painter and sculptor (d. 1943)

1892 – Ólafur Thors, Icelandic politician (d. 1964)

1893 – Magda Tagliaferro, Brazilian classical pianist (d. 1986)

1905 – Stanley Hawes, British-born Australian film producer, director and administrator (d. 1991)

1908 – Aleksandr Gennadievich Kurosh, Russian mathematician (d. 1971)

1909 – Hans Hotter, German bass-baritone (d. 2003)

1911 – Choor Singh, Singaporean judge (d. 2009)

1912 – Leonid Kantorovich, Russian economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)

1913 – Rex Ingamells, Australian poet (d. 1955)

1914 – Bob Gerard, British racing driver (d. 1990)

1917 – John Raitt, American singer and actor (d. 2005)

1918 – John H. Johnson, American publisher (d. 2005)

1920 – Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Peruvian United Nations Secretary General

1921 – William 'Billy Batts' Devino, American gangster (d. 1970)

1921 – Patricia Highsmith, American author (d. 1995)

1922 – Guy Madison, American actor (d. 1996)

1923 – Jean Stapleton, American actress

1923 – Markus Wolf, German spy (d. 2006)

1924 – Nicholas Colasanto, American actor (d. 1985)

1924 – Jean-François Revel, French author (d. 2006)

1925 – Nina Bawden, English author

1926 – Fritz Weaver, American actor

1930 – Tippi Hedren, American actress

1931 – Robert MacNeil, Canadian journalist

1932 – Richard Lester, British director

1932 – Russ Hamilton, British singer (d. 2008)

1933 – George Coyne, American theologian

1934 – Lloyd Robertson, Canadian journalist

1935 – Soumitra Chatterjee, Indian actor

1935 – Johnny O'Keefe, Australian singer (d. 1978)

1936 – Ziaur Rahman, Seventh President of Bangladesh (d. 1981)

1937 – John Lions, Australian computer scientist (d. 1998)

1937 – Giovanna Marini, Italian singer-songwriter

1939 – Phil Everly, American musician

1940 – Paolo Borsellino, Italian magistrate (d. 1992)

1940 – Mike Reid, English comedian (d. 2007)

1941 – Tony Anholt, British actor (d. 2002)

1941 – Colin Gunton, British theologian (d. 2003)

1941 – Pat Patterson, Canadian wrestler

1942 – Michael Crawford, British singer and actor

1942 – Thom Mayne, American Architect

1943 – Petchara Chaowarat, Thai film actress

1943 – Janis Joplin, American singer (d. 1970)

1943 – Princess Margriet of the Netherlands

1944 – Shelley Fabares, American actress

1944 – Laurie London, English singer

1944 – Peter Lynch, American investor

1944 – Dan Reeves, American football coach

1945 – Trevor Williams, English Bass Guitarist

1946 – Julian Barnes, English author

1946 – Dolly Parton, American singer and actress

1947 – Ann Compton, American news reporter

1947 – Paula Deen, American chef and restaurateur

1947 – Rod Evans, British musician (Deep Purple)

1948 – Frank McKenna, Canadian politician

1949 – Robert Palmer, English singer and guitarist (d. 2003)

1949 – Dennis Taylor, Northern Irish snooker player

1950 – Sébastien Dhavernas, Canadian actor

1950 – Grant Nordman, Canadian politician

1953 – Desi Arnaz, Jr., American actor

1953 – Linda Hayden, English actress

1953 – Richard Legendre, Canadian politician

1954 – Katey Sagal, American actress

1954 – Cindy Sherman, American photographer

1954 – Katharina Thalbach, German actress and film director

1955 – Simon Rattle, English conductor

1955 – Paul Rodriguez, Mexican/American actor and comedian

1956 – Carman Licciardello, American singer

1957 – Ottis Anderson, former American football player

1957 – Kenneth McClintock, Puerto Rican politician

1959 – Jeff Pilson, American bass guitarist

1961 – William Ragsdale, American actor

1962 – Hans Daams, Dutch cyclist

1962 – Jeff Van Gundy, American basketball coach

1963 – Michael Adams, American basketball player

1963 – Martin Bashir, Pakistani-born reporter

1963 – Caron Wheeler, British singer (Soul II Soul)

1964 – Janine Antoni, Bahamian artist

1964 – Ricardo Arjona, Guatemalan singer

1966 – Floris Jan Bovelander, Dutch field hockey player

1966 – Sylvain Côté, Canadian ice hockey player

1966 – Stefan Edberg, Swedish tennis player

1966 – Lena Philipsson, Swedish singer

1967 – Javier Cámara, Spanish actor

1968 – Whitfield Crane, American musician (Ugly Kid Joe)

1969 – Edwidge Danticat, Haitian/American author

1969 – Luc Longley, Australian basketball player

1969 – Predrag Mijatović, Yugoslavian footballer

1969 – Junior Seau, American football player

1969 – Casey Sherman, American author

1969 – Steve Staunton, Irish footballer

1970 – Kathleen Smet, Belgian triathlete

1970 – Udo Suzuki, Japanese comedian

1971 – Shawn Wayans, American actor

1971 – John Wozniak, American singer and songwriter (Marcy Playground)

1972 – Angham, Egyptian singer, record producer and actress

1972 – Joana Benedek, Mexican actress

1972 – Jon Fisher, American entrepreneur

1972 – Princess Kalina of Bulgaria

1972 – Elena Kaliská, Slovak slalom canoer

1972 – Ron Killings, American professional wrestler

1972 – Drea de Matteo, American actress

1972 – Troy Wilson, Australian racing driver and AFL player

1973 – Antero Manninen, Finnish cellist

1973 – Yevgeny Sadovyi, Russian swimmer

1973 – Aaron Yonda, YouTube celebrity

1974 – Frank Caliendo, American comedian

1974 – Ian Laperrière, Canadian ice hockey player

1974 – Jaime Moreno, Bolivian footballer

1975 – Noah Georgeson, American musician

1976 – Natale Gonnella, Italian footballer

1976 – Tarso Marques, Brazilian racing driver

1977 – Benjamin Ayres, Canadian actor

1977 – Lauren Etame Mayer, Cameroonian footballer

1977 – Nicole, Chilean singer

1977 – Cocco, Japanese singer

1979 – Svetlana Khorkina, Russian gymnast

1979 – Josu Sarriegi, Spanish/Basque footballer

1979 – Wiley, English rapper

1980 – Jenson Button, English Formula One driver

1980 – Kotoko, Japanese singer

1980 – Luke Macfarlane, Canadian actor

1981 – Asier Del Horno, Spanish footballer

1981 – Lucho González, Argentine footballer

1981 – Dimosthenis Manousakis, Greek footballer

1982 – Angela Chang, Taiwanese singer and actress

1982 – Mike Komisarek, American ice hockey player

1982 – Jodie Sweetin, American actress

1983 – Hikaru Utada, American/Japanese singer and songwriter

1984 – Fabio Catacchini, Italian footballer

1984 – Karun Chandhok, Indian racing driver

1984 – Felicity Jones, English actress

1984 – Jimmy Kebe, Malian footballer

1984 – Thomas Vanek, Austrian ice hockey player

1985 – Jake Allen, American football player

1985 – Benny Feilhaber, American soccer player

1985 – Esteban Guerrieri, Argentine racing driver

1985 – Rika Ishikawa, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)

1986 – Loren Galler-Rabinowitz, American ice dancer

1987 – Edgar Manucharyan, Armenian footballer

1987 – Angus Monfries, Australian league footballer

1988 – JaVale McGee, American Basketball Player

1991 – Erin Sanders, American actress

1992 – Logan Lerman, American actor

1992 – Shawn Johnson, American gymnast

1992 – Mac Miller, American rapper

1993 – Gus Lewis, English actor

Deaths

639 – Dagobert I, King of the Franks (b. c. 603)

1526 – Isabella of Burgundy, wife of Christian II of Denmark (b. 1501)

1547 – Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, English poet (b. 1517)

1576 – Hans Sachs, German ''Meistersinger'' (b. 1494)

1661 – Thomas Venner, Fifth Monarchist (executed) (b. 1599)

1729 – William Congreve, English playwright (b. 1670)

1757 – Thomas Ruddiman, Scottish classical scholar (b. 1674)

1766 – Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni, Italian-born French architect and painter (b. 1695)

1785 – Jonathan Toup, English classical scholar and critic (b. 1713)

1833 – Louis Joseph Ferdinand Herold, French composer (b. 1791)

1847 – Charles Bent, New Mexico pioneer (assassinated) (b. 1799)

1851 – Esteban Echeverría, Argentine writer (b. 1805)

1865 – Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French philosopher and anarchist (b. 1809)

1869 – Carl Reichenbach, German chemist and philosopher (b. 1788)

1874 – August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, German poet (b. 1798)

1878 – Henri Victor Regnault French physicist and chemist (b. 1810)

1905 – Debendranath Tagore, Indian philosopher (b. 1817)

1906 – Bartolomé Mitre, Argentine historian and politician, president of the country (b. 1821)

1915 – Thomas Herbst, German painter (b. 1848)

1925 – Queen Maria Sophia of Two Sicilies (b.1841)

1927 – Charlotte of Belgium (b. 1840)

1929 – Liang Qichao, Chinese scholar (b. 1873)

1939 – Branislav Nušić, Serbian novelist, playwright, satirist, essayist and journalist (b. 1864)

1939 – Cliff Heathcote, American baseball player (b. 1898)

1948 – Tony Garnier, French architect (b. 1869)

1954 – Theodor Kaluza, German mathematician and physicist (b. 1885)

1957 – József Dudás, Romanian/Hungarian resistance fighter (b. 1912)

1964 – Firmin Lambot, Belgian cyclist (b. 1886)

1965 – Arnold Luhaäär, Estonian weightlifter and Olympic medalist (b. 1905)

1968 – Ray Harroun, American race car driver (b. 1879)

1969 – Jan Palach, Czech student and political activist (suicide) (b. 1948)

1971 – Harry Shields, American musician (b. 1899)

1972 – Michael Rabin, American violinist (b. 1936)

1973 – Max Adrian, Northern Irish actor (b. 1903)

1975 – Thomas Hart Benton, American painter (b. 1889)

1976 – Hidetsugu Yagi, Japanese electrical engineer (b. 1886)

1980 – William O. Douglas, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1898)

1982 – Elis Regina, Brazilian singer (b. 1945)

1983 – Ham the Chimp, First hominid launched into outer space (b. 1956)

1984 – Max Bentley, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1920)

1987 – Lawrence Kohlberg, American psychologist (b. 1927)

1990 – Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Indian religious leader (b. 1931)

1990 – Semprini, English musician (b. 1908)

1990 – Herbert Wehner, German politician (b. 1906)

1991 – Marcel Chaput, French-Canadian politician (b. 1918)

1991 – John Russell, American actor (b. 1921)

1995 – Gene MacLellan, Canadian composer and singer (b. 1938)

1996 – Don Simpson, American film producer (b. 1943)

1997 – Adriana Caselotti, American actress (b. 1916)

1997 – James Dickey, American writer (b. 1923)

1998 – Carl Perkins, American guitarist (b. 1932)

1999 – Ivan Francescato, Italian rugby union footballer (b. 1967)

2000 – Bettino Craxi, Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1934)

2000 – Hedy Lamarr, Austrian-born actress and inventor (b. 1913)

2001 – Dario Vittori, Argentine actor (b. 1921)

2003 – Françoise Giroud, French writer and journalist (b. 1916)

2004 – Harry E. Claiborne, American judge (suicide) (b. 1917)

2004 – David Hookes, Australian cricketer and coach (b. 1955)

2005 – Bill Andersen, New Zealand communist and trade union leader (b. 1924)

2005 – K. Sello Duiker, South African novelist (b. 1974)

2005 – Anita Kulcsár, Hungarian handball player (b. 1976)

2006 – Anthony Franciosa, American actor (b. 1928)

2006 – Wilson Pickett, American singer (b. 1941)

2006 – Aoun Al-Sharif Qasim, Sudanese writer and Islamic scholar (b. 1933)

2006 – Geoff Rabone, New Zealand cricketer (b. 1921)

2007 – Scott "Bam Bam" Bigelow, American professional wrestler (b. 1961)

2007 – Hrant Dink, Turkish-Armenian newspaper editor (b. 1954)

2007 – Denny Doherty, Canadian singer (The Mamas & the Papas) (b. 1940)

2007 – Murat Nasyrov, Russian singer and composer (b. 1969)

2008 – Suzanne Pleshette, American actress (b. 1937)

2008 – John Stewart, American musician (The Kingston Trio) (b. 1939)

2008 – Don Wittman, Canadian sportscaster for CBC (b. 1936)

2010 – Jennifer Lyon, American reality television personality (Survivor) (b. 1972)

2010 – Bill McLaren, Scottish rugby commentator (b. 1923)

2011 – Ernest McCulloch, stem cell research pioneer (b. 1926)

Holidays and observances

Birthday of Edgar Allan Poe (commemorated by the Poe Toaster at his grave in Baltimore)

Christian Feast Day:

*Henry of Uppsala

*Maris, Martha, Abachum and Audifax

*Mark of Ephesus

*Pontianus

*Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester

*January 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Confederate Heroes Day (Texas)

Robert E. Lee Day (Florida on the 19th of January) and (Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Georgia on or around the 19th of January)

Feast of Sultán (Sovereignty), first day of the 17^th month of the Bahá'í calendar (Bahá'í Faith)

Theophany / Epiphany (Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy), and its related observances:

*Timkat, or 20 during Leap Year (Ethiopian Orthodox)

''Vodici'' or Baptism of Jesus (Republic of Macedonia)

External links

BBC: On This Day

On This Day in Canada

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Category:Days of the year Category:January

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Name	Natalie Portman
Birth name	Natalie Hershlag()
Birth date	June 09, 1981
Birth place	Jerusalem, Israel
Alma mater	Harvard University
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1994–present
Partner	Benjamin Millepied (2010–present; 1 child) }}

Natalie Hershlag (; born June 9, 1981), better known by her stage name Natalie Portman, is an actress with dual American and Israeli citizenship. Her first role was as an orphan taken in by a hitman in the 1994 French action film ''Léon'', but major success came when she was cast as Padmé Amidala in the ''Star Wars'' prequel trilogy. In 1999, she enrolled at Harvard University to study psychology while still working as an actress. She completed her bachelor's degree in 2003.

In 2001, Portman opened in New York City's Public Theater production of Anton Chekhov's ''The Seagull''. In 2005, Portman received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture for the drama ''Closer''. She won a Constellation Award for Best Female Performance, and a Saturn Award for Best Actress for her starring role in ''V for Vendetta'' (2006). She played leading roles in the historical dramas ''Goya's Ghosts'' (2006) and ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2008). In May 2008, she served as the youngest member of the 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival jury. Portman's directorial debut, ''Eve'', opened the 65th Venice International Film Festival's shorts competition in 2008.

In 2011, Portman won the Academy Award, the Golden Globe Award, the Screen Actors Guild Award, and the BAFTA Award for her lead performance as Nina in ''Black Swan''.

Early life

Portman was born in Jerusalem, Israel. She is the only child of Shelley (née Stevens), an American homemaker who works as Portman's agent, and Avner Hershlag, an Israeli citizen who is a fertility specialist and gynecologist. Portman's maternal ancestors were Jewish immigrants to the United States, from Austria and Russia (her mother's family had changed their surname from "Edelstein" to "Stevens"). Her paternal ancestors were Jews who moved to Israel from Poland and Romania. Her paternal grandfather, whose parents died at Auschwitz, was an economics professor in Israel, and her Romanian-born great-grandmother was a spy for British Intelligence during World War II.

Portman's parents met at a Jewish student center at Ohio State University, where her mother was selling tickets. They corresponded after her father returned to Israel, and were married when her mother visited a few years later. In 1984, when Portman was three years old, the family moved to the United States, where her father received his medical training. has said that although she "really love[s] the States... my heart's in Jerusalem. That's where I feel at home."

Portman and her family first lived in Washington, D.C., but relocated to Connecticut in 1988, and then settled on Long Island, New York, in 1990.

Education

In Washington, D.C., Portman attended Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School. Portman learned to speak Hebrew in addition to English, and attended a Jewish elementary school, the Solomon Schechter Day School of Glen Cove, New York. She graduated from Syosset High School in Syosset, Long Island, in 1999. Portman skipped the premiere of her film ''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace'' so she could study for her high school final exams.

In 2003, Portman graduated from Harvard College with a B.A. degree in psychology. "I don't care if [college] ruins my career," she told the ''New York Post'', according to a Fox News Channel article. "I'd rather be smart than a movie star." At Harvard, Portman was Alan Dershowitz's research assistant. While attending Harvard, she was a resident of Lowell House and wrote a letter to the ''Harvard Crimson'' in response to an essay critical of Israeli actions toward Palestinians.

Portman took graduate courses at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the spring of 2004. In March 2006, she appeared as a guest lecturer at a Columbia University course in terrorism and counterterrorism, where she spoke about her film ''V for Vendetta''.

Portman has professed an interest in foreign languages since childhood and has studied French, Japanese, German, and Arabic.

As a student, Portman co-authored two research papers that were published in scientific journals. Her 1998 high school paper, "A Simple Method to Demonstrate the Enzymatic Production of Hydrogen from Sugar", co-authored with scientists Ian Hurley and Jonathan Woodward, was entered in the Intel Science Talent Search, in which she was named a semifinalist. In 2002, she contributed to a study on memory called "Frontal Lobe Activation during Object Permanence: Data from Near-Infrared Spectroscopy" during her psychology studies at Harvard.

Career

Early work

Portman started dancing lessons at age four and performed in local troupes. At the age of ten, a Revlon agent asked her to become a child model, but she turned down the offer to focus on acting. In a magazine interview, Portman said that she was "different from the other kids. I was more ambitious, I knew what I liked and what I wanted, and I worked very hard. I was a very serious kid."

Portman spent her school holidays attending theater camps. When she was ten, she auditioned for the Off-Broadway show ''Ruthless!'', a musical about a girl who is prepared to commit murder to get the lead in a school play. Portman and future pop star Britney Spears were chosen as the understudies for star Laura Bell Bundy. In 1994, she auditioned for the role of a child who befriends a middle-aged hitman in Luc Besson's film, ''Léon'' (aka ''The Professional''). Soon after getting the part, she took her grandmother's maiden name "Portman" as her stage name, in the interest of privacy and to protect her family's identity. ''Léon'' opened on November 18, 1994, marking her feature film debut. That same year she appeared in the short film ''Developing'', which aired on television.

1995–99

During the mid-1990s, Portman had roles in the films ''Heat'', ''Everyone Says I Love You'', and ''Mars Attacks!'', as well as a major role in ''Beautiful Girls''. She was the first choice to play Juliet in ''William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet'', but producers felt her age wasn't suitable. In 1997, Portman played the role of Anne Frank in a Broadway adaptation of ''The Diary of Anne Frank''.

Also in 1997, Portman was cast as Padmé Amidala in the ''Star Wars'' prequel trilogy. The first film, ''The Phantom Menace'', began filming in June 1997 and opened in May 1999. Following production on ''The Phantom Menace'', she initially turned down a lead role in the film ''Anywhere but Here'' after learning it would involve a sex scene, but director Wayne Wang and actress Susan Sarandon (who played Portman's mother in the film) demanded a rewrite of the script. Portman was shown a new draft, and she decided to accept the role. The film opened in late 1999, and she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Ann August. Critic Mary Elizabeth Williams of ''Salon'' called Portman "astonishing" and said that "[u]nlike any number of actresses her age, she's neither too maudlin nor too plucky." She then signed on to play the lead role of a teenaged mother in ''Where the Heart Is'', which opened in April 2000.

2000–05

After filming ''Where the Heart Is'', Portman moved into the dorms of Harvard University to pursue her bachelor's degree in psychology. She said in a 1999 interview that, with the exception of the ''Star Wars'' prequels, she would not act for the next four years in order to concentrate on studying. During the summer break from June to September 2000, Portman filmed ''Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones'' in Sydney, along with additional production in London.

In July 2001, Portman opened in New York City's Public Theater production of Chekhov's ''The Seagull'', directed by Mike Nichols; she played the role of Nina alongside Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The play opened at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. That same year, she was one of many celebrities who made cameo appearances in the 2001 comedy ''Zoolander''. Portman was cast in a small role in the film ''Cold Mountain'' alongside Jude Law and Nicole Kidman.

In 2004, Portman appeared in the independent movies ''Garden State'' and ''Closer''. ''Garden State'' was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival and won Best First Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards. Her performance as Alice in ''Closer'' earned her a Supporting Actress Golden Globe as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

The final ''Star Wars'' prequel, ''Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith'', was released on May 19, 2005. The film was the highest grossing domestic film of the year, and was voted Favorite Motion Picture at the People's Choice Awards. Also in 2005, Portman filmed ''Free Zone'' and director Miloš Forman's ''Goya's Ghosts''. Forman had not seen any of her work but thought she looked like a Goya painting, so he requested a meeting.

2006–09

Portman hosted ''Saturday Night Live'' on March 4, 2006. In a SNL Digital Short, she portrays herself as an angry gangsta rapper (with Andy Samberg as her Flavor Flav-esque partner in Viking garb) during a faux-interview with Chris Parnell, saying she cheated at Harvard University while high on marijuana and cocaine. The song, titled "Natalie's Rap," was released – alongside other sketches from the show – in 2009 on ''Incredibad'', an album by the Lonely Island. In another sketch, she portrays a student named Rebecca Hershlag (her actual surname) attending a Bar Mitzvah, and in an installment of the recurring sketch The Needlers (also known as Sally and Dan, The Couple That Should Be Divorced), plays a fertility specialist (her father's profession).

''V for Vendetta'' opened in early 2006. Portman portrayed Evey Hammond, a young woman who is saved from the secret police by the main character, V. Portman worked with a voice coach for the role, learning to speak with an English accent, and she famously had her head shaved.

Portman has commented on ''V for Vendetta'' political relevance and mentioned that her character, who joins an underground anti-government group, is "often bad and does things that you don't like" and that "being from Israel was a reason I wanted to do this because terrorism and violence are such a daily part of my conversations since I was little." She said the film "doesn't make clear good or bad statements. It respects the audience enough to take away their own opinion".

Both ''Goya's Ghosts'' and ''Free Zone'' received limited releases in 2006. Portman starred in the children's film ''Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium'', which began filming in April 2006 and was released in November 2007; she has said that she was "excited to do a kids' movie." In late 2006, Portman filmed ''The Other Boleyn Girl'', a historical drama in which she plays Anne Boleyn; Eric Bana and Scarlett Johansson co-starred. She was named one of the hottest women of film and TV by ''Blender'' Magazine.

In 2006, she filmed Wong Kar-wai's road movie ''My Blueberry Nights''. She won acclaim for her role as gambler Leslie, because "[f]or once she's not playing a waif or a child princess but a mature, full-bodied woman... but she's not coasting on her looks... She uses her appeal to simultaneously flirt with and taunt the gambler across the table." Portman voiced Bart Simpson's girlfriend Darcy in the episode "Little Big Girl" of The Simpsons' 18th season.

She appeared in Paul McCartney's music video "Dance Tonight" from his 2007 album ''Memory Almost Full'', directed by Michel Gondry. Portman co-starred in the Wes Anderson short film ''Hotel Chevalier'', opposite Jason Schwartzman, in which she performed her second nude scene (her first being ''Goya's Ghosts''). In May 2008, Portman served as the youngest member of the 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival jury, and in 2009, she starred opposite Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal in the drama film ''Brothers'', a remake of the 2004 Danish film of the same name.

In 2008, Portman at age 27 made her directorial debut at the Venice Film Festival. "Eve", a short movie about a young woman who is dragged along on her grandmother's romantic date, was screened out of competition. Portman said she had always had a fascination with the older generation, and drew inspiration for the character from her own grandmother.

2010–present

Portman played a veteran ballerina in Darren Aronofsky's 2010 film ''Black Swan'', a role of which critic Kurt Loder wrote: "Portman gives one of her most compelling performances in this film, which is saying something." To prepare for the role, she went through five to eight hours of dance training each day for six months and lost 20 pounds. In 2011, she won both the Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for best lead actress.

After Portman's Oscar win, controversy arose over who performed the bulk of the on-screen dancing in ''Black Swan''. Sarah Lane, one of Portman's dancing doubles in the film, claimed that Portman performed only about 5 percent of the full-body shots, adding that she was asked by the film’s producers not to speak publicly about it during the Oscar season. Director Aronofsky defended Portman by issuing a statement insisting that Portman performed 80% of the on-screen dancing in the movie.

Portman's next film was ''No Strings Attached'', which was released on January 21, 2011, followed by ''Your Highness'', opposite James Franco and Danny McBride. She also played the role of Jane Foster in Kenneth Branagh's superhero film adaptation ''Thor''. In 2010, Portman dropped out of the lead role of Elizabeth Bennet in the novel adaptation ''Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'', but she continues as producer.

Social and political causes

Portman, who is an advocate for animal rights, has been a vegetarian since childhood. She became a vegan in 2009 after reading Jonathan Safran Foer's ''Eating Animals''. She does not eat animal products or wear fur, feathers, or leather. "All of my shoes are from Target and Stella McCartney," she has said. In 2007, she launched her own brand of vegan footwear.

In 2007, Portman traveled to Rwanda with Jack Hanna, to film the documentary ''Gorillas on the Brink.'' Later, at a naming ceremony, Portman christened a baby gorilla Gukina, which means "to play." Portman has been an advocate of environmental causes since childhood, when she joined an environmental song and dance troupe known as World Patrol Kids. She is also a member of the One Voice movement.

Portman has also supported antipoverty activities. In 2004 and 2005, she traveled to Uganda, Guatemala, and Ecuador as the Ambassador of Hope for FINCA International, an organization that promotes micro-lending to help finance women-owned businesses in developing countries. In an interview conducted backstage at the Live 8 concert in Philadelphia and appearing on the PBS program ''Foreign Exchange with Fareed Zakaria,'' she discussed microfinance. Host Fareed Zakaria said that he was "generally wary of celebrities with fashionable causes," but included the segment with Portman because "she really knew her stuff."

In the "Voices" segment of the April 29, 2007, episode of the ABC Sunday morning program ''This Week with George Stephanopoulos'', Portman discussed her work with FINCA and how it can benefit women and children in Third World countries. In fall 2007, she visited several university campuses, including Harvard, USC, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Stanford, Princeton, New York University, and Columbia, to inspire students with the power of microfinance and to encourage them to join the Village Banking Campaign to help families and communities lift themselves out of poverty.

In 2010, Portman's activist work and popularity with young people earned her a nomination for VH1's Do Something Awards, which is dedicated to honoring individuals who do good.

Portman is a supporter of the Democratic Party, and in the 2004 presidential race she campaigned for the Democratic nominee, Senator John Kerry. In the 2008 presidential election, Portman supported Senator Hillary Clinton of New York in the Democratic primaries. She later campaigned for the eventual Democratic nominee, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, during the general election. However, in a 2008 interview, she also said: "I even like John McCain. I disagree with his war stance – which is a really big deal – but I think he's a very moral person."

Personal life

In the May 2002 issue of ''Vogue'', Portman called actor/musician Lukas Haas and musician Moby her close friends. After starring in the video for his song "Carmensita", she began a relationship with American folk singer Devendra Banhart, which ended in September 2008. She met ballet dancer Benjamin Millepied in early 2009, on the set of her film ''Black Swan'', for which Millepied acted as choreographer. By late 2009, the two had begun dating. On December 27, 2010, a Portman representative told the press that Portman and Millepied were engaged and expecting a child, due in the summer of 2011. The following June, Portman gave birth to her first child, a son named Aleph Portman-Millepied.

In 2002, on the concept of the afterlife, Portman said, "I don't believe in that. I believe this is it, and I believe it's the best way to live." In 2006, she said that she felt more Jewish in Israel and that she would like to raise her children Jewish: "A priority for me is definitely that I'd like to raise my kids Jewish, but the ultimate thing is to have someone who is a good person and who is a partner."

Filmography

+ Film roles
Title	Year	Role	Notes
! scope="row"	1994	Mathilda	Also known as ''The Professional''
! scope="row"	1994	Nina	23-minute short film
! scope="row"	1995	Lauren Gustafson
! scope="row"	1996	Marty
''Everyone Says I Love You''	1996	Laura Dandridge
''Mars Attacks!''	1996	Taffy Dale
''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace''	1999	Padmé Amidala
! scope="row"	1999	Ann August
! scope="row"	2000	Novalee Nation
''Zoolander''	2001	Herself	Cameo
''Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones''	2002	Padmé Amidala
! scope="row"	2003	Sara
! scope="row"	2004	Samantha
! scope="row"	2004	Alice Ayres
''Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith''	2005	Padmé Amidala
! scope="row"	2005	Rebecca	received a limited US theatrical release in April 2006
! scope="row"	2006	Evey Hammond
''Paris, je t'aime''	2006	Francine	Ensemble film with 18 segments. She appears in the segment directed by German writer-director Tom Tykwer.
''Goya's Ghosts''	2006	Inés Bilbatúa & Alicia
''My Blueberry Nights''	2007	Leslie
''''	2007	Jack's Ex-Girlfriend
''Hotel Chevalier''	2007	Jack's Ex-Girlfriend	13-minute short companion piece to ''The Darjeeling Limited''
''Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium''	2007	Molly Mahoney
''''	2008	Anne Boleyn
! scope="row"	2009	Emilia Greenleaf	Originally titled ''Love and Other Impossible Pursuits'', with limited theatrical release in February 2011
''New York, I Love You''	2009	Rifka
! scope="row"	2009	Grace Cahill
! scope="row"	2010	Nicole
! scope="row"	2010	Nina Sayers
! scope="row"	2011	Emma Kurtzman
''Your Highness''	2011	Isabel
! scope="row"	2011

+ Television roles
Title	Year	Role	Notes
''Sesame Street''	2003–2004	Herself/Natalie	Season 34, Episode: "Oscar Needs a Change of Scenery"Season 35, Episode: "Alan's Vacation Replacement"
''Saturday Night Live''	2006	Host
''''	2006	Aurora Mardiganian (narration)	Documentary film
''''	2007	Darcy	Season 18, Episode: "Little Big Girl" (voice)

+ Theatrical roles
Production	Year	Role	Notes
''Ruthless!''	1994
''''	1997	Anne Frank
''''	2001

Awards

+ Awards and award nominations
Award	Award category	Year	Title of work	Result
Academy Award		2011
Academy Award		2005	''Closer
! scope="row"	Best Actress	2011	''Black Swan''
! scope="row"		2010	''Black Swan''
British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)		2005	''Closer''
British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award (BAFTA)		2011	''Black Swan''
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award		2005	''Closer''
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award		2005	''Closer''
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award		2011	''Black Swan''
Chicago Film Critics Association Award	Best Supporting Actress	1996
Chicago Film Critics Association Award	Most Promising Actress	1996	''Beautiful Girls''
Chicago Film Critics Association Award	Best Supporting Actress	2009
Golden Globe Award		2000
Golden Globe Award	Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture	2005	''Closer
Golden Globe Award		2011	''Black Swan''
Golden Raspberry Award		1999	''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace''
Golden Raspberry Award		2003	''Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones''
Golden Raspberry Award		2003	''Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones''
Independent Spirit Awards		2011	''Black Swan''
Irish Film and Television Award		2005
London Film Critics' Circle Award		2005	''Closer''
London Film Critics' Circle Award		2011	''Black Swan''
MTV Movie Award		2005	''Garden State''
MTV Movie Award	Best Female Performance	2011	''Black Swan''
MTV Movie Award		2005	''Garden State''
MTV Movie Award		2011	''Black Swan''
MTV Movie Award		2011	''Black Swan''
National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Award		2004
! scope="row"	Best Actress	2010	''Black Swan''
Online Film Critics Society Award		2005	''Closer''
Online Film Critics Society		2010	''Black Swan''
People's Choice Award		2005
San Diego Film Critics Society Award		2004	''Closer''
Satellite Award		2005	''Closer''
Satellite Award		2005	''Garden State''
Satellite Award	Best Actress in a Drama	2010	''Black Swan''
Saturn Award		2000	''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace''
Saturn Award		2003	''Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones''
Saturn Award	Best Actress	2006	''Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith''
Saturn Award	Best Actress	2006	''V for Vendetta''
Saturn Award	Best Actress	2010	''Brothers''
Saturn Award	Best Actress	2011	''Black Swan''
Screen Actors Guild Award		2011	''Black Swan''
Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie Actress	2000
Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie Actress: Drama/Action Adventure	2002	''Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones''
Teen Choice Award		2002	''Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones''
Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie Actress: Drama	2005	''Closer''
Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie Actress: Drama	2005	''Garden State''
Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie Actress: Action/Adventure	2005	''Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith''
Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie Liar	2005	''Garden State''
Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie Liplock	2005	''Garden State''
Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie Love Scene	2005	''Garden State''
Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie Actress: Drama/Action Adventure	2006
Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie Actress: Drama	2011	''Black Swan''
Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie Actress: Romantic Comedy	2011
Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie Liplock	2011	''Black Swan''
! scope="row"		2011	''Black Swan''
Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award		2005	''Closer''
Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award	Best Supporting Actress	2005	''Garden State''
Vancouver Film Critics Circle		2011	''Black Swan''
! scope="row"		2010	''Black Swan''
Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actress	2000	''Anywhere but Here''
Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actress	2001	''Where the Heart Is''

References

External links

Category:1981 births Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:Actors from Connecticut Category:American child actors Category:American film actors Category:American people of Austrian-Jewish descent Category:American people of Israeli descent Category:American people of Polish-Jewish descent Category:American people of Romanian-Jewish descent Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent Category:American vegans Category:Animal rights advocates Category:Best Actress Academy Award winners Category:Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Harvard University alumni Category:Israeli film actors Category:Israeli emigrants to the United States Category:Israeli Jews Category:Israeli people of Austrian origin Category:Israeli people of Polish origin Category:Israeli people of Romanian origin Category:Israeli people of Russian origin Category:Israeli vegans Category:Jewish actors Category:Living people Category:Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from Jerusalem Category:People from Nassau County, New York Category:People from New York City Category:People from Washington, D.C. Category:Saturn Award winners

ar:ناتالي بورتمان an:Natalie Portman az:Natali Portman bn:ন্যাটালি পোর্টম্যান zh-min-nan:Natalie Portman be:Наталі Портман be-x-old:Наталі Портман bs:Natalie Portman bg:Натали Портман ca:Natalie Portman cs:Natalie Portmanová co:Natalie Portman cy:Natalie Portman da:Natalie Portman de:Natalie Portman et:Natalie Portman el:Νάταλι Πόρτμαν es:Natalie Portman eo:Natalie Portman eu:Natalie Portman fa:ناتالی پورتمن fr:Natalie Portman fy:Natalie Portman ga:Natalie Portman gv:Natalie Portman gl:Natalie Portman ko:나탈리 포트만 hy:Նատալի Փորտման hi:नताली पोर्टमैन hr:Natalie Portman io:Natalie Portman id:Natalie Portman it:Natalie Portman he:נטלי פורטמן kn:ನಟಾಲಿಯಾ ಪೋರ್ಟ್‌ಮ್ಯಾನ್‌ ka:ნატალი პორტმანი la:Natalia Portman lv:Natālija Portmane lb:Natalie Portman lt:Natalie Portman hu:Natalie Portman mk:Натали Портман mr:नॅटली पोर्टमन arz:ناتالى بورتمان ms:Natalie Portman nl:Natalie Portman ja:ナタリー・ポートマン no:Natalie Portman uz:Natalie Portman nds:Natalie Portman pl:Natalie Portman pt:Natalie Portman ro:Natalie Portman ru:Портман, Натали sq:Natalie Portman simple:Natalie Portman sk:Natalie Portmanová sl:Natalie Portman sr:Натали Портман sh:Natalie Portman fi:Natalie Portman sv:Natalie Portman tl:Natalie Portman ta:நடாலீ போர்ட்மேன் te:నటాలీ పోర్ట్‌మన్ th:นาตาลี พอร์ตแมน tr:Natalie Portman uk:Наталі Портман ug:ناتالىيە پورتمەن vi:Natalie Portman yo:Natalie Portman zh:娜塔莉·波特曼

name	Ellen DeGeneres
birth name	Ellen Lee DeGeneres
birth date	January 26, 1958
birth place	Metairie, Louisiana, United States
active	1981 – present
medium	Stand-up, television, film, books
nationality	American
subjects	Observational comedy, celebrity comedy, political comedy, family comedy, everyday life
influences	Steve Martin, Woody Allen, Bob Newhart, Johnny Carson
spouse	Portia de Rossi (2008–present)
domesticpartner	Anne Heche (1997–2000)Alexandra Hedison (2001–2004)

}}

Ellen Lee DeGeneres (; born January 26, 1958) is an American stand-up comedian, television host and actress. She hosts the syndicated talk show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show''.

DeGeneres 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 animated film ''Finding Nemo'', for which she was awarded a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress, the first and only time a voice performance won a Saturn Award. She was a judge on ''American Idol'' for one year, having joined the show in its ninth season. She also starred in two television sitcoms, ''Ellen'' from 1994 to 1998 and ''The Ellen Show'' from 2001 to 2002. During the fourth season of ''Ellen'' in 1997, DeGeneres 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 including the coming out process. She has won thirteen Emmys and numerous other awards for her work and charitable efforts.

In November 2011, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton named her a Special Envoy for Global AIDS Awareness.

Early life and education

DeGeneres was raised in Metairie, Louisiana, the daughter of Elizabeth Jane DeGeneres (née Pfeffer), a speech therapist, and Elliott Everett DeGeneres, an insurance agent. She has one brother, Vance DeGeneres, who is a producer and musician. She is of French, English, German and Irish descent. DeGeneres was raised as a Christian Scientist until the age of thirteen. In 1973 DeGeneres's parents filed for separation and were divorced the following year. Shortly after, Betty Jane remarried Roy Gruessendorf, who worked as a salesman. Betty Jane and Ellen moved with Gruessendorf from the New Orleans area to Atlanta, Texas. Vance stayed with their birth father.

DeGeneres graduated from Atlanta High School in May 1976, after completing her first years of high school at Grace King High School in Metairie, Louisiana. She moved back to New Orleans to attend the University of New Orleans, where she majored in communication studies. After one semester, she left school to do clerical work in a law firm with her cousin Laura Gillen. She also held a job selling clothes at the chain store the Merry-Go-Round at the Lakeside Shopping Center. Other working experiences included J.C. Penney, being a waitress at TGI Friday's and another restaurant, a house painter, a hostess, and a bartender. She relates much of her childhood and career experiences in her comedic work.

Ancestry

On a February 9, 2011 episode of ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'', DeGeneres told her studio audience via a letter from the New England Genealogical Society that she is Kate Middleton's 15th cousin via their shared common ancestor Thomas Fairfax.

Stand-up comedy

DeGeneres started performing stand-up comedy at small clubs and coffee houses. By 1981 she was the emcee at Clyde's Comedy Club in New Orleans. DeGeneres cites Woody Allen and Steve Martin as her main influences at this time. 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 comedienne in the show's history to be treated this way.

Film career

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'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's 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''.

Television career

''Ellen'' (1994–1998)

DeGeneres's 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's style of 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, revealing that she is gay. The coming-out episode, titled "The Puppy Episode", was one of the highest-rated episodes of the show. Later episodes of the series did not match its popularity, and after declining ratings, the show was canceled. DeGeneres returned to the stand-up comedy circuit, and later re-established herself as a successful talk show host.

''The Ellen Show''

DeGeneres returned to series television in 2001 with a new CBS sitcom, ''The Ellen Show''.

''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 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. Ellen then went on to make another commencement speech at Tulane in 2009.

The show broadcast for a week from Universal Studios Orlando in March 2007. 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, and Paris Hilton, among others.

''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 started after the contestant auditions, at the beginning of "Hollywood Week". It is reported that DeGeneres also signed a contract to be a judge on the show for at least five seasons. She made her ''American Idol'' debut on February 9, 2010.

On July 29, 2010, DeGeneres and Fox executives announced that the comedienne would be departing from the series after one season. In a statement, DeGeneres said that the series "didn't feel like the right fit for me".

Award shows

2001 Emmy Awards

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: "What would bug the Taliban more than seeing a gay woman in a suit surrounded by Jews?"

In August 2005, DeGeneres hosted the 2005 Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony 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.

79th Academy Awards

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." Regis Philbin said in an interview that "the only complaint was there's not enough Ellen."

DeGeneres was nominated for an Emmy Award as host of the Academy Awards broadcast.

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 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's losing 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.

Other ventures

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 Ellen 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''. Her win of the Saturn Award marked the first and only time the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films has given the acting award for a voice performance.

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 in which 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's first.

In Spring 2012, DeGeneres becomes the spokesperson for J.C. Penney in a tour and advertising campaign.

Eleveneleven

On May 26, 2010, Ellen announced on her show that she was starting her own record label entitled "eleveneleven". Ellen explained her choice of name, claiming that she often sees the number 11:11 when looking at her clocks, that she found Greyson on the 11th, and that the singer's soccer jersey has the number 11. She mentioned that she had been looking for videos of performances on YouTube to start her label. The acts thus far signed to the label are Greyson Chance, Tom Andrews, and Jessica Simpson.

Personal life

DeGeneres was in a relationship (1997–2000) with actress Anne Heche. From 2001 to 2004, DeGeneres and actress/director/photographer Alexandra Hedison were in a relationship. They appeared on the cover of ''The Advocate'' after their separation had already been announced to the media.

Since 2004, DeGeneres has had a relationship with Portia de Rossi. After the overturn of the same-sex marriage ban in California, DeGeneres announced on a May 2008 show that she and de Rossi were engaged, and gave de Rossi a three-carat pink diamond ring. They were married on August 16, 2008 at their home, with nineteen guests including their mothers. The passage of Proposition 8 cast doubt on the legal status of their marriage but a subsequent California Supreme Court judgment validated it because it occurred before November 4, 2008.

DeGeneres and de Rossi live in Beverly Hills, with three dogs and four cats, and both are vegan. DeGeneres served as campaign ambassador to Farm Sanctuary's Adopt-A-Turkey Project in 2010, asking people to start "a new tradition by adopting a turkey instead of eating one" at Thanksgiving.

On August 6, 2010, de Rossi filed a petition to legally change her name to Portia Lee James DeGeneres The petition was granted on September 23, 2010.

In her book ''Love, Ellen'', DeGeneres's mother Betty DeGeneres describes being initially shocked when her daughter came out as a lesbian, but has become one of her strongest supporters, an active member of Parents & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign's Coming Out Project.

In 2007, ''Forbes'' estimated DeGeneres's net worth at US$65 million.

She is a fan of the National Football League, and has shown particular support for the New Orleans Saints and the Green Bay Packers. In 2011, she attended a Saints practice dressed as Packers Hall of Famer Don Hutson.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1990	''Arduous Moon''	Herself	Short film
1991	''Wisecracks''	Herself	Documentary
1993		Coach
1994		Herself	Short film
		Herself	Short film
	Martha Alston
	''Goodbye Lover''	Sgt. Rita Pompano
	Prologue Dog
	''EDtv''	Cynthia
	Janet Hall
	''Pauly Shore Is Dead''	Herself
''Finding Nemo''	Dory	Voice
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1988	''Women of the Night''	Herself
1989		Margo Van Mete	Episode: "The Bad Seed" Episode: "Let's Get Physicals"
1992	''[[Laurie Hill">Annie Award
2004	''My Short Film''	Herself	Short film

Television

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1988	''Women of the Night''	Herself
1989		Margo Van Mete	Episode: "The Bad Seed" Episode: "Let's Get Physicals"
1992	''[[Laurie Hill''	Nancy MacIntyre	Episode: "Pilot" Episode: "The Heart Thing" Episode: "Walter and Beverly"
1994–1998
1995		Dr. Whitman
1998	''Mad About You''	Nancy Bloom
	''Ellen DeGeneres: The Beginning''	Herself	Comedy special
''If These Walls Could Talk 2''	Kal	Segment: "2000"
2001		Operator	Segment: "Reaching Normal"
2001	''Will & Grace''	Sister Louise
2001–2002	''The Ellen Show''	Ellen Richmond
	''Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now''	Herself	Comedy special
''MADtv''	Herself
2003–present	''The Ellen DeGeneres Show''	Herself	TV show
	''E! True Hollywood Story''	Herself
	Herself
2005		Herself
	''Ellen's Really Big Show''	Herself
''Sesame Street''	Herself	Episode: "The Tutu Spell" ''(uncredited)''
''Forbes 20 Richest Women in Entertainment''	Herself
''The Bachelorette''	Herself
2007–2008	''American Idol''	Herself	Episode: "Idol Gives Back
2008	''Ellen's Even Bigger Really Big Show''	Herself	Comedy special
	''Ellen's Bigger, Longer & Wider Show''	Herself	Comedy special
	Guest Judge
2010	''[[American Idol''	Judge
2010	''The Simpsons''	Herself	Episode: "Judge Me Tender"

Discography

Year	Album	Notes
1996	''Ellen Degeneres: Taste This''	Stand-up comedy Live CD

Awards and honors

;Daytime Emmy Awards

Outstanding Talk Show, ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' – 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011

Outstanding Talk Show Host, ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' – 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

Outstanding Special Class Writing, ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' – 2005, 2006, 2007

;Emmy Awards

Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series, ''Ellen:'' "The Puppy Episode" – 1997

;People's Choice Awards

Favorite Funny Female Star – 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

Favorite Talk Show Host – 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

Favorite Yes I Chose This Star – 2008

;Kids' Choice Awards

Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie – 2004

; Tulane University President's Medal 2009

; Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards 2000 Lucy Award, actor, If These Walls Could Talk 2, in recognition of her excellence and innovation in her creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television.

Bibliography

References

External links

The Ellen DeGeneres Show's official website

Category:1958 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:Actors from Louisiana Category:American film actors Category:American Christian Scientists Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of French descent Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American philanthropists Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:American television talk show hosts Category:American vegans Category:Annie Award winners Category:Daytime Emmy Award winners Category:Emmy Award winners Category:GLAAD Media Awards winners Category:Lesbian actors Category:LGBT comedians from the United States Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:LGBT television personalities from the United States Category:People from New Orleans, Louisiana Category:Reality television judges Category:Saturn Award winners Category:University of New Orleans alumni Category:Women comedians

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Name	Al Wilson
Width	200px
Position	Linebacker
Number	56
Birth date	June 21, 1977 Jackson, Tennessee
Debutyear	1999
Finalyear	2006
Draftyear	1999
Draftround	1
Draftpick	31
College	Tennessee
Teams	Denver Broncos (1999-2006)
Stat1label	Tackles
Stat1value	580
Stat2label	Sacks
Stat2value	21.5
Stat3label	Interceptions
Stat3value	5
Nfl	WIL648623
Highlights	Second-team All-SEC (1997) First-team All-SEC (1998) First-team All-American (1999) 5× Pro Bowl selection (2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006) 2× All-Pro selection (2005, 2006) }}

Aldra Kauwa Wilson (born June 21, 1977 in Jackson, Tennessee) is a former American football linebacker of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos 31st overall in the 1999 NFL Draft. He played college football at Tennessee.

Wilson, who played his entire eight-year career with the Broncos, was a two-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowl selection. Neck and back injuries cut short his tenure with the Broncos and he officially retired during the 2008 season.

Early years

Wilson was an All American performer at Jackson Central-Merry High School in Jackson, Tennessee as named by BlueChip Illustrated, Max Emfinger, SuperPrep and Tom Lemming. Wilson was also named All State for Tennessee. Wilson was both a linebacker and running back at JCM, rushing for 1160 yards and 15 touchdowns in his senior season. He rushed for over 1000 yards in three seasons in high school, two as a running back and one as a quarterback. Wilson also starred in track and basketball.

College career

Wilson was a team captain on the 1998 Tennessee team that won the National Championship and back to back SEC Titles. Wilson was named as an All American in 1998 after being a three year starter for the Volunteers. Inspired by fellow Tennessean and track aficionado, Chad Deutsch of Memphis, TN, Wilson was the spiritual leader both on and off the field, helping to develop linebackers Eric Westmoreland and Raynoch Thompson. Wilson was drafted after his final year at Tennessee as the 31st pick in the first round of the 1999 NFL Draft and signed to the Denver Broncos due to the assistance of super agent Tank Black.

Professional career

Denver Broncos

Wilson, became the anchor of the Broncos' defense and has earned 5 Pro Bowl selections since 2001. He is one of the fastest middle linebackers in the league, and is also very good in pass coverage. He passed the 100-tackle mark in each of the last five seasons, including 109 tackles (73 of which were solo) in 2004 to rank second on the Broncos. Wilson led Denver in tackles for the second consecutive year in 2003 with 128 tackles.

On December 3, 2006, Wilson suffered a neck injury during a fake field goal attempt against the Seattle Seahawks during the Sunday night game. He was carted off the field and immediately taken to a hospital, but was cleared by the Denver Broncos to return the following week to help Denver try to make the playoffs.

The Denver Broncos signed many free agents during the 2007 offseason, such as Travis Henry and Patrick Ramsey, resulting in some salary cap trouble. The Broncos attempted to trade Wilson to the New York Giants, however Wilson failed his physical and the trade talks died down.

Wilson was released by the Denver Broncos on April 13, 2007 due to injuries and salary cap problems.

Free agency and retirement

Wilson was cleared to return to resume playing by Los Angeles back specialist Bob Watkins in January 2008. On February 12, he had his first visit of the offseason with the Detroit Lions. He also visited the Cleveland Browns in March, but he rejected their offer for close to the veteran minimum.

Wilson officially announced his retirement on September 10, 2008.

Personal

He currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia . with his son Carrington Demond Wilson (8) .

External links

Denver Broncos bio

Category:1977 births Category:Living people Category:People from Jackson, Tennessee Category:American football linebackers Category:Tennessee Volunteers football players Category:Denver Broncos players Category:American Conference Pro Bowl players fr:Al Wilson