Betty DeGeneres (born Elizabeth Jane Pfeffer; May 20, 1930) is an American LGBT rights activist. She is the mother of Ellen and Vance DeGeneres and the first non-gay spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign's National Coming Out Project and an active member of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). She gained notability following her daughter Ellen's highly-publicized coming out in 1997. DeGeneres was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. She attended Louisiana State University for two years and married Elliot DeGeneres in 1952. She and Elliot are now divorced. DeGeneres is the author of two books: Love, Ellen: A Mother Daughter Journey and Just a Mom. In Love, Ellen: A Mother Daughter Journey, she 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 Mom, continues these themes. She also writes a column for the website PlanetOut called "Ask Betty." DeGeneres appeared as an extra in the episode "The Puppy Episode" of the television sitcom Ellen, in which her daughter Ellen's character comes out. DeGeneres appears in many episodes of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, sitting in the audience. DeGeneres is a breast cancer survivor and discusses this during public appearances. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_DeGeneres Vance Elliott DeGeneres (born September 2, 1954, in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American actor, musician, film producer and screenwriter, known for his work in television. He is the older brother of actress and comedian Ellen DeGeneres. After a two-year stint in the Marine Corps, during which he reached the rank of corporal, DeGeneres hosted a radio program called New Wave New Orleans in the late 1970s, broadcast on WRNO-FM. He played bass guitar in The Cold, a new-wave band based in New Orleans in the early 1980s. He originated the role of "Mr. Hands" in Walter Williams's Mr. Bill short films in the mid-1970s. According to the 1986 book Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live, DeGeneres sued Williams in federal court in 1979, asking for his name on the Mr. Bill copyright and for half of all profits the Mr. Bill character produced. After a two-day hearing, DeGeneres received an undisclosed portion of merchandising rights to Mr. Bill. However, the judge ruled that Mr. Bill was Williams's "basic idea and concept." In the mid-1980s, DeGeneres co-founded the short-lived rock band called House of Schock with The Go-Go's drummer Gina Schock. In 1998, he played keyboards for the New Orleans-based band Cowboy Mouth. In March 2006, he appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show with Cowboy Mouth to perform their song "The Avenue." In December 2006, he became the permanent rhythm guitarist in Cowboy Mouth, but left in September 2007 to pursue additional TV projects. He does play guitar on their 2007 Live DVD The Name of the Band is Cowboy Mouth. Vance DeGeneres was a correspondent on The Daily Show from 1999 to 2001. DeGeneres would occasionally present a feature done in the style of a Dateline NBC report, known as "Tale of Survival." In it, a trivial incident was reported as if it had been dangerous and serious, such as the time a cat was stuck in a tree for over a week. Between pre-filmed portions, DeGeneres would appear in the studio hiding behind various set decorations or apparatus, describing the events in greater frightful detail. Unlike other Daily Show pieces, this one would be divided by a commercial break to accentuate the anticlimactic aspect. He now co-runs Carousel Productions at Warner Bros., Steve Carell's production company, developing comedy films. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vance_DeGeneres photo by Alan Light [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

• published: 15 Sep 2013
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