Ellen DeGeneres appeared on a TV program.
Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( [ dᵻˈdʒɛnərᵻs ] born January 26 , 1958 ) is an American comedian , television host , actress , writer , and producer . Her stand-up career started in the early 1980s , and included a 1986 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson . In 2010 , she was a judge on American Idol for its ninth season . During the fourth season of Ellen in 1997 , she came out as a lesbian in an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show .