Ellen DeGeneres is a lesbian.
Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( [ dᵻˈdʒɛnərᵻs ] born January 26 , 1958 ) is an American comedian , television host , actress , writer , and producer . During the fourth season of Ellen in 1997 , she came out as a lesbian in an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show . 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 . This made her the first openly lesbian actress to play an openly lesbian character on television .