Claim: Ellen DeGeneres is the first openly lesbian actress to play an openly lesbian character on TV.

Ellen Lee DeGeneres -LRB- -LSB- dᵻˈdʒɛnərᵻs -RSB- born January 26 , 1958 -RRB- is an American comedian , television host , actress , writer , and producer . DeGeneres starred in the popular sitcom Ellen from 1994 to 1998 and has hosted her syndicated TV talk show , The Ellen DeGeneres Show , since 2003 .   Her stand-up career started in the early 1980s , and included a 1986 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson . As a film actress , DeGeneres starred in Mr. Wrong -LRB- 1996 -RRB- , appeared in EDtv -LRB- 1999 -RRB- , and The Love Letter -LRB- 1999 -RRB- , and provided the voice of Dory in the Pixar animated films Finding Nemo -LRB- 2003 -RRB- and Finding Dory -LRB- 2016 -RRB- ; for Nemo , she was awarded the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress , the first time an actress won a Saturn Award for a voice performance . In 2010 , she was a judge on American Idol for its ninth season .   She 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 , 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 . In 2008 , she married her longtime girlfriend Portia de Rossi .   DeGeneres has hosted the Academy Awards , Grammy Awards , and the Primetime Emmys . She has authored three books and started her own record company , Eleveneleven . She has won 29 Emmys , 20 People 's Choice Awards -LRB- more than any other person -RRB- , and numerous other awards for her work and charitable efforts . In 2016 , she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom .