Betty Jane DeGeneres (née Pfeffer; born May 20, 1930) is an American

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, ...

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

. She is the mother of

Ellen Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena and Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004. People named Ellen include: *Ellen Adarna (born 1988), Filipino actress * Elle ...

and

Vance DeGeneres Vance Elliott DeGeneres (born September 2, 1954) is an American actor, comedian, musician, film producer and screenwriter, known for his work in television and movies. Early life DeGeneres was born at Touro Infirmary in New Orleans, Louisiana t ...

and the first straight spokeswoman for the

Human Rights Campaign The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for ...

's National Coming Out Project and an active member of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). She gained notability following her lesbian daughter Ellen's highly publicized

coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

in 1997.

Life and career

Donna & Kris with Betty DeGeneres (255623801)

The youngest of three daughters, DeGeneres was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1930, during the height of the Great Depression. Her father was German and her mother was Irish. Her sisters (Helen and Audrey) were not involved in day-to-day family life while DeGeneres was in her late teens, but the sisters did become close in adulthood. She attended

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 n ...

(LSU) for two years, studying speech language pathology to become a speech therapist. While in college she performed in a number of plays with

Joanne Woodward Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward (born February 27, 1930) is an American actress. A star since the Golden Age of Hollywood, Woodward made her career breakthrough in the 1950s and earned esteem and respect playing complex women with a charact ...

, who would go on to be an Academy Award-winning actress. She married Elliott DeGeneres in 1952. The couple divorced in 1974. Shortly afterwards, DeGeneres married Roy Gruessendorf, who moved the family to Texas. DeGeneres was diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...

shortly after her second marriage. Their marriage ended in the early 1990s; Gruessendorf died in 1997. In 2005, Ellen spoke publicly for the first time about the molestation she had suffered from her stepfather when she was a teenager. DeGeneres returned to LSU after the age of 50 to complete her master's degree in speech pathology. DeGeneres is the author of two books: ''Love, Ellen: A Mother Daughter Journey'' and ''Just a mother''. In ''Love, Ellen: A Mother Daughter Journey'', Betty 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 mother'', continues these themes. She also wrote a column for the (now defunct) website PlanetOut called "Ask Betty." DeGeneres appeared as an extra in the episode " The Puppy Episode" of the television sitcom ''

'', in which her daughter Ellen's character comes out. DeGeneres appears in many episodes of ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pro ...

'', sitting in the audience. DeGeneres survived

and discusses this during public appearances.

References

External links

Betty DeGeneres talks about her life before and after her daughter Ellen Degeneres publicly announced that she is a lesbian, National Public Radio, March 26, 1998
{{DEFAULTSORT:Degeneres, Betty 1930 births 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American women writers American columnists American women activists LGBT rights activists from the United States Living people Writers from New Orleans American women columnists American women non-fiction writers Women civil rights activists