Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres wins millions of hearts every day on her Emmy-winning talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, but she never set out to change the world. As a child growing up in Louisiana, she always looked at things just a little differently from the rest of us, and that unique perspective has guided her courageous journey. A journey that not only guided her to a memorable appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson but front and center years later in a historic episode of her sitcom Ellen. For years, her easygoing style was masking a secret, but that changed when Ellen came out in front of 42 million viewers. This emotional first in the history of television will forever place Ellen among trailblazers and remains a valuable lesson on compassion.