Celebrity Mound

This Sunday’s issue of PARADE features a very revealing cover story Ellen DeGeneres, where she opens up about Hollywood’s reaction when she came out as a lesbian, life with Portia, her decision to leave American Idol, and more. She tells PARADE that coming out as a lesbian was more of a shock to herself, and that her family approved, while Hollywood did not. She also talks about behind-the-scene “nastiness” at American Idol.

Here are some more highlights from the Ellen DeGeneres interview in PARADE:

On dealing with rejection in Hollywood after she came out as a lesbian in 1997:
“I didn’t work, didn’t have any money. No one [in the business] would even talk to me on the phone.” With the outline of her talk show in hand, she finally convinced Hollywood that she was “not just gay,” she says, but “a funny woman who happens to be gay.”

DeGeneres says her own family was more understanding when she came out at age 18:
“If anything, it was a shock to me. I’d always known that I had crushes on girls, but I also liked boys-though I wasn’t drawn to them romantically. For me to get in touch with myself enough to recognize that I was gay, and then not to stay private about it, was a huge step.”

DeGeneres found the behind-the-scenes nastiness of American Idol off-putting:
“It was disappointing to hear things about the kids, the drama going on. Some of them are not as grateful as you would expect. All of a sudden they have fan mail, millions of people saying they’re great, and some of them just stop appreciating it.”

Look for the full story in the Oct. 30 issue of PARADE and to check out Ellen at her photo shoot and read an excerpt from her new book, visit:
http://www.parade.com/celebrity/2011/10/behind-the-scenes-ellen-degeneres.html

EXCLUSIVE: AT HOME WITH THE DESIGN-SAVVY COUPLE

Comedian-cum–talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and her wife, actor Portia de Rossi, grace the cover of AD’s November issue, sharing with us their Beverly Hills home, built by the renowned architects Buff & Hensman and later expanded by interior designer Melinda Ritz.

Originally constructed for actor Laurence Harvey, the 9,500-square-foot single-story residence has been inhabited over the years by actor Joan Collins and, most recently, the couple’s friend Will & Grace cocreator Max Mutchnick. “We’d heard how beautiful it was,” remembers De Rossi, “and then we came over to watch American Idol. We pulled into the driveway and—we just knew before we even walked through the gate.”

Which is not to suggest DeGeneres didn’t have big plans for it. The comedian enlisted a handful of Los Angeles dealers and decorators—among them Tommy and Kathleen Clements, Cliff Fong, and Harrison Holman—to help her cherry-pick furniture, objects, and art for the house. DeGeneres also purchased two neighboring properties, replacing one with a pond and several dozen carob, pear, and oak trees. The estate feels tailor-made to the couple’s needs, from the pool where De Rossi swims laps, to the media room where the pair were married and “live at night,” to the meditation room where they get massages.

Real-estate-obsessed DeGeneres has lost track of exactly how many homes she has owned but says the Beverly Hills compound is the seventh she and De Rossi have shared—one for every year they’ve been together.

The November issue of Architectural Digest is available on newsstands October 11.

Please visit archdigest.com for expanded coverage of the issue.

Straight off the press:

Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres serves as a celebrity bunny dealer at the Playboy Club inside the Palms Casino Resort, airing on Monday, May 23rd. Ellen becomes a certified blackjack dealer to raise money for charities, the Gentle Barn and the Farm Sanctuary. Tune-in to “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (KLAS Channel to see Ellen in her bunny ears, dealing to the high rollers in the Playboy Club at the Palms Casino Resort.

Photo Credit: Michael Rozman/Warner Bros.