Ellen DeGeneres' Wife Portia de Rossi Has Faced Plenty of Ups and Downs in Her Life

Portia de Rossi, Ellen DeGeneres' better half, has encountered highs and lows throughout his life. This includes her past struggle with her sexuality.

Born Amanda Lee Rogers, she legally changed her name into Portia at 15 years old, as reported by Advocate. She said it was her move to embrace her sexuality.

“In retrospect, I think it was largely due to my struggle about being gay. Everything just didn’t fit, and I was trying to find things I could identify myself with, and it started with my name,” she said.

HOLLYWOOD POWER COUPLE

Portia is now a gay icon along with her wife, Ellen. They have been together for 11 years and are one of Hollywood’s most famous couples.

They met in 2000 when mutual friends introduced them at a social gathering, as reported by Good Housekeeping. At the time, Ellen was already a famous actress and comedian.

Portia was also in the middle of her tenure as an actress on “Ally McBeal.” She was not living as an openly gay person yet.

COMING OUT PUBLICLY

During this time, Portia feared that publicly coming out as gay would end her career. She said it took her three years to tell Ellen about how she felt about her.

Fast forward to May 16, 2008, Ellen announced her engagement to Portia on her show. She shared the news after the California Supreme Court overturned the state’s ban on gay marriage.

Portia also opened up about her being gay in the film industry.

PAST RELATIONSHIPS

Before meeting Ellen, Portia was married for three years to filmmaker Mel Metcalfe. They were married from 1996 to 1999, and their marriage was for a green card.

She didn’t get a green card through him, however. But she said they had a caring relationship although their marriage was short-lived.

Portia also opened up about her being gay in the film industry. “I didn’t choose the fact that I was gay, but I did choose whether to live my life as a gay woman—that was the terrifying thing for me. Especially being a gay actress,” she said.

She added that she wanted to play different kinds of women, but the majority of women aren’t gay so she wouldn’t be playing many gay roles.

Like Portia, Ellen, who has hosted the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, and the Primetime Emmys, also had a previous relationship. Her ex-girlfriend died in a tragic car accident.

The television personality opened up about her regret over her girlfriend’s death 40 years ago. She admitted that she felt a lot of guilt about that day even now.