After Dinner Speakers: Ellen Degeneres, T'Pau, Sacha Baron Cohen

Ellen DeGeneres starred in, produced, and created the groundbreaking TV series Ellen. The comic actress made history in 1997 when her on-screen persona, Ellen Morgan, became the first gay leading character on television. The show's artful balance of humor and sensitivity garnered record ratings for the network, earned DeGeneres an Emmy Award for the show's writing, and landed the performer on the cover of Time Magazine. The show was also honored with the Peabody Award and countless Emmy, SAG, and Golden Globe nominations. DeGeneres began her career as an emcee at a local comedy club in her hometown of New Orleans. She turned her local success into national recognition in 1982 when her videotaped club performances won a nationwide competition, earning her the mantle of "Funniest Person in America" from the Showtime network. Four years later, she made her network stand-up debut for host Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show, and followed with a CableACE nomination in 1989 for Command Performance: One Night Stand on HBO. In the stand-up arena, DeGeneres appeared in the comedy specials Women of the Night, One Night Stand and Young Comedian's Reunion. Highly respected by her peers, she was named Best Female Comedy Club Stand-up at the 1991 American Comedy Awards. She made her first splash in television series comedy as the office oddball Margo on FOX-TV's Open House, and portrayed nurse Nancy McIntire in the critically acclaimed ABC series, Laurie Hill. In 1994, her namesake program debuted on ABC, first entitled These Friends of Mine, then changed to Ellen. During the series' first four years, DeGeneres won Emmy nominations each season as Best Actress in a Comedy Series, a People's Choice Award in 1995, and two Golden Globe nods and a pair of Screen Actor's Guild nominations for her leading role in the sitcom. DeGeneres' other industry honors include an Emmy nomination for hosting the 38th Annual Grammy Awards telecast in 1996, an American Comedy Award for co-hosting the 46th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards in 1995, a CableACE prize for hosting the music awards program VH1 Honors in 1995, and a Golden Apple Award as Female Discovery of the Year from the Hollywood Women's Press Club. She also garnered another Emmy nomination in 1997 for her guest spot on HBO's perennial favorite, The Larry Sanders Show. Her motion picture work includes an appearance in Coneheads, her first starring role opposite Bill Pullman in Mr. Wrong, and a co-starring role opposite Patricia Arquette and Dermot Mulroney in Roland Joffe's upcoming thriller, Goodbye Lover, which premiered at 1998's Cannes Film Festival. DeGeneres can also be seen starring opposite Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, and Jenna Elfman in EdTv, a Universal Pictures film which was released in March 1999. She then took part in The Love Letter, starring Kate Capshaw and Gloria Stuart and directed by Peter Chan, release in 1999. Most recently, she returned to the stage in 2000 with her first stand-up tour in eight years, which premiered on HBO. DeGeneres also broke into the literary field in 1995 with the publication of her first book, My Point. . . And I Do Have One, which skyrocketed to the number one position on the New York Times Best-Seller List. She released her first comedy CD, Taste This, in 1997.