Ellen DeGeneres popularity demonstrated with a record number of People's Choice Awards
Ellen DeGeneres set a record for the amount of People's Choice Awards to be received by a celebrity following the 2017 ceremony.
Ellen DeGeneres, winner of the awards for favorite animated movie voice, favorite daytime TV host, and favorite comedic collaboration, speaks on stage at the People's Choice Awards at the Microsoft Theater on Jan. 18, 2017, in Los Angeles.
Vince Bucci/Invision/AP
With another three awards in 2017, actor Ellen DeGeneres set a new record for total People’s Choice Awards, showing her continued popularity with the public after contributing to a shift in acceptance of LGBT issues.
This year, Ms. DeGeneres receive Favorite Daytime TV Show Host for her work with “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and Favorite Animated Movie Voice for her contribution to the 2016 Pixar animated movie “Finding Dory,” and Favorite Comedic Collaboration for "Britney Spears' Mall Mischief."
With her new prizes, DeGeneres has now received 20 trophies, the most of any celebrity.
While appearing on the 1990s ABC sitcom “Ellen,” DeGeneres revealed to the public that she is a lesbian and her character on the program identified herself as gay in 1997. The development received extensive media coverage.
Earlier this year, DeGeneres received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama, who referenced this in his speech about her contributions to society, saying that he believed DeGeneres’ discussion of her gender identity influenced people’s opinions about LGBT issues.
“In a career spanning three decades, Ellen DeGeneres has lifted our spirits and brought joy to our lives as a stand-up comic, actor and television star,” Mr. Obama said. “At a pivotal moment, her courage and candor helped change the hearts and minds of millions of Americans, accelerating our nation’s constant drive towards equality and acceptance for all. Ellen DeGeneres has showed us that a single individual can make the world a more fun, more open, more loving place, so long as we just keep swimming.”
DeGeneres has hosted the syndicated talk show “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” since 2003 and appeared that same year in the smash hit animated movie “Finding Nemo.”
The film likely brought her a new generation of fans, and affection for the character is clearly still there, as the 2016 “Nemo” sequel, “Finding Dory,” became the second-highest-grossing movie of 2016 domestically.
And with her record People's Choice Awards wins, she continues to demonstrate her appeal with the average pop culture fan, as the PCAs are voted on by anyone who wants to cast a ballot.