Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah Winfrey are household names in the American entertainment industry. These are the names of the two top most popular TV show women and powerful women in America (Iannucci 43). Their shows are both very successful. Although, they are extremely different, they also have many similarities (Jeffrey 47-51). This essay seeks to examine and explain the similarities and differences of both Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres.
Ellen and Oprah had different lives in their early years. For instance, Oprah had a terrible childhood. Her family was destitute, and she was often abused. Oprah & Lowe says that her relatives and her mother’s friends often sexually abused her. This led to her later moving away to her father’s place. In 1971, she was admitted to the State University of Tennessee. Later, she received an employed and in 1976, in Maryland, she succeeded to have a chat show on the TV called “People are Talking” (Oprah & Lowe 23), which she hosted. Later she also got an opportunity to host a morning show. She has a warm, open personality and this helped her show to get the top rating because of the high number of viewers. Rodney Ohebsion says that, “Oprah has always been willing to try new things and be creative (Oprah & Lowe 28).” It is because of this character that she managed to start the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1986 (Oprah & Lowe 29). Its audience is estimated to be about 10 million viewers around the world (Jeremy 20). According to Forbes magazine, she is the richest African American and very influential (Iannucci, 48). However, she has kept her calm, and she is very laid back. In addition, she is very relatable, and her talk shows are filled with decorum, making it easier for her to connect with her audience with what she tells them (Jeffrey 52).
On the other hand, Ellen DeGeneres witnessed her parents get divorced at her teenage. This proved to be a very hard time for her. The sorrow of growing up in a divided family made her lonely, and her life became terrible. With time, however, she got to triumph over her problems (Tracy 29-36). She did too many odd jobs for a living. After some time, however, she got her much needed big break. Interestingly, this was by accident at a time that she was pursuing stand-up comedy. It was in 1986 when she publicly announced on air that she was homosexual on the Tonight Show hosted by Johnny Carson. Here, she got her big break. This completely changed her life. After a few screen roles, however, in 2003 Ellen went back to TV. Her daytime show Ellen became a huge hit and, the rest they say is history (Jeffrey 54-57).
Ellen has a great personality. She is upbeat, enthusiastic and quirky. She likes to dance and sing during her talk show with her audience. In addition, she told Jackie Pasaol in an interview that, "I like to hike, play tennis, I play golf sometimes. I like to hang out with my animals and my friends (Tracy 38)." These personal attributes makes it easy for her to connect with her audience and get involved with their issues on a personal level. She is very down to earth.
There is also a significant difference in their talk shows. Ellen’s talk show was started in Sep, 2003 and was slated to go on up until 2013. In it, there is a lot of wit and humor from the host Ellen. It runs under the studios of NBS in the United States (Oprah & Lowe 47).
On the other hand, Oprah Winfrey’s talk show began in 1986. It is now the talk show in America with the longest running time. Oprah features everyone from politicians, actors, celebrities and regular people to help address and bring awareness of conditions that need highlighting. It runs different stations including ABC and CBS in America.
Even if their lives and personalities are very different, the two media personalities also have many similarities. For example, both Ellen and Oprah belong to minority groups in America. Ellen is Homosexual, and Oprah is a straight African American (Ruckdeschel, Sandra & Pedro 21-24). Their shows are very popular throughout the world. The women are extremely influential and many, male or female, look up to them and make them their role models (Tracy 29-36). Ellen and Oprah are also actors in both TV and movies. They also have books out there that they have published. Although they did not have perfect lives growing up because of their parent’s divorces, they both managed to have better successful lives despite their personal problems. They also all bring celebrities, and non-celebrities, to their talk shows for interviews (Iannucci 43). Both, Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres are also very sufficiently philanthropic and help needy people. The two women have their talk shows named after them. Ellen’s show is called The Ellen DeGeneres show while Oprah’s show is named The Oprah Winfrey show (Jeffrey 37-41).
In the United States, women make only 70% of what their male counterparts earn per year. Women of minority groups have an even worse income of about 0.64 cents dollars to a man’s dollar (Jeffrey 47-51). However, these two women from the minority groups in the United States have managed to beat all odds that were against them and had risen to becoming both famous and financially wealthy. In addition, both have effective marketing strategies that work, which have made them very successful (Ruckdeschel, Sandra & Pedro 21-24). Oprah is the richest African-American woman in the United States. She is worth over a billion dollars. On the contrary, Ellen is one of the most successful openly homosexual woman and TV personalities. In fact, a blogger Jackie Pasaol that that, "She wants to revamp herself from head to toe as well (Davis 14)." The revamping of her show and personality is intended to reach greater audience and influence public opinion (Oprah & Lowe 36).
The two women are also stunning and smart. Their unique shows and their actual lives outside TV have helped them win the hearts of their fans and viewers. They have both been on the cover of Oprah's magazine. Interestingly, they adore, and respect each other. Ellen fascinatingly came out as a homosexual on the Oprah Winfrey's talk show on the national television (Davis 78-82). Because of how many people like them, the two talk show hosts get thousands of new Twitter followers each day. They currently joined Twitter and they often write tweets to their fans. Their occasional tweets, which are written almost daily, tell their fans about themselves, their thoughts on what is currently happening, their feelings and opinions about something, about upcoming topics in their shows, or even about how they spent their holidays and weekends (Garson 31-34).
The micro-blogging platform helps them seem relevant and promote their brands. However, their tweets are often different in the attitude them show themselves. Ellen’s tweets show how much her vibe is. On the other hand, Oprah’s tweets present a more serious attitude. Ellen tweets almost daily, but Oprah’s tweets are not as frequent (Ruckdeschel, Sandra & Pedro 13-19).
Because of these and many similarities, Oprah and Ellen are successfully comparable because they are noble friends working in the same industry. Their similarities have made this essay. They are both strong and have been able to be rich from rags (Tracy 23-31).
Executing a comparative analysis of these two talk show hosts brings into limelight the power of overcoming obstacles and remaining upbeat even in the presence of the greatest storms. These two celebrities are loved for many different reasons. No wonder they have many fans. Having said that, no matter how similar or different they are, they both help change and influence peoples’ lives all over. They have succeeded to put down their minority status and get the status of the two most successful female talk show hosts on the television right now.
Works Cited
Iannucci, Lisa. Ellen Degeneres: A Biography. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2009. Internet resource.
Tracy, Kathleen. Ellen: The Real Story of Ellen Degeneres. New York: Kensington, 2005. Print.
Ruckdeschel, Sandra C, and Pedro Ponzo. Ellen Degeneres. Vancouver, Wash.: Bluewater Comics, 2010. Print.
Winfrey, Oprah, and Janet Lowe. Oprah Winfrey Speaks: Insight from the World's Most Influential Voice. New York: Wiley, 1998. Print.
Jeffrey, Gary. Oprah Winfrey: The Life of a Media Superstar. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 2006. Print.
Davis, Deborah. The Oprah Winfrey Show: Reflections on an American Legacy. New York: Abrams, 2011. Print.
Garson, Helen S. Oprah Winfrey: A Biography. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood, 2011. Print.
