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Being gay was a secret that Ellen DeGeneres was forced to keep in Hollywood. But not when she was at home with her family in Louisiana. “I’ve been really lucky. I have a really great family. I have parents who understand,” she told Time. “My mother understands, now even more so. My father is supportive.”
Ellen’s parents, Betty and Elliott DeGeneres divorced when she was 13. She went to live with her mom but remained close to her devoutly religious father. Ellen admitted that her religious upbringing played a large role in shaping who she is. “Faith is part of who I am,” she told Good Housekeeping. “I was raised Christian Scientist. The most important thing I saw every single week on the wall at Sunday school was the Golden Rule: ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.'”
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Ellen was heartbroken when Elliot died in 2018. “He had a good, long life. And he lived his life exactly how he wanted.” She said in a tearful tribute, sharing that her dad lived till 92 despite his deeply held beliefs forbidding him from ever seeing a doctor. She said she’d spoken to Elliot shortly before he died. After he passed away, a rainbow formed above her studio. “He was very proud of me,” she said. “He loved this show. He was a kind man, a very accepting man. There was not one bone of judgment in his body.”
