--- description: Ellen DeGeneres is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century. title: Ellen DeGeneres: 100 Women of the Year image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt063e3d992c923753/698a0aec656a3faf70bd9bf0/social-1997_ellen-degeneres.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 1997: Ellen DeGeneres ## Video: FIRSTS Ellen DeGeneres [Watch (HLS stream): FIRSTS Ellen DeGeneres](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ktq2EVeK.m3u8) (2:02)  _Published 2017-09-02. Ellen DeGeneres is the FIRST person who starred as an openly gay character on prime-time TV._ Mar 5, 2020 11:40 AM CUT  Walt Disney Television/Getty by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 5, 2020 11:40 AM CUT Comedian and actor Ellen DeGeneres appeared on the cover of TIME in 1997 along with three seismic words: “Yep, I’m gay.” The lead character on her sitcom, Ellen, came out at the same time, making DeGeneres the first to play a gay lead on American network TV. It was an enormous risk. At the time, polls showed that more than half of Americans believed same-sex relations were “always wrong.” There was blowback. But ultimately the risk paid off, and not just for Ellen, who described the decision as “the most freeing experience.” As she persisted and then thrived in show business, generations of LGBTQ people felt a new sense of possibility. “If I hadn’t seen her on TV,” comedian Kate McKinnon, an openly lesbian cast member on Saturday Night Live, said in a tribute this year, “I would’ve thought I could never be on TV.” _–Katy Steinmetz_ --- _This article is part of_ [_100 Women of the Year_](https://time.com/100-women-of-the-year/ "undefined")_, TIME’s list of the most influential women of the past century. Read more_ [_about the project_](https://time.com/5793734/time-100-women-of-the-year-issue/ "undefined")_, explore the_ [_100 covers_](https://time.com/5793732/time-100-women-of-the-year-covers/ "undefined") _and sign up for our_ [_Inside TIME newsletter_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletters?newsletter%5Fname=INSIDE%5FTIME&source=article-woy-footer "undefined") _for more._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5793736/ellen-degeneres-100-women-of-the-year/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5793736/ellen-degeneres-100-women-of-the-year/"},"headline":"1997: Ellen DeGeneres","datePublished":"2020-03-05T11:40:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T08:21:46.973Z","description":"Ellen DeGeneres is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century.","url":"https://time.com/5793736/ellen-degeneres-100-women-of-the-year/","keywords":["Women of the Year"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt063e3d992c923753/698a0aec656a3faf70bd9bf0/social-1997_ellen-degeneres.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt063e3d992c923753/698a0aec656a3faf70bd9bf0/social-1997_ellen-degeneres.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"SOCIAL - Women of the Year: 1997 ellen-degeneres","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5793736/ellen-degeneres-100-women-of-the-year/","name":"1997: Ellen DeGeneres"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"FIRSTS Ellen DeGeneres","description":"Ellen DeGeneres is the FIRST person who starred as an openly gay character on prime-time TV.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ktq2EVeK/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-09-02T02:35:45.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ktq2EVeK.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5793736/ellen-degeneres-100-women-of-the-year/","duration":"PT2M2S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5793736/ellen-degeneres-100-women-of-the-year/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```