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Portia de Rossi on Her New Role as Gay-Marriage Advocate

TresSugar — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 04:00:45 -0800

Portia de Rossi may be best known for her roles on Ally McBeal, Arrested Development, and Better Off Ted, but it's her role as Mrs. Ellen DeGeneres that may make her mark. As Ellen's fame skyrockets as Judge Ellen on American Idol, Portia hopes she'll find a larger audience, too.

She talked to The Advocate about how she stumbled into her role as America's next gay-marriage spokesperson, and why she wouldn't have it any other way.

On her first acting role in Ally McBeal
“It was a very difficult dichotomy to live in. . . . Oh, I’m Portia. I’m fresh and new to Hollywood. I just found myself in Ally McBeal. Now I’m in my underwear and sleeping with my boss even though I don’t want to portray women in the workplace that way."

On her tussle over gay marriage with The View's Elisabeth Hasselbeck
"Just before I was scheduled to appear, the New York legislature voted on marriage and it failed. It was so disappointing to me. And I thought, if I’m going on The View and I have a viewpoint, I might as well talk about it. It’s more important than talking about a TV show.”

On becoming a spokesperson for gay marriage
“Ever since Ellen and I got together, I feel like I’ve been given an opportunity to actually - God, this sounds corny. . . . Well, I feel like my life can actually kind of stand for something. And I don’t mean that in a self-aggrandizing way, like, ‘Look at me, I can make a difference.’ But I feel like, maybe I get why I’m here.”

On acting vs. advocating gay marriage
“Maybe by sharing my life, I can make people more aware of how important gay marriage is. . . . My career is only a part of my life, and it’s certainly not what I think I was born to do.”

On being of no interest to the paparazzi
“To think that a married gay couple is considered boring and normal is fantastic."

Best of 2009: Who's the Sexiest Couple of 2009?

PopSugar — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:00:00 -0800

There are tons of hot pairs in Hollywood, and we're curious about who's your pick for number one this year. Some of these duos love to hit the red carpet together while others keep things private, but there's no hiding the fact that they're smoking together. So, tell us - who's your pick for the sexiest couple of 2009?

Say What? Portia de Rossi on Why Marriage Matters

TresSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:05:00 -0800

"The thing about being a gay couple is that in the past you referred to your 'wife' and there was quotation marks around it. There was always that chance that people would kind of snigger about it. But now it's fact, it's law. She's my wife. I get to say that she's my wife. And that's just the way it is."

- Portia de Rossi told Oprah yesterday why marriage matters to gay couples. Portia and her wife Ellen DeGeneres got married in August 2008 and they both appeared on Oprah's show to discuss their relationship and careers.

Ellen Relaxes With Portia After Her Really Big Idol Week

Molly — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi stepped out for a walk in LA on Friday. It's been quite a week for the talk show host, who kicked off a new season of her show and took on a whole new gig signing on as the fourth judge on American Idol. Most of you are on board with Ellen on Idol and she's also racking up endorsements from former contestants and even Paula Abdul herself. Ellen still has a few more months until she takes her permanent place at the judges table, and until then she can flex her vocal chords if she ever needs to prove her place there.

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Ellen and Portia Are Better Off Walking

PopSugar — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 02:00:00 -0700

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi took their dogs for a walk in LA on Wednesday. Portia's had the Summer off from filming Better Off Ted, though new episodes are still airing and she'll be back to work soon on their second season. Ellen is also enjoying a hiatus from her show but she will be one of the many big stars at the Teen Choice Awards this weekend.

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TV Tonight: Better Off Ted

BuzzSugar — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 07:30:59 -0700

New episodes of a network TV show that's not canceled airing in the Summer? How is that even possible? I don't know what was behind ABC's choice to air new episodes of Better Off Ted starting this week - but whatever it was, I'll take it!

Better Off Ted only aired a few episodes this Spring, but it was enough to make it qualify as one of my favorite shows of the 2008-09 season. If you haven't caught it yet, the show is a comedy set at a massive science corporation starring Jay Harrington as a manager trying to be a mostly good guy in a mostly evil company and Portia de Rossi as a buttoned-up boss with no such hang-ups about the company's morals. The fake ads aired during each episode are always a highlight for me, as are the supporting cast members, who get to do all kinds of quirky things (in tonight's episode, some turn out to be members of a basement-based medieval fight club).

Despite lackluster ratings, Better Off Ted got renewed for a second season, and it - along with Scrubs - will air at midseason between rounds of Dancing With the Stars. Airing episodes in the Summer is definitely unconventional, but I hope it'll give the show more exposure for when it returns next season. To check out a preview of the upcoming episodes, just read more.

TV Tonight: Better Off Ted's Finale

BuzzSugar — Tue, 05 May 2009 15:30:16 -0700

A few days back, when I asked which midseason shows you were still watching, there was an outpouring of love for Better Off Ted. The show has become a favorite of mine, too, and I hope that tonight's finale isn't the last we see of it.

"But doesn't Better Off Ted air on Wednesdays?" you might ask. Well, yes. But last week's presidential address forced ABC to move the show's finale to tonight - a move, you might have heard, that didn't exactly thrill the good folks at Veridian Dynamics. Airing your last episode on a night when most people won't be expecting to see it can't be easy for any show - much less one that's struggling in the ratings and remains borderline for a second season.

Despite the marginal ratings, though, Ted isn't necessarily a goner. It recently came up in the conversation about ABC possibly renewing Scrubs and keeping the two shows airing together next season. While that's far from a sure thing, a big turnout for tonight's finale couldn't hurt. So, a few words about tonight's episode, "Get Happy": a Veridian company survey reveals that employees are beyond miserable, so Veronica attempts to soften her image and Ted tries to win over Veridian's older male population. There's a scene with corporate-approved cubicle decorations that's hysterical; to check it out, just read more.

Celebrities Get Happy and Bikini-Clad For GLAAD Awards

PopSugar — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 02:00:00 -0700

The GLAAD Media Awards came to LA on Saturday night with another star-studded red carpet. Kathy Griffin couldn't help but show off her "banging bikini bod" yet again when she took the stage to accept her award. Ellen DeGeneres also took home a statue and looked fantastic with Portia De Rossi as they took a moment to talk about their love. Jessica Alba shimmered and smiled brightly while presenting an award and the women of Wisteria Lane supported Marc Cherry when Desperate Housewives won best TV comedy series. Next up, the GLAAD awards hit San Francisco on May 9.

To see more photos including T.R. Knight, Kate Walsh, George Takei and many others just read more.

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Images include: Alan Cumming, Andrea Bowen, Bill Paxton, Brenda Strong, Bruno Tonioli, Cheyenne Jackson, Dana Delany, Dustin Lance Black, George Takei, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kathy Griffin, Rebecca Gayheart, Rex Lee, Robert Verdi, Teri Hatcher, Wilson Cruz, Brad Altman, Greg Grunberg, Jessica Collins, Jessica Alba, T.R. Knight, Portia de Rossi, Ellen DeGeneres, Kate Walsh, Alec Mapa, Justin Chambers, Marc Cherry, Megan Mullaly, Kyle MacLachlan

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Ellen and Portia Have No Need to Apologize

PopSugar — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:00:33 -0700

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi had a date night at Madeo's in LA on Friday. The ladies have been busy as usual, especially Portia who's been promoting her new show Better Off Ted, including a very special interview on Ellen's show. Portia also put together a fake PSA for Jimmy Kimmel where she "apologizes" for her wedding to Ellen - check out the video after the jump. This couple always makes us smile, but next weekend they'll be recognized for their big hearts as well when they will be honored by The Humane Society.

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To see Portia's funny apology video, just read more.

INFDaily.com

TV Tonight: Better Off Ted

BuzzSugar — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 09:30:55 -0700

Better Off Ted, which premieres tonight on ABC, is a smart and sarcastic comedy that I think will be a solid counterpart for Scrubs in the 8 p.m. hour. It's also very quirky, which I can imagine being interpreted as "very weird," which means I wouldn't be surprised if it struggles in the ratings and gets canceled early. But luckily, Ted is the kind of show that can make you laugh even if you don't want to get too attached.

Set at the fictional Veridian Dynamics (which makes nearly everything you buy . . . except maybe cows), the show stars Jay Harrington navigating the world of corporate politics and office romance - and doing a pretty fine job of messing up both. It's a deadpan send-up of corporate culture, especially in the science world (they freeze their coworker in the first episode!), and it features a number of fine performances.

The best of those might come from Portia de Rossi, who's absolutely perfect as Ted's buttoned-up, hysterically ruthless boss (someone at TCA actually asked de Rossi how she maintains such good posture, since her character is instantly recognizable both for her stick-straight spine and prim suits). I'm also a big fan of Andrea Anders, whose character hoards creamer and who tries (and, it seems, usually fails) to stick up for the little people at the wrong end of Veridian's experiments.

Are you interested in adding this show to your roster? To check out a couple of clips, read more.