She left University of New Orleans after one semester and worked odd jobs. She spent time as a house painter, vacuum salesperson, waitress, and even an oyster shucker.
Source: IMDb; Business Insider
But in the '80s, she started doing stand up at comedy clubs. By 1984, she was touring the country and even won Showtime's Funniest Person in America contest.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Two years later, she made her network TV debut on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson." She was just 27 years old.
Soon, DeGeneres started to work in TV, picking up small sitcom roles in short-lived shows like "Open House" and "Laurie Hill."
Source: IMDb
Her career picked up steam in 1994: She landed a starring role as Ellen Morgan on the ABC sitcom "Ellen."
Source: IMDb
Then, in 1997, everything changed. DeGeneres decided to come out as gay — on the cover of time magazine.
She also sat down for candid interviews with Diane Sawyer and Oprah Winfrey.
"I never thought it was anybody's business, who I am and who I am with. So I thought, why do people need to know?" she told Winfrey. "And then I realized that as long as I had this secret that I worried about all the time, that it made it look like something was wrong."
Later in the interview, Winfrey asked DeGeneres why it was necessary for her to come out.
"Because it's okay," she replied. Then, once again, with more conviction: "Because it is okay."
At the same time, DeGeneres's character on "Ellen" came out as gay, too.
"The Puppy Episode" featured Winfrey as a therapist who helps Ellen come to terms with her sexuality. The episode brought in a whopping 42 million viewers the night it aired.
Source: New York Times
But her bravery came with significant backlash.
Advertisers like JC Penney and Chrysler pulled their ads from the show's time slot after the historic episode. Religious groups called for a boycott of the show's parent company, Disney. Before long, "Ellen" was cancelled.
The New York Times reported that tensions between ABC and DeGeneres had been running high. Network executives were wary of airing too many episodes with a "gay theme." They even required that a special content advisory warning play before certain episodes — a ruling that DeGeneres protested.
Source: ABC News; New York Times
She didn't just suffer professionally: Coming out was a personal struggle, too.
"It was [...] learning what it's like to not be loved, and to be the butt of everybody's joke on television and in magazines," DeGeneres said, several years after coming out. "I had to learn [...] to not let things like that get to you."
Source: OWN
Soon, DeGeneres was making public appearances with her girlfriend, actress Anne Heche. The couple would split in 2000.
That's when DeGeneres's TV career started picking up again. In 2001, she got a CBS sitcom called "The Ellen Show." Then, she hosted the Emmy Awards solo.
Source: IMDb
And a few months later, her now-famous talk show "Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show" premiered. This was her very first monologue:
In its first season, "Ellen" picked up the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show.
To date, the show has won dozens more Emmys.
Source: National Television Academy; IMDb
They got hitched in 2008, and eight years of marriage later, they still make an adorable couple on the red carpet.
Source: IMDb
The next few years brought more milestones: Hosting the Emmys (again) in 2005, hosting the Oscars in 2007, and becoming a Covergirl spokesmodel in 2008.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter; ellentv.com
All the while, her talk show was thriving — even when things went awry. After tearing a ligament in 2007, DeGeneres hosted the show from a hospital bed.
Source: People
In 2014, as a second-time Oscars host, she took this selfie with a handful of stars in the audience. It became the most-retweeted image of all time.
Source: TIME
She was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — and broke into tears during the ceremony.
Even President Obama got a little choked up as he told the gathered crowd about DeGeneres's accomplishments.
"It's easy to forget [...] just how much courage was required for Ellen to come out on the most public of stages almost 20 years ago," he said. "What an incredible burden that was to bear. To risk your career like that. [...] And yet, today, every day, in every way, Ellen counters what too often divides us, with the countless things that bind us together. Inspires us to be better, one joke and one dance at a time."
Here's video of the emotional moment.
Today, DeGeneres's talk show is in its 14th season, and she's still beloved by viewers.
In fact, she's won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Talk Show Host nine times.
Source: IMDb