Portia DeRossi
Portia DeRossi was born Amanda Lee Rogers but changed her name at age 15 in a move she now relates to her struggle with being gay. “Everything just didn’t fit, and I was trying to find things I could identify myself with, and it started with my name,” DeRossi told the Advocate. In the 20 years since, she has become a celebrated actress and a cast member of such award-winning shows as Ally McBeal, Arrested Development and Nip/Tuck. Last August, DeRossi and long-time girlfriend Ellen DeGeneres tied the knot in California to become the world’s most famous lesbian married couple. Now working on a new show, Better Off Ted, DeRossi has found time to shoot a Public Service Announcement in which she mock-apologizes to the people who were hurt by her marriage to Ellen, including a woman whose “pro-H8” signs gave her paper cuts. -CM
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