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Portia de Rossi is taking on her wife Ellen DeGeneres' surname The 37-year-old actress - who married the talk show host almost two years ago - filed a petition in a Los Angeles court to formally become Portia DeGeneres.

Court papers state: "Petitioner is taking the last name of her spouse."
Portia signed the documents in March this year and filed them in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday, August 6 but the name change won't be official until a hearing takes place on September 23.
Although Portia is cementing the couple's love for one another by changing her name it doesn't look as if children are on the cards for them. Ellen, 52, recently revealed she and Portia have no plans to start a family.
She said: "I don't think we're going to have kids. We have animals, and we love them. And, you know, we are brand new aunts. Her brother and his wife just had a baby girl who's a month old now, and it's fun to be a part of that.
"It's just a huge responsibility, and I don't know that that's something we want to take on. We're very happily married without children."
Portia and Ellen married in front of 30 guests at their Beverly Hills home on August 16 2008.
©Bang Showbiz

Comedian Ellen DeGeneres' spouse Portia de Rossi has filed a legal request to change her name to "Portia Lee James DeGeneres," according to a court document.

The request was filed on August 6 in Los Angeles, but the document, which was posted on the Internet by E! Online, shows that de Rossi signed it in late March.

The couple were married in California in August 2008, during a time when same-sex marriage licenses were being issued. A subsequent law passed by California voters banned gay marriage in the state, but just last week, a federal judge in California declared that ban unconstitutional. The judge's decision is being appealed in a higher court.

De Rossi, who has starred in TV shows such as "Nip/Tuck" and "Arrested Development," previously changed her name, at age 15, from Amanda Lee Rogers to her current De Rossi.

DeGeneres is the popular host over her own daytime talk show.

(Reporting by Carolina Madrid; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Portia de Rossi thinks Ellen DeGeneres looks beautiful whatever her weight.

The outspoken 'American Idol' judge has revealed her actress wife adores her unconditionally and often tells her she wouldn't even care if she piled on the pounds - because Portia prefers Ellen to be curvy rather than skinny.

Ellen said: "She loves me no matter what. Whenever I feel bad about myself, or if I'm in a period where I'm not working out, she's constantly telling me that she doesn't notice, that I look beautiful. She'll say, 'I think you could gain 10 more pounds.'

"She would rather have me heavier than thinner, and she really hates that I ever doubt myself. She loves how I look. She wants me to be happy and never think about it."

Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon (pictured) has taken one of the top honors at the 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards. The actress, along with The View co-host Joy Behar, was honored at the 2010 award ceremony in New York.

At the ceremony, Sex and the City creator Michael Patrick King presented the Vito Russo Award to Nixon, whose openness about her family has led to a greater understanding of the need for full marriage equality.
The award is presented to an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for the LGBT community.

Accepting the award, Nixon said: "Coming out wasn't hard in 2004. But if it had been 1994? What would I have done? I'll never know. Only 10 years’ difference and a whole different universe. Coming out wasn't difficult for me because of the work of many people in this room and because of the vision, tenacity and sacrifice of people like Vito Russo, who are no longer with us but because of whom there is a room - a room that has all of us in it."
Also at the event, journalist Meredith Vieira presented the Excellence in Media Award to Behar, who has shown a strong commitment to educating the public about the lives of gay and transgender people on her HLN talk show, The Joy Behar Show, and as co-host of The View.

The complete list of winners:
- Outstanding Daily Drama: One Life to Live (ABC)
- Outstanding Talk Show Episode: “Ellen DeGeneres and Her Wife, Portia de Rossi” The Oprah Winfrey Show (syndicated)
- Outstanding TV Journalism Segment: “Why Will Won’t Pledge Allegiance” American Morning (CNN)
- Outstanding Digital Journalism Article: Tie between “‘We Love You, This Won’t Change a Thing’” by John Buccigross (ESPN.com) and “Why Can’t You Just Butch Up? Gay Men, Effeminacy, and Our War with Ourselves” by Brent Hartinger (AfterElton.com)
- Outstanding TV Journalism — Newsmagazine: “Uganda Be Kidding Me” (series) The Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC)
- Outstanding Newspaper Article: “Kept From a Dying Partner’s Bedside” by Tara Parker-Pope (The New York Times)
- Outstanding Newspaper Columnist: Frank Rich (The New York Times)
- Outstanding Newspaper Overall Coverage: The New York Times
- Outstanding Magazine Article: “Coming Out in Middle School” by Benoit Denizet-Lewis (The New York Times Magazine)
- Outstanding Magazine — Overall Coverage: The Advocate
- Outstanding Comic Book: Detective Comics by Greg Rucka (DC Comics)
- Outstanding New York Theater — Broadway & Off Broadway: A Boy and His Soul by Colman Domingo
- Outstanding New York Theater — Off-Off Broadway: She Like Girls by Chisa Hutchinson
SPANISH-LANGUAGE
- Outstanding Novela: Más Sabe el Diablo (Telemundo)
- Outstanding Daytime Talk Show Episode: “Adopción gay: un tema muy controversial” Paparazzi TV Sensacional (MegaTV)Outstanding Talk Show Interview: “Realidades de ser gay en la tercera edad” El Show de Cristina (Univision)
- Outstanding TV Journalism –  Newsmagazine: TIE: “En el cuerpo equivocado” Primer Impacto (Univision) & “Damas gracias: Entrevista con Eva Leivas-Andino” Al Rojo Vivo (Telemundo)
- Outstanding Newspaper Article: “Mas familias de dos papás o dos mamas” by Pilar Marrero (La Opinión)
- Outstanding Magazine Article: “Del odio a la justicia” by Lena Hansen (People en Español)
- Outstanding Digital Journalism Article: “Saliendo del clóset: Cómo enfrentarlo en familia” by Fernanda Martínez (Univision.com)
(Image: Splash News)

Portia de Rossi was too nervous to date now-wife Ellen DeGeneres.

The 'Arrested Development' actress said she fell for the talk show host the first time she "laid eyes on her", but couldn't bring herself to ask her out.

Portia, 36, said: "I just walked over to say hello to her and I couldn't believe it, but she turned around and it was like an arrow was shot through my heart.

"I was weak at the knees and I was overwhelmed with how I felt. But then it took me about 10 months to get the courage up to do something about it."

Portia - who married Ellen in 2008 - says it took her a long time to open up to the 41-year-old comedienne about how she felt because she was worried about the public response to her sexuality.

Seven years after the Emmy-winning series starring Calista Flockhart ended after five seasons, problems with music rights have been resolved to allow the first 32-disc DVD collection to go on sale (October 6) for the first time in the United States.

With its fantasy sequences, frank approach to sex and a central character who was independent and looking for love, "Ally McBeal" was as controversial as it was ground-breaking.

But the show's creator David E. Kelley said that transforming TV for women was the last thing on his mind when he sat down to create 20-something lawyer Ally, her assistant and 'face-bra' inventor Elaine (Jane Krakowski) and ice-queen Nelle Porter (Portia de Rossi).

"I really did not think I was writing a character that was representative of womankind at all. I thought Ally was really an idiosyncratic, eccentric character. So it was bit of a surprise to find the character was so relatable to so many women," Kelley told Reuters.

Ally, a career-minded and lascivious young woman who was also searching for a soul-mate, touched off a heated debate among feminists that reached its height with a 1998 cover story in Time magazine asking "Is Feminism Dead?".

The show was a success in more than 70 countries around the world, including such diverse nations as Thailand and Lithuania.

But Kelley said that back in 1997, he initially doubted the series would even get on the air.

"It was such a different animal and I didn't know whether the studio and the network would even get it, much less the public," he said.

"I have got to credit Calista a lot for its iconic reputation. As an actress, she just resonated with the public in a way that a writer can't predict."

Kelley, who wrote all but three episodes himself, said he felt closest to the characters of Ally and John Cage, the frog-loving lawyer played by Peter MacNicol who channeled singer Barry White for inspiration.

"There was the most of me, my feelings, values and beliefs in John Cage and Ally. And I would see a lot of my twisted sense of humor in Richard Fish," he said.

"Ally McBeal" ended in 2002 with Ally adopting a child as a single mom and quitting her high-powered job as a lawyer.

Although Kelley went on to create other TV hits including the high-school series "Boston Public" and courtroom drama "Boston Legal", he was more saddened than usual when it ended.

"I knew I wouldn't really be able to do the things I did on that show again without it seeming derivative...When 'Ally' ended, I knew I was going to miss a loved one that I was never going to be able to spend time with again."

(Edited by Bob Tourtellotte)

New American Idol judge Ellen DeGeneres received a romantic first wedding anniversary present from her partner Portia de Rossi – a giant “One” drawn by a sky writer. Loved-up Ellen shared a photo of the “sweet” gesture with the audience of her US chat show. The lesbian star said: “Portia and I just celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary. That was nice.

"It was quiet, we had a little picnic. Not a picnic really, like a blanket and some wine. No blanket, wine. “All of a sudden we looked up in the sky and Portia had hired a sky writer to write ‘ONE’ in the sky. “Isn’t that sweet? “If anybody saw that, that’s for me!”

More pop...Spanish actor Antonio Banderas recreated a tomato-throwing festival from his home country in a talk show studio. The movie hunk challenged host Conan O’Brien to a tomato fight like La Tomatina, the famous festival in the village of Bu-ol, near Valencia. Luckily, he wore a red shirt as Conan’s house band all joined in, although his white trousers picked up more than a few stains. Banderas told O’Brien how he goes back to Spain in the summer to enjoy the festivals.
He said: “I love my country, especially in the summer time. There are a number of festivities going on. There is this little village called Bu-ol in Valencia. “This is a little town with 9,000 people living there and every year they do something called La Tomatina. La Tomatina is 45,000 people coming from all around the world. “They just put on the ground with big trucks with 200 tonnes of tomatoes, and people just throw the tomatoes at each other for an hour. “They have been doing it for 60 years. They are looking for the purpose. “They may find it when they get to 100 years. I would love to do it actually.

Vanessa Williams poked fun at lesbian couple Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi during a sexy stage routine to kick off the Daytime Emmy Awards. The Ugly Betty star opened the glitzy show with a comical version of Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You, as the talk show host and her actress wife looked on from the audience.

Changing the lyrics to make fun of nominated TV stars, Williams was comically inserted into scenes from the soaps which were flashed up onstage.

At one point, she was inserted into a lesbian kiss scene, as she sang: "Take me I've got all the moves, I know that Ellen approves..." Williams, who was hosting the bash, sashayed around stage in a figure-hugging white dress.
Earlier, DeGeneres and former Ally McBeal star de Rossi had been spotted on the red carpet. DeGeneres was dressed in trousers and braces, while de Rossi wore a black gown designed by Monique Lhuillier.

Mother's Day wishes for Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston.  The two are often star crossed in the celebrity and entertainment media and the weekend that celebrates mom will be no different and this time the two are together in the form of a poll.

Meanwhile in real life, Jolie is a mother times six, with another usually rumored to be on the way in the form of adoption or pregnancy.  Jennifer Aniston is again single and though she has expressed wishes to start a family, she still seems to be in a holding pattern.

But Jen wins over Angie, at least in the hearts and minds of celebrity loving parents that might want a Hollywood star to babysit the kids for a really cool Mother's day present.  According to a report from Us Weekly magazine, a new poll gives Aniston the nod over Jolie and Jen's ex Brad Pitt for sitter duties.
A ParentDish.com poll gives the number one nod Ellen DeGeneres and her partner Portia de Rossi as the top celeb sitters with Ansiton in secnd and Jolie in third.  The report adds that the Ellen and Portia, "nabbed 31 percent of votes, while the single Aniston came in second with 22 percent. Jolie and beau Brad Pitt -- who have six kids -- nabbed 18 percent of votes; Oprah Winfrey got just nine percent." 

Comedian Ellen DeGeneres and her actress partner Portia de Rossi topped a poll that asked American moms which celebrities they would feel most comfortable leaving their kids with.

DeGeneres and de Rossi, who married in August when same-sex marriages in California were briefly legalized but who have no children, beat Angelina Jolie and partner Brad Pitt with their eclectic brood of six in the ParentDish.com poll of more than 10,000 moms.

The TV chat show host and de Rossi took 31 percent of votes with singleton Jennifer Aniston coming in second at 22 percent. Jolie and Pitt got 18 percent of votes, while chat show queen Oprah Winfrey got just nine percent.

Jolie also won few fans as a mom, coming bottom in a list of five best celebrity mothers. Former "Alias" star and mom of two Jennifer Garner won that round with 37 percent of votes, followed by first lady Michelle Obama and Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon in a virtual tie.

In a close battle for worst celebrity mom, rock singer Courtney Love edged out Dina Lohan -- mother of Lindsay Lohan -- and pop star Britney Spears.

The poll, conducted to mark Mother's Day in the United States on Sunday, was carried out on AOL's parenting site ParentDish.com between April 23-May 5.

As for their top Mother's Day gift, those questioned chose "time with my family" by an overwhelming 63 percent over chocolates and flowers.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; editing by Patricia Reaney)