Betty DeGeneres

Betty DeGeneres
DeGeneres in 2011
Born
Betty Jane Pfeffer

(1930-05-20) May 20, 1930 (age 94)
OccupationActivist
Spouses
Elliott DeGeneres
(m. 1952; div. 1974)
Roy Gruessendorf
(m. 1974; div. 1991)
ChildrenVance DeGeneres (son)
Ellen DeGeneres (daughter)
RelativesPortia De Rossi (daughter-in-law)

Betty Jane DeGeneres (née Pfeffer; born May 20, 1930) is an American LGBT rights activist.[1] Through her first marriage to her ex-husband Elliott DeGeneres, she is the mother of Ellen and Vance DeGeneres, and the mother-in-law of retired actress Portia De Rossi. She was the first straight spokeswoman for the Human Rights Campaign's National Coming Out Project[2] and an active member of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). She gained notability following her lesbian daughter Ellen's highly publicized coming out in 1997.[3]

  1. ^ "Mother of Comedian Ellen DeGeneres Is Dream Mom for Gays/Support for daughter leads to activism". SFGate. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  2. ^ "Yep, I'm an activist: Betty DeGeneres, Ellen's mom, agrees to serve as spokeswoman for HRC's coming-out project", The Advocate, October 28, 1997
  3. ^ "Betty DeGeneres". THE LAVENDER EFFECT®. January 24, 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2017.