Portia de Rossi Turns Down Dancing With the Stars

Portia de Rossi was asked to be on the next season of Dancing With the Stars, but she declined, her publicist told Entertainment Weekly.

PopEater had reported that the hit show’s producers were keen on Ellen DeGeneres’ wife as one half of the show’s first same-sex dance couple. When she elected not to take part, the idea was reportedly shelved for the time being.

Rumors are also circulating that Todd Palin, Sarah's better half and Bristol's dad, is being pursued to join the competition next season. Hopefully this is not true, as I will not be watching it! No more Palins on Dancing With the Stars!

Portia DeGeneres Could Be in First Dancing With The Stars Same-Sex Couple

Portia DeGeneres has been tipped to be in the first same-sex couple on Dancing With the Stars, radio host Ryan Seacrest says.

He told the Ally MacBeal actress on his show that the dance show is “planning to feature a same-sex couple. You’re at the top of the list.”

DeGeneres, who recently took her wife Ellen’s surname, replied: “Goodness, you really do break news.”

She added: “I’m not gonna pass, let me think about it. I used to be a ballet dancer. It’s not completely a pass. You never know.”

According to the New York Post, Dancing With the Stars producer ABC does not comment on casting rumours but is said to be watching keenly to see how the first same-sex couple in the Israeli version of the show fares.

Portia de Rossi Says Ellen DeGeneres Changed Her Life

Portia de Rossi has admitted to suffering from an eating disorder in the past, but she put all that behind her when she married talk show host Ellen DeGeneres in August 2008.

She said: "Ellen has completely changed the way I look at life. She has made me not worry about what other people think. I'm still working on that, I have to be honest.

“She has taught me that who I am is perfectly good enough...that I don't have to pretend to be anything other than who I am, and that's been the most incredible gift that she's given me."

The former Arrested Development star added that her relationship with the talk show host helped her overcome her anorexia.

She told Ellen on her talk show: "When I look in the mirror today I really do accept myself from head to toe. This is exactly the weight I'm supposed to be. I realized it's taking me a long time -- you can't fit a size eight foot into a size six shoe."

Portia has recently released her autobiography Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain, and she said she hoped it would help other people who are suffering too.

She explained: "I don't think anyone can really understand what it's like to suffer from an eating disorder unless they've actually gone through it themselves.

“I wanted to tell the story from the perspective of the person suffering and not from the healthy person's perspective. I wanted to go back to that dark horrible time and explain why I thought I was doing the right thing, why I thought I was doing the healthy thing and making good choices for my life."

Portia de Rossi:'I Don't Want to Have Any More Secrets'

Looking at a photo of herself back when she weighed 82 pounds, Portia de Rossi can now admit she was sick.

"But at the time, I thought, 'Okay, my arms look awful so I should cover them up, but my legs look pretty okay now," says the actress, 37. "I didn't think I was crazy to only eat 300 calories a day. That made perfect sense to me."

In a new memoir, Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain, de Rossi comes clean about the years she spent battling anorexia and bulimia – after landing her breakthrough role on TV's Ally McBeal in 1998 – and the pressure she felt to hide the fact that she was gay.

"My struggle with anorexia, coming to terms with my sexuality, I realized I had struggled with self-acceptance my whole life," she says. "To be able to get to a point where you're just happy with who you are, I think that's when you know what real peace feels like."

Now healthy and happily living in Los Angeles with Ellen DeGeneres, whom she married in 2008, de Rossi never steps on a scale and eats three balanced meals, plus snacks, every day.

"Look, I don't think I'm perfect. I still don't like my thighs," she says. "But I'm not going to do anything to compromise my health or my sanity to change them. I don't want to have secrets anymore. I don't want to have a darkness that I feel that I should be ashamed of. And going forward now, without having anything to hide, the future looks pretty bright."

For more of de Rossi's interview and an exclusive excerpt of her book, pick up this week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.

Portia de Rossi is Officially Mrs. DeGeneres

Portia de Rossi tied the knot with talk show host Ellen DeGeneres in August 2008, and Friday a judge granted her request to officially become Mrs. DeGeneres.

Portia said in a statement: “I am thrilled to legally adopt my wife's name. I will continue to use Portia de Rossi for professional purposes.”

The actress initially signed documents requesting to take her spouse’s name in March, before officially filing a petition in a Los Angeles court in August.

Although the couple have now further cemented their six-year relationship, Ellen, 52, recently admitted she and Portia have no plans to start a family.

She explained: “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 if that's something we want to take on. We're very happily married without children."

Portia de Rossi Wants to Be Portia DeGeneres

Portia de Rossi's second anniversary gift for Ellen DeGeneres? A name change.

The actress, who tied the knot with the talk show host, 52, on August 17, 2008, has asked the court to legally change her name to Portia Lee James DeGeneres, according to a petition filed Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

As for the reason, the papers, which were initially signed by Rossi, 37, in March, say, "Petitioner is taking the last name of her spouse."

But de Rossi isn't a DeGeneres just yet. The name change won't be official until a hearing, scheduled for September 23rd, takes place.

A rep for the talk show host had no comment.

TMZ.com was first to report on the filing.

Stars Celebrate Overturning of California's Gay Marriage Ban

It's been a heavily debated topic for almost two years, but it took just a few seconds for celebrities to Tweet their cheers when Proposition 8, a ballot measure passed in November 2008 that banned same-sex marriages in California, was ruled unconstitutional Wednesday by a federal judge.

Here's what Hollywood had to say after U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker in San Francisco struck down Prop 8:

• Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger: "This decision affirms the full legal protections and safeguards I believe everyone deserves."

• Ellen DeGeneres: "Equality won!"

• Portia de Rossi: "I am ecstatic that proposition 8 has been overturned in the state of California. This is an incredibly exciting and historical day and a big step towards equal rights for all."

• Lance Bass: "Congrats on the overturning of Prop 8!!!!"

• Pink: "It’s a good day!"

• Ricky Martin: "YEAHHHHH!!!!! PROP8UNCONSTITUTIONAL MOVING FORWARD!!!!!!!!"

• Kelly Osbourne: "so happy over the news on prop8 its about time!"

• Kim Kardashian: "Prop 8 was struck down! This news is amazing!!!! Its about time! Congrats to everyone!"

• Shanna Moakler: "Tonight we celebrate! EQUALITY and LOVE for all! This is so much bigger then [sic] marriage, it's about wisdom, compassion and knowing we CAN be heard, action DOES make a difference!"

• Samantha Ronson: "Song Of The Day: Let's Get Married- Jagged Edge."

• Paris Hilton: "What a huge historical day for equal rights in this country! They finally overturned Prop 8! There shouldn't be a law on true love. :)"

• Sophia Bush: "A MAJOR step forward. Everyone deserves the right to love whomever they choose. I am proud to be from Cali again!"

• Rose McGowan: "Yay! No more Prop H8! I wanna be a flower girl in a wedding asap!"

• Fran Drescher: "Congrats to CA for c-ing the light & rising above prejudice. u had me worried there! When Iowa is cooler than Cali, it's time to recalibrate!"

• Milla Jovovich: "Gay Marriage law overturned in CA!!! Thank god good ppl are being treated equally again! Now we need the rest of the US to follow!"

Still, not everyone cheered the decision. Some proponents of the proposition expressed their disappointment.

"Judge Walker's ruling overturning Prop 8 is an outrageous disrespect for our Constitution and for the majority of people of the United States who believe marriage is the union of husband and wife," conservative politician Newt Gingrich said on his Web site.

The legal fight is expected to continue with an appeal by supporters of Prop 8.

Portia de Rossi to Address Eating Disorders & Sexuality in Memoir

Portia de Rossi is ready to share her story.

The Australian-born star, best known for her roles in Ally McBeal, Arrested Development, and most recently Better Off Ted, has signed a deal with Atria Books to publish a book chronicling her years of battling anorexia and bulimia in the public eye.

The book also will delve into de Rossi's newfound health and happiness after coming out as a lesbian and marrying Ellen DeGeneres in August 2008. Getting married "completely changed my life," de Rossi said last year. "It's so important to live an honest, open life and I didn't really realize that until I started doing it."

Atria plans to publish the book this fall.

Portia de Rossi on Cover of The Advocate

On the latest issue of The Advocate, Portia de Rossi, the lovely actress who stared in Ally McBeal, Arrested Development, Nip/Tuck and is now in the ABC's Better Off Ted, talks about her marriage to Ellen DeGeneres.

Here are some excerpts of the interview:

“It’s one thing to have attention; it’s one thing to stand for something,” she says in an Advocate cover story regarding her marriage to Ellen. “But unless it’s backed up with genuine happiness, I think people can sense that it’s not worth celebrating.”

“Ever since Ellen and I got together, I feel like I’ve been given an opportunity to actually—God, this sounds corny…” She rolls her eyes at herself, fidgets, and then forges ahead. “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. … Maybe by sharing my life, I can make people more aware of how important gay marriage is.”

“I think it’s up to us to save marriage,” she adds. “Up to gay people across the country, seeing as though we’re fighting for it so vehemently.” De Rossi has an impressive ability to marry the personal and political: “This whole thing has been a wave of excitement and hope, and then it gently falls back into despair. And then it picks us up again. Unfortunately, we’re the ones who have to suffer this—this humiliation, really. There’s kind of a dignity that’s been stripped from us. Gay people are the ones who have to suffer through it—but without it, it won’t change.”

Go to Advocate.com to read this terrific interview in its entirety.

Portia de Rossi:'I Thought My Career Would Be Over If I Came Out'

Actress Portia de Rossi has said she was too frightened for years to admit she was a lesbian.

De Rossi is now married to television presenter Ellen DeGeneres but has revealed that she thought coming out would mean the end of her acting career.

Speaking to Oprah Winfrey in the couple's first interview since their 2008 wedding in California, de Rossi said she knew her partner was "the one" when she first met her.

But she added: "It took me three years to actually tell her how I felt about her because I was on Ally McBeal at the time and I was not living as an openly gay person.

"I was closeted and very, very afraid that if I talked about being gay, it would be the end of my career, so I wasn't about to then date the most famous lesbian in the world."

DeGeneres said: “She is so beautiful and so smart and so funny. I have that sense of ‘I’m done now.’ I’m settled.

“I know that part of my life is taken care of. I’ve got love. I’ve got someone who will be with me till the day I die."

The couple married on August 16, 2008 in a small ceremony in their home just a few months before California voters stripped gay couples of the right to wed.

National Coming Out Day

National Coming Out Day is an internationally-observed civil awareness day for coming out and discussion about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues. It is observed on October 11 every year by members of the LGBT communities and their supporters (allies).

To celebrate this special day, here is a list of actors, actresses, politicians, writers, journalists, singers and athletes who are out:

Wilson Cruz, John Benjamin Hickey, Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi, Cheyenne Jackson, Luke Macfarlane, Richard Chamberlain, Chad Allen, Martina Navratilova, Elton John, Robert Gant, KD Lang, Rufus Wainwright, Adam Lambert, Neil Patrick Harris, Rachel Maddow, George Takei, Doug Spearman, Tim Gunn, Scott Evans, Suze Orman, Gavin Creel, Phillip Keene, Cherry Jones, Thom Bierdz, Lily Tomlin, Jonathan Slavin, Todd Haynes, Jason Stuart, Billie Jean King, Anthony Rapp, Stephen Fry, Wanda Sykes, Peter Paige, Patrik-Ian Polk, Jane Lynch, Gus Van Sant, Christopher Seiber, Dale Reynolds, Dave Koz, Greg Lougainis, Craig Chester, Amelie Mauresmo, Randy Harrison, Chaz Bono, Darryl Stephens, Rosie Jones, Ian McKellen, Amanda Beardse, Tom Ford, Nick Adams, David Geffen, Billy Bean, Michael Feinstein, Gene Robinson, Janis Ian, Nate Berkus, Matthew Mitcham, Leslie Jordan, Bruce Vilanch, Ari Gold, Jill Bennett, TR Knight, Adam Shankman, Matthew Montgomery, John Amaechi, Michelle Paradise, Bryan Batt, Jesse Tyler Fergeson, David Moretti, David Kopay, Michael Patrick King, Nicolas Rodriguez, Don Roos, Bruce Cohen, Harvey Fierstein, Tony Kushner, Dustin Lance Black, Clive Barker, Steve Callahan, Marco Pennette, Charlie David, Kelly McGillis, Miss Cleo, Kyan Douglas, Cynthia Nixon, Alec Mapa, Danny Roberts, Dan Butler, Sheila Kuehl, Bryan Singer, Scott Rudin, Jai Rodriguez, Kyan Douglas, Reichen Lemkuhl, Thomas Roberts, Heather Matorazzo, Boy George, Clay Aiken, Greg Berlanti, Angela Robinson, Tab Hunter, Rex Lee, Billy Stritch, Chip Arndt, Jason Gould, Alan Ball, Paris Barclay, Andy Bell, Steve Kmetko, Sarah Paulsen, David Hyde Pierce, Jim J. Bullock, David Burtka, J.P Calderon, Jaason Simmons, BD Wong, Mellissa Etheridge, Tammy Lynn Michaels, Alan Cumming, Dan Savage, Hilary Rosen, Rupert Everett, Cheryl Swoops, Rudy Galindo, Malcolm Gets, Carson Kressley, Darrin Hayes, Silvio Horta, Gabriel Romero, Michael Stipe, Del Shores, Nathan Lane, Eric Alva, Harvey Levin, Michael Keans, Ross Matthews, John Cameron Mitchell, Ryan Murphy, Coco Peru, Christopher Rice, David Sedaris, Christian Siriano, Stephen Sondheim, Scott Thompson, Jim Verraros, John Waters, Suzanne Westhoefer, Michelle Wolff, David Young, Craig Zaden, Kate Clinton, Dan Choi, Clementine Ford.

Be proud...and come out!

Ellen DeGeneres & Portia De Rossi 'Happily Married Without Children'

Don't expect Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi to become moms anytime soon.

Although the couple told People last August that they talk about having kids, they have decided that they are happier being cool aunts.

"I don't think we're going to have kids," DeGeneres tells AOL Television. "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."

After tying the knot last summer, DeGeneres told People, "It's something we would never take lightly and just say, 'That would be fun.' It's a lot of work and we recognize that. In a way, we want to be selfish because we love our life, but we know how much that adds to it."

DeGeneres, 51, and de Rossi, 36, who have crusaded for gay marriage, have since decided to focus on their relationship rather than have children. "It's just a huge responsibility, and I don't know that that's something we want to take on," DeGeneres says. "We're very happily married without children."

Ellen DeGeneres & George Takei Allowed To Stay Wed

Ellen DeGeneres and George Takei's 2008 same sex marriages will stand, despite a new ruling to uphold the ban on gay weddings in California.

The California Supreme Court has opted not to overturn the ban which came into effect late last year, six months after gay marriages were declared legal thanks to a May decision.

During the legal window on same sex marriages, DeGeneres wed girlfriend Portia De Rossi and Star Trek actor Takei exchanged vows with longtime partner Brad Altman.

At a ruling in court on Tuesday, officials declared those gay couples who wed between May and November last year will be considered married.

The people of California voted to overturn a ruling to allow gay marriage on November 4th.

Gay leaders in the state now plan to take their fight to federal court.

Responding to the latest development, DeGeneres, who wed De Rossi in August, says, "One day, when everyone is treated with full equality, we’ll look back and realize how wrong this was."

Ellen DeGeneres & Portia De Rossi GLAAD to Be in Love

With Emmys galore already to her name, Ellen DeGeneres can now add another trophy to her shelf – this one relevant to her personal life.

"Love comes in lots of different forms," said DeGeneres, 51, with her wife, Portia de Rossi, 36, standing beside her as the crowd cheered at Saturday's 20th annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles. "I am flabbergasted by the fact that we're still trying to fight," she added. "I am not trying to fight for gay rights – I am trying to fight for equal rights."

The TV host's award from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation League, at the Nokia Theater, was for the 2008 episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show on which Ellen discussed her wedding day. Speaking onstage, DeGeneres said, "Portia, I love you."

Others recognized Saturday included an outstanding film award to Milk, a Vanguard Award for Kathy Griffin to her commitment to the gay community, and a best-TV-comedy-series trophy to Desperate Housewives that was accepted by show creator Marc Cherry, actresses Dana Delany and Teri Hatcher and other cast members.

Kathy Griffin Jokes

On the red carpet before the ceremony, Kathy Griffin, 48, told PEOPLE, "I think I’m getting an award for being offensive and fabulous. If there is a gay army, I am their warrior princess. Over the years, the audience has been wonderful to me."

Griffin, known for taking no prisoners during her candid comedy riffs, quipped onstage that no celebrity would agree to present her with her award. She declared, "Everybody turned it down" – including Ryan Seacrest.

"This year, I think Susan got to have a lot of fun with some of the gay character storylines," Teri Hatcher, 44, told PEOPLE of her character on Desperate Housewives. "I do like when Swoosie Kurtz came on and played the gay boss of Susan. I thought it was emotional. That character got to show her struggle and vulnerability."

New Adventures of Old Christine was also cited for an episode on which Julia Louis-Dreyfus played the girlfriend of Wanda Sykes. "I'm so delighted," Louis-Dreyfus, 48, told PEOPLE, "they noticed what we were doing."

Portia de Rossi Says Sorry for 'Selfish' Gay Marriage

Lesbian actress Portia de Rossi has appeared in a short clip to send up opponents of gay marriage.

When she appeared on the Jimmy Kimmel show last Friday, the star, who married Ellen Degeneres last August, offered up a tongue-in-cheek public service announcement.

Standing in front of her wedding portrait, de Rossi said: "When I got married, all I was thinking about was my own joy at committing to my partner for the rest of my life. I didn't think about all the people I was hurting by getting married. That was selfish."

In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, de Rossi said she was unsure whether her own marriage could be overturned following the decision of Supreme Court judges on whether the proposition was valid and if the 18,000 same-sex couples who wed between May and November can remain legally married.

She added that she had cried when the initiative passed.

Portia de Rossi Still Not Ready for a Baby

Portia de Rossi is a happy woman these days: She has a nice home, a wonderful wife, Ellen DeGeneres, and a big role on a new TV show, Better off Ted.

So what else is on her mind?

Not making babies, the Australian-born actress, 36, tells USA Today. "It's the same thing every single year – that I am trying to get pregnant," she says of rumors that she is planning to start a family with DeGeneres, 51, whom she wed last August at the couple's Los Angeles home. "And I'm not. Maybe one day I'll want to have kids, but it's not something we've talked about recently."

When de Rossi appeared on Ellen Monday, DeGeneres even joked, "So I hear we are having a baby." De Rossi laughed and replied, "I probably should have told you before the tabloids told you."

What the couple do talk about is what their life together will be once the cameras stop rolling, de Rossi says. Both happily employed for now, they fantasize about retiring far from Hollywood. "It's our dream that we'll end up in a sweet country town on a farm," she says in the newspaper interview.

"I love horses and riding and love animals and Ellen loves animals," she says. "It would be lovely for us. It's what we're going to do when we're not working anymore."

As for when that day will arrive, De Rossi doesn't specify, but professional drive is not what it once was, she admits. "I went to law school for a year thinking I was going to do that for a living before I went into acting," she says – a useful experience when it comes to playing a workaholic on Better Off Ted, which premieres Wednesday on ABC. "To think that could have been my life is pretty shocking to me."

In fact, says de Rossi, work is no longer a top priority. "I'd rank my career as a good healthy third of my life," she says. "It's important, and without this third, I wouldn't feel whole. But it is not important for me to be engaged in it 12 months a year."

Which leaves plenty of time – here come those rumors again! – to start a family.

Portia de Rossi: "I Cried When Prop 8 Passed"

Portia de Rossi has spoken of her sadness at the passing of Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, the actress, who married chat show host Ellen DeGeneres last August, admitted to crying when the initiative was passed in November.

She said: "I cried. I just remember being so excited when Obama was elected, it was just such an amazing moment . . . I just remember going to bed thinking, 'Prop. 8? . . .And I woke up in the morning to the news that it passed. And I was shocked and I was deeply saddened."

When asked about the possibility the legality of her marriage could be affected, she said: "It [the marriage] still stands. Maybe it could be, it could be overturned."

"I don't know. I just really think that when people really understand that this is a human rights issue and that there are a percentage of people living in this country that don't have the same rights as everybody else, I think that people will be compelled to make sure that they live in a country where every single citizen has the same rights."

The Ally MacBeal star added: "People magazine put us on the cover when we got married. And that felt like something big happened. That felt really good to me, that they could show two very happy gay people . . . I feel like we kind of get all the same stuff that any heterosexual couple would get in the public eye. And that is great, that is wonderful."

DeGeneres And De Rossi To Start Family

Comedian Ellen DeGeneres and partner Portia de Rossi will undergo fertility treatment to start their own family, according to tabloid reports.

The TV personality wed actress de Rossi last year, and the couple is allegedly keen to settle down and have kids.

DeGeneres recently revealed they were looking to step away from the spotlight and live the quiet life on a farm, once her U.S. talk show contract ends in 2010.

De Rossi is also keen on kids, revealing in a 2007 interview, "There are times when I think I'd be really selfish not to adopt a child. It'd be great to spend our lives with somebody, a little child that really needs a home."

However, Star magazine claims the couple is planning to have a biological child, and de Rossi will soon begin in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment.

A source tells the publication, "They would love a boy. But would truly be happy with any healthy baby.

"(de Rossi) is prepared to go through it (IVF) 10 times if she has to. Whatever it takes to get pregnant, she'll do it. She's been changing her eating habits. Her goal is to gain a few pounds before they start the IVF process.

"Ellen and Portia are mad about each other. And having a child together will only strengthen their bond."

Ellen & Portia's Biggest Marital Problem: Half-Finished Drinks

Though Ellen DeGeneres is at a good place in her life, the TV host still dreams of greener pastures, saying in one of those humorous deadpan non-sequiturs of hers, "I like peace and I like houses."

Now, if she can just get her wife, Portia de Rossi, to clean up after her drinks.

Speaking to Ladies' Home Journal for its March issue on the day after Barack Obama was elected – and California voters put a knife into the heart of the state's same-sex marriage law – DeGeneres, 51, said that she felt her most beautiful on "the day I got married" to de Rossi in August 2008.

In fact, the recollection of that day (and the ramifications of California's Proposition 8) sent DeGeneres into tears – and running from the room.

When she returned, she said, "It's just very emotional. You find the person you love, you think you've come this far … and anyway, I never thought I'd have a wedding, and I did, and it meant more than I imagined."

Their One Big Issue

While the magazine compares the looks exchanged by de Rossi and DeGeneres as similar to those shared by Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, Michelle and Barack Obama – and notes that the two really haven't been married long enough to develop any major complaints about one another – it does get de Rossi to reveal their biggest domestic squabble.

"I do leave half-finished beverages everywhere," says the actress, 36, who is also developing a line of vegan, non-leather shoes. "I usually have three cups of tea going at once. I'm Australian. That's just what we do."

Living in America won't change that, either. Says de Rossi: "I was going to thank her in our vows, for picking up all the glasses – and say that she'd have to do that for the rest of her life. She took that on. But she's very good about it."

Apparently this responsibility has caused no schism. On display in the art studio inside the couple's house is a canvas that has been painted, and then carved, with the message from DeGeneres to de Rossi: "I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU."