Long Over Due Update!

Boy it's been a long time since I updated this blog. Portia hasn't been doing anything so I haven't had much to say. Well let's see, how about a classic photo of Portia at the Sixth Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. Let's pray that she never wears this again.

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Don't forget!

Hey there everyone. Don’t forget with most pictures on the blog, you can click on them to make them bigger. And don't hesitate to post a comment about anything on this blog. Or you can go to my forum: Portia de Rossi

Here's another of our lovely Portia. 

Some long awaited updates to the blog. 

Ellen's "People Magazine" interview

Ellen: At Home, At Ease
Enjoying a career rebirth and the romance of her life, daytime TV’s new queen has never been happier

Thursday Nov 03, 2005 6:00pm EST

“I’ve learned from all the horrible things that happened to me that it only makes the good things better,” says DeGeneres (at home).
CREDIT: GUY AROCH / CORBIS OUTLINE

There are times when Ellen DeGeneres just has to dance. And then there are times when she actually, y’know, just wants to buy some bread. “I’m at the grocery store and people will go, ‘You’re not dancing!’ I’m like, ‘That’s because I’m shopping for groceries!’” says the comedian, who has made her feel-good footwork the hallmark of her daytime talk show.

On this warm autumn afternoon, DeGeneres is in weekend mode, relaxing on the patio of the two-bedroom Los Angeles home she shares with her girlfriend of nearly one year, actress Portia de Rossi. With de Rossi out horseback riding, DeGeneres hangs with the couple’s rescue cats Charlie, George Jackson and Chairman Meow Tse-Tung. “This is my priority,” she tells PEOPLE, surveying her tranquil two-acre estate. “If everything else went away, as long as I’ve saved enough money that I can live with trees and animals around, that’s the most important thing to me.”

Suddenly, with a burst of energy, Charlie – the newest of the brood – takes a flying leap. DeGeneres laughs. “From a milk crate to this,” she says to the cat. “It’s a good life.”

“She’s so soft and gentle but strong and funny and smart,” DeGeneres says of de Rossi (with their moms, Margaret and Betty, far right, in May).
CREDIT: ALBERTO RODRIGUEZ / BEIMAGES

No doubt about it. Upbeat, loose – despite the fact that she is on day 6 of quitting smoking, no patch necessary (“I had an eye patch on last night, but that’s a different story”) – DeGeneres has plenty of reasons to kick up her signature sneakers: The Ellen DeGeneres Show, now in its third season, has earned nine Daytime Emmy Awards, and – along with her recent Emmys hosting gig – has solidified her standing as comedy’s top female voice.

Personally, DeGeneres says she has found her soulmate in de Rossi, 32: “It’s the first time that I’ve known in every cell of my being that I’m with somebody for the rest of my life.”

All of which means that at 47, DeGeneres is feeling so footloose that she is even confident enough to take a playful jab at her daytime rival Oprah Winfrey. “I just think that she should retire,” says the comedian, clad in a button-down shirt, jeans and one of her 15 pairs of Vans. “I mean, Oprah, take a rest! Go and relax and enjoy your life! But no, if it wasn’t her, there’s going to be somebody. You’re always going to be up against somebody.”

It is a lesson DeGeneres has learned well during the fluctuations of her 25-year career, which stalled after her famous “Yep, I’m Gay” outing eight years ago. “When I first announced I was doing (a talk show), everybody was like, ‘Why would you do that? Everybody fails,’” she says. “You have to do things that it doesn’t matter how many people failed. You have to take chances.”

The host vamps with Charlize Theron, just one of the A-list guests – including Catherine Zeta-Jones and Penelope Cruz – who've graced her comfy chairs.
CREDIT: WARNER BROS.

DeGeneres has heeded that same advice about her own love life, which underwent a major upheaval last December, after she hit it off with the Australian-born de Rossi, who currently costars on the FOX sitcom Arrested Development, at an awards show. At the time both were in long-term relationships: DeGeneres had been dating photographer Alexandra Hedison, 36, for four years; de Rossi had been with singer Francesca Gregorini, 37, for more than two years.

“She had a girlfriend and I had a girlfriend, but it wasn’t like, ‘Oh, we’re going to have an affair,’” says DeGeneres, whose high-profile romance with actress Anne Heche had ended in 2000. “We were just supposed to be together. It was a tough decision. I was physically getting sick because I was trying not to say anything. So I told Alex and she told Francesca. It was really hard to uproot everything.”

For her part, de Rossi told The Advocate in September that her relationship with DeGeneres is “very loving, peaceful,” adding, “I really feel not alone for the first time in my life.” Says DeGeneres’s mom, Betty, 75: “They are an amazing couple. It seems written in the stars. They just glow.”

The pair—who wear platinum bands on their left ring fingers—have talked marriage and kids. “If it were legal, we would be married, but it’s not legal,” says DeGeneres. “I hate politics, but I think everyone should be treated equally. If I die tomorrow, everything’s taken away. We’ve taken precautions for that and she’s taken care of, but because we’re not married, the taxes would take everything.”

As for having kids, “never say never,” says DeGeneres. Although their 15-year age gap rarely comes up – “I forget how old I am,” says the comedian– when it comes to starting a family, “that’s the only time I think about age; I think we should do it soon. Poor kid, ‘Mama’s going to break her hip again if you don’t move those toys!’ When I’m around babies, I just melt. (But) it’s a big responsibility.”

Ellen looks back on celebrating her first birthday: “I was a happy little girl.”
CREDIT: COURTESY BETTY DEGENERES

The same could be said for her high-energy show, which films four days a week in L.A. “It’s the hardest job I’ve ever had, but it’s the most satisfaction I’ve ever had, so I’m sure it’s like being a mother,” says DeGeneres. “It challenges you every day.”

Given her current sense of security and confidence, it is only recently that the star has felt able to open up about a painful chapter from her past. Growing up in a poor Christian Scientist family in New Orleans, DeGeneres moved to Texas with her mom after her parents divorced when she was in high school. (Her brother Vance, 51, now a producer, and dad Elliott, 80, a retired salesman, remained in Louisiana.)

When she was 16, DeGeneres says, she was molested by her mother’s second husband after Betty had undergone surgery for breast cancer. Even today, she and her mother “don’t talk about it much because she feels really, really guilty,” says DeGeneres, her eyes welling with tears. “The fact is that it was a horrible situation for me, and to not know anything about my body at 16 years old, to be raised a Christian Scientist, to not know that everybody’s breasts are different, and this man is telling me he needs to feel it because he thinks he found another lump in my mother’s breast. I didn’t know. I wasn’t educated.”

The day after the incident, DeGeneres told her best friend’s mother what had happened. “She said, ‘Don’t tell your mother because it’s just going to upset her.’ So I didn’t tell.” DeGeneres says the abuse continued on and off. “My grandmother was sick, and my mom was having to fly back to New Orleans and leave me alone with him,” she says.

The abuse, she says, escalated into his trying to break down her bedroom door and once humiliating her by forcing her to clean the toilet with a toothbrush. She moved back to New Orleans following her high school graduation in 1976; only a year or two later did she finally tell her mother. “Of course she was shocked and upset and she was going to leave him,” says DeGeneres. “But then she stayed for another 10 or 12 years. She didn’t want to believe it.”

Says Betty: “There aren’t any words to describe it. It was a process. The amazing thing was that Ellen was able to be understanding in my process. It was a terrible time, but we both came through it with our love intact and stronger.”

“Of course I’d (like to) do late night – it would be a great challenge because there hasn’t really been a successful woman on late night,” the star says of her future plans. “But I seem to be doing fine now, so we’ll see what happens.”
CREDIT: GUY AROCH / CORBIS OUTLINE

These days her daughter “is in such a good place,” says Betty. DeGeneres says that she and de Rossi are “maybe” in the market for a new house, but despite reports, she says they are definitely not buying the $28 million Beverly Hills mansion for sale by Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. (“It’s a whole lot of money. And it’s way too big.”)

They pamper themselves by getting Thai massages, and they recently purchased a 140-acre ranch outside of Los Angeles, where DeGeneres is gamely attempting to take up her girlfriend’s passion for riding. “Portia just bought me a quarter horse named Puff,” she says. “She’s been searching for the bomb-proof horse, so she found one that’s really gentle.” Also, “we’re getting cows,” says DeGeneres. “One just had a baby so we’re going to have a baby cow!”

When they’re not at work or at the ranch, the couple “just watch TV, talk about our days,” says DeGeneres, who likes to work out on an elliptical machine while watching Animal Planet. “You have to be with someone who’s social to force you to go out, and we both would rather be home and talk and dance with each other.”

Speaking of which, DeGeneres says that she has no plans to retire her dancing shoes or her “kah!” shout-out any time soon: “When I’m 80, I’m going to be dancing with my walker going ‘kah!’ like a crazy person. But it really is fun. What’s great is that there’s no one way to dance. And that’s kind of my philosophy about everything.”

• By Michelle Tauber. Julie Jordan in Los Angeles

People Magazine

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New "Arrested Development" episodes

The show has been off the air due to baseball. But now that baseball is over "Arrested Development" will be back Monday, Nov. 7 at 8:00pm on Fox. You can post your comments about the show so far here or you can go to the forum: Portia de Rossi Forum

"The Advocate" Interview

Portia heart & soul
In an intimate interview, Arrested Development star Portia de Rossi talks for the first time about coming out to grandma and finding happiness with Ellen DeGeneres By Michele KortFrom

The Advocate, September 13, 2005

Links
Arrested Development
Buy it
Arrested Development (tlavideo) Ally McBeal (tlavideo) Vertigo (tlavideo)

Portia de Rossi must be a good actress, because in person she doesn’t resemble at all the two TV characters she’s most known for. She’s neither the frosty, stiff-backed lawyer Nelle Porter from Ally McBeal nor the spoiled, narcissistic O.C. rich girl Lindsay Bluth Fünke from Arrested Development. Instead, as she comes to greet The Advocate at the back gate of a small, handsomely decorated house in a Los Angeles canyon—a sort of outbuilding next door to the grand dwelling where she lives with Ellen DeGeneres—she appears warm, down-to-earth, and remarkably more attractive without makeup and wearing just a simple white tank top and loose white pants, her long blond hair in a single braid.

Surprise 2: She has no trace of an Australian accent, even though she was born and raised Down Under. (She trained herself out of it in the 10 years she’s been in Los Angeles, having come to live here after her debut film role in Sirens, a 1994 Aussie flick in which she costarred with Hugh Grant and Elle Macpherson.)

Surprise 3: In her first-ever interview with the gay press, she’s decided to give an unabashed, no-holds-barred account of her long struggle to come to grips with being a lesbian. “I’ve had my years of being not open, many years of it,” she says. “It’s an honor for me to do this; it’s just nice to be asked.”

Finally, no surprise: Although neither Portia nor Ellen has jumped up and down on Oprah’s couch proclaiming their love, even a passing glimpse of them together confirms it: They’re crazy about each other and deeply content in the relationship that began in December after VH1’s Big in ’04 awards show.

For De Rossi, that contentment has obviously helped her come all the way out of the closet she’s been peeking out from for the past five years. Yep, she’s really gay, and fans of DeGeneres don’t have to worry that this actress-girlfriend will pull an Anne Heche and rediscover her heterosexuality.

Shortly into our interview—held on a screened-in lanai overlooking a peaceful canyon scene—Portia reveals that she’s just come out to the final person in her family who didn’t know.

Portia de Rossi: You think that’s the end of it when you tell one or two people, “I’m gay.” Then, of course, it continues throughout your life. The last person I told was my grandma, a few days ago in Australia. She’s 981⁄2 years old.

The Advocate: Wow! How’d you tell her?

Portia: I wasn’t planning on it, but I knew I wouldn’t avoid it. So she made the mistake of asking me about my love life, and I said, “It’s great. I’m very, very happy, and we’ve been together for eight months, and everything is wonderful.” And she said, “What’s his name?” And I took a deep breath and said, “Ellen DeGeneres.” And she looked really confused. “Alan?” I said, “Ellen.” The talk show isn’t on in Australia, but she remembered Ellen’s sitcom and just remembered her as a personality, and a gay personality.
First thing she said was, “Well, this is a very bad day.” It was the most honest reaction I’ve ever had. Then she said, “Darlin’, you’re not one of those.” It took her two minutes of being angry and upset and frustrated and disgusted—and then she just held her arms out to me and said, “I love you just the same.” When I left Australia, my grand said, “I’d really like to meet her.”
I’m crying already, my God. Four minutes in, and I’m already crying.

The Advocate: When paparazzi pictures were published of you and your ex, Francesca Gregorini, nearly five years ago, you never said anything to the press about being gay. But you didn’t deny it either.

Portia: That was exactly my stance. The most important thing for me was to never, ever, ever deny it. But I didn’t really have the courage to talk about it. I was thinking, Well, the people who need to know I’m gay know, and I’m somehow living by example by continuing on with my career and having a full, rich life, and I am incidentally gay, but it’s not a big political platform. I justified it in so many ways. Believe me, I had a very, very long and difficult struggle with my sexuality.

The Advocate: Don’t we all!

Portia: That’s what I mean—there’s nothing special about it.

The Advocate: Except when you’re a public figure, it’s different.

Portia: It’s somewhat different because there are more people to tell. And that’s the other thing—I thought, I’m out in my life, that doesn’t involve my public life. I introduced Ron Howard and Brian Grazer [executive producers of Arrested Development] to Francesca the first time I met them.

The Advocate: Did your cast mates on Ally McBeal know you are gay?

Portia: I’d been on the show for about two months before we had to go to New York to do press, and Greg Germann [who played the head of the law firm on the series] and I were talking in the bar one night and he said, “There’s something about you I can’t quite put my finger on…. Are you gay?” Of course I stammered and stuttered and looked at the ground and went, “Uh…uh…uh…maybe, I don’t know, I think so, I’m not sure.” And he looked at me and said, “Have you struggled with it?” And to me, that was so profound, because I thought, Yeah. [Dabs at her eyes] OK, number 2. But this wasn’t a full [cry]. You can say, “Wells up with tears,” you can’t say, “Tears were rolling down her face.”

The Advocate: So did you freak out when those pictures of you and Francesca were published?

Portia: I did, but I was so relieved at the same time. Every single family member [except grandma], every person I worked with, everybody knew all at once. There was no turning back, and it was a relief.

The Advocate: What happened when you returned to the set of Ally McBeal?

Portia: David Kelley came to my dressing room and wanted to write an arc for my character where she explores having a relationship with a woman. But I said no. I felt that was exploiting me. Here I was really worried that it would be the end of my job on the show, and he was so titillated by it he wanted to write a whole character arc about it.

The Advocate: When did you get involved with Francesca?

Portia: Toward the end of the last year on the show. I had a couple of pretty insignificant relationships before her, and when I was in college I was in a relationship with someone, but other than that I was stuck [with] a decision that it was either my career or my private life. I had left home in search of a way to support myself and my family, so I just thought it was stupid and selfish to try and have a [gay] private life when I thought it was going to jeopardize everything that I’d worked for. It was also a different time than it is now, even though it was less than 10 years ago.

The Advocate: And you had a boyfriend in Los Angeles?

Portia: I actually married him, for a green card. But I didn’t get my green card through him—I couldn’t do it at the end. We had a really great, caring relationship; it just obviously wasn’t right for me. I didn’t choose the fact that I was gay, but I did choose whether to live my life as a gay woman—that was the terrifying thing for me. Especially being a gay actress. I love playing all different kinds of women, and the majority of women aren’t gay, so the majority of characters aren’t going to be gay.

The Advocate: When I first read about you and Francesca, I thought, Portia de Rossi? Oh, my God, she’s so glamorous! You were the last person in the world I thought was gay.

Portia: I’ve got to tell you, I had a hell of a time convincing people I was gay—which was so annoying! First of all, you live with the fear people might find out. Then you actually have the courage to tell people and they go, “I don’t think you are gay. No, no, that doesn’t seem right to me.” It’s enough to drive you crazy.

The Advocate: When did you come out to your mom?

Portia: Actually, I came out to my mom three times. First at 16, when she found The Joy of Lesbian Sex under my bed. She was devastated.

The Advocate: You had that book at 16?

Portia: Damn right I did. I had to be prepared!

The Advocate: If you had that book at 16, when did you first start thinking about the joy of lesbian sex?

Portia: I was very, very young. I used to play husbands and wives with all my best friends and see how far they’d take it with me. I was very sexual from a very young age.

The Advocate: Would you be the husband or the wife?

Portia: The husband. I’d always be the one who’d be made the martini rather than having to make it—I would come home from work and my wife would have a martini for me. Which is not dissimilar to what’s going on here, by the way. [Smiles] No, just kidding.

The Advocate: A lot of girls might play out those roles at a young age, but it’s a passing thing. Did you feel from a young age that this wasn’t going to be a passing thing?

Portia: Yeah, I did. When I was about 16, I was crazy about this girl. I had a certain amount of money in the bank [from her early modeling career, beginning at age 11, in print and TV commercials] where I could put a down payment on a rental [apartment], and I went to her with sunflowers. I remember holding out these flowers and saying, “I want us to live together,” and she just looked at me and said, “You don’t understand what it’s like to be in love with a man. This is just very childish and very trivial in comparison to being in love with a man.”

A lot of models call themselves bisexual, so I just hid behind that title for a very long time. I thought it was just so fun to be bisexual! It just suggests you’re a fun party girl—who makes out with your best friend on the dance floor. But I knew that I was gay, I knew it. I just couldn’t see myself as a gay woman, even though that’s where my heart was.

The Advocate: So when did you first go beyond being served imaginary martinis by your girlfriends?

Portia: In high school I had sex with girls quite a few times. They were straight women who I convinced to jump in the sack with me. I did a lot of fast talking as a youth; I was pretty good at it too. I was never talked into it—I was always the one doing the talking. I just thought, This is so great and so interesting, and if only you knew how interesting this is and how great it feels! But these weren’t real relationships with women who were gay—these were with women who were drunk! And they thought, It’s Portia; she’s not a lesbian, so I can jump in the sack with her.

The Advocate: When did you become Portia?

Portia: When I was 15, I changed it legally. In retrospect, I think it was largely due to my struggle about 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.

I picked Portia because I was a Shakespeare fan [Portia is the character in The Merchant of Venice who famously declaims, “The quality of mercy is not strain’d / It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven.”]. De Rossi because I was Australian and I thought that an exotic Italian name would somehow suit me more than Amanda Rogers. When you live in Australia, Europe is so far away and so fascinating, so stylish and cultured and sophisticated.

The Advocate: You went to college and studied law—did you really plan to be a lawyer?

Portia: Yes. I also really liked the effect it would have on macho Australian men when they’d hit on me at a bar and ask what I did. I’d turn around and say I was in law school, and they’d kind of shrivel up and go away.
But then I stumbled into acting and I just loved it. I deferred law school—and I’m still deferred.

The Advocate: In Sirens your character, Giddy, is innocent, naive, almost a dumb blond. But in your TV roles you’ve been much more knowing and tough—and you were certainly icy on Ally McBeal. How did you get channeled into those sort of roles?

Portia: That character on Ally McBeal was the most difficult one I’ve ever played. I don’t naturally sit or stand or walk or hold my head the way she did. That sounds so actorly, but it’s true—I had to consciously make sure my head was straight, because my natural being is to slouch. It was four whole years of making sure I didn’t shift my weight onto my left leg and put my hand on my hip.

It’s funny, I think everyone is typecast except for me! I look at Arrested Development and think, I can kind of see elements [of the actor in each character]—except for me. I’m nothing like Lindsay! Which is ridiculous, because obviously I am.

The Advocate: With her gray suit and platinum pulled-back hair, Nelle reminded me of Kim Novak in Vertigo.

Portia: That’s exactly who I had in mind—that’s weird, no one ever said that to me before! That’s one of my favorite movies, and she’s the most amazing actress—she is so glamorous.

Just then, Ellen DeGeneres pulls up in a black Porsche (guess she likes that name!). “There’s my girl,” says De Rossi. Ellen, wearing jeans and a green T-shirt, enters the house with a bag of tomatoes from her mom, Betty, and she and Portia share a l-o-o-ong kiss. Portia tells her that she’s already cried a couple of times, and when Ellen leaves for their house next door she says, “Call me if you need me. If she makes you cry again.”

The Advocate: You’re obviously happy.

Portia: I’m very happy. I’m happier than I ever, ever thought I could be. Yeah. She’s incredible.
The Advocate: I should get this next question out of the way now…

Portia: I just have to stop you—thank God that question isn’t, “Are you gay?” Because I’ve had so many interviews where the last question is, “Are you gay?” I had to find very creative ways to say that I was gay, but that I wasn’t going to talk about it. But please, continue.

The Advocate: Well, having been in my fair share of relationships, I know that when people seem to break up all of a sudden, it’s never all of a sudden. Something’s been wrong for a long time and people haven’t admitted it. But when people saw you and Ellen break up with the women you were with [Ellen had been with Alexandra Hedison for several years] and immediately get together with each other, it seemed very sudden. What was the real story?

Portia: Well. [Sighs, then answers slowly and carefully] There are many different layers to this. I had met Ellen about five years ago, and there was definitely a lot of chemistry between us, but I didn’t allow myself to think of being with her just because of the place I was at. I was still on Ally McBeal and still closeted, and this seemed inconceivable. But I really never stopped thinking about her, because I just haven’t felt that kind of energy with anyone in my life. So there’s that.

I had a great relationship with Francesca. But I just kind of knew deep down in my heart that there was the possibility of something more. And that’s it, really. I think that we really weren’t suited for each other for a long period of time; I think we were [suited] for the time we were together. We have very different backgrounds and interests, and there’s a lot we had to kind of make work. But we still had great respect and love for each other.

Then I ran into Ellen at a photo shoot about a year ago and she took my breath away. That had never happened to me in my life, where I saw somebody and [experienced] all of those things you hear about in songs and read about in poetry. My knees were weak. It was amazing. And it was very hard for me to get her out of my mind after that. And then when I saw her again that night [at the VH1 awards show] we started talking and that’s that. We just were kind of supposed to be together. That’s my side of the story. I really, really hated all the pain I put Francesca through, and I really didn’t want to hurt her. But I just couldn’t ignore the feelings I had for Ellen.

The Advocate: Did you ever talk to Ellen beforehand about what you’d have to deal with—how getting together with her would force you to be very publicly out?

Portia: Not before. My feelings for her overrode all of my fear about being out as a lesbian. I had to be with her, and I just figured I’d deal with the other stuff later. [Pauses] It’s hard having a relationship that’s public. It’s hard living a life that’s somewhat public, and hard when you put that life together with someone who is so famous and so loved and admired. It’s also real exciting.

The Advocate: What’s the exciting part?

Portia: Just being a couple—being able to walk down a red carpet holding her hand, that’s exciting for me. I respect her so much. She was so courageous and so loud in ’97, and now she is doing something that is more subliminal. She’s changing the world, she really is, and it’s exciting to be a part of that.

The Advocate: Besides the chemistry, what else connects you with Ellen?

Portia: You certainly must have some funny times together.We do. And it’s a very respectful, very loving, peaceful relationship. We have a lot in common; we share the same outlook on life. I really feel not alone for the first time in my life.

The Advocate: Since you have come so far out now, are you concerned you won’t get roles that you want because you’ll be somehow typecast?

Portia: No. I want the roles that are interesting and quirky like Lindsay Bluth. I like shows that are smart like that and show runners who wouldn’t take into consideration if I was gay or not. There’s a lot that I won’t do. I don’t feel comfortable with sex scenes, and I don’t like being “the girl” to get in a movie, and I don’t like playing the sidekick to an action hero.

The Advocate: You won’t do sex scenes, period?

Portia: Uh-uh. I have in the past, which is how I discovered I just didn’t want to do them. I really don’t think it’s because I’m gay; I just find it way too compromising.
This must make Ellen happy.Well…yeah. I don’t want to kiss somebody I don’t want to kiss. It’s just not worth it to me to feel compromised in that way. I don’t even like watching sex scenes in movies. I have a slight prudish side to me.

The Advocate: You seemed to be the only woman on Ally McBeal who didn’t get to kiss Calista Flockhart, yet I assume you were the only gay woman in the cast—that’s ironic.

Portia: Believe me, I know that. And no one knew I was gay when Calista did that famous kiss with Lucy Liu. I couldn’t believe it, that whole episode—I hated it so much. It was just so upsetting to me as a gay woman.

The Advocate: Would you want to play a gay role?

Portia: As long as there weren’t any sex scenes.

The Advocate: Is a kiss OK?

Portia: Not really.

The Advocate: What about the lesbian tickle rub in Sirens [as her character, Giddy, lies on her back, three women surround and touch her]?

Portia: That was an entire day with three women putting their hands all over me.

The Advocate: Was it horrifying?

Portia: It was fantastic, are you kidding me? I mean, Elle Macpherson…what’s so bad about that? [Pauses] Yeah, I would play gay.

I have turned down gay roles in the past. I actually was offered the role of the makeup artist in Gia. That was really, really early in my career, and I just couldn’t imagine playing gay.
Do you know how many women would say, “You turned down doing sex scenes with Angelina Jolie!”

I know, but that’s where I was at the time. I wouldn’t even drive down Santa Monica Boulevard [in very gay West Hollywood, Calif.]—I’m not kidding—in fear that someone would look in the car window and think I was gay.

I remember when I got Ally McBeal, I went to [popular, now-defunct lesbian coffeehouse] Little Frida’s, and it was the day before the first episode aired, and I sat there and thought, This is the last time I can actually be who I really am.

The Advocate: Would you want to be in a film with Ellen?

Portia: [Big smile] Yeah! I’d love to be! It would be really fun. She’s a great actress, a very, very versatile actress.

The Advocate: What do you think of butch/femme attitudes among lesbians?

Portia: I hate that. When I finally decided to live my life as a lesbian, I felt [pressured to choose] what kind of a lesbian. “Lipstick” would be the first choice—I’m obviously quite femmy—yet I’m not really attracted to butch-looking women. What do I do? I was wearing suits for a while and really trying to look very boyish. Which is so ridiculous! I am who I am. Everyone is their own kind of lesbian. To think there’s a certain way to dress or present yourself in the world is just one more stereotype we have to fit into. And I hate lipstick! I wear lip balm and then wipe it off. Yet I love wearing makeup when it comes to a photo shoot. I love being able to wear dresses and clothes that make me feel feminine and beautiful—and I love the fact that I don’t have to all the time; I can wear a tank and jeans. The whole butch/femme thing just limits us.

The Advocate: Do you think people stereotype you and Ellen?

Portia: I see Ellen as very feminine—she’s so compassionate and there are so many characteristics of her that are typically female. She’s so caring and kind, and she’s beautiful and open.

The Advocate: If same-sex marriage becomes legal, would you like to get married?

Portia: Well, I have to be asked, I guess. [Smiles] But I love the idea of marriage. I think it’s beautiful. I’m such a romantic, and I always have been.

The Advocate: What’s next for you, actingwise?

Portia: I’m very excited about the new season of Arrested Development. I think it’s a brilliant show—all the characters are so deplorable, and yet somehow likable. Even scarier, they’re relatable. Incidentally, I asked both of the [teenage actors on the show] if they had any gay friends at school, and they were like, “Sure! Steve’s gay, Sarah’s gay….” If I was 14 and knew some gay people, I wouldn’t nearly have had the struggle I had. Our world is definitely changing.

The Advocate: Anything new with you and Ellen?

Portia: We’ve just had an amazing summer. We bought a ranch [in California] with 120 acres. Ellen just bought me a horse, Jones, who’s a beautiful big gray gelding. Eventually I just want to rescue animals and live on that farm.

The Advocate: Does Ellen ride too?

Portia: She doesn’t right now. Oh, but she will.

The Advocate: You’ve been so open and honest about being gay in this interview.

Portia: When I watched Ellen come out in ’97, my jaw was on the floor. I thought, There are some people who break the doors down, hold them open, and some people who walk right through. I always thought I was the latter. Thanks so much, everybody—thanks for making gay marriage legal, thank you for everything you’ve done—I’m just going to walk through that door.

[Dabs at her tear-filled eyes once again] Number 3. Unbelievable.


Kort’s most recent book is Dinah! Three Decades of Sex, Golf, and Rock ’n’ Roll

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After clicking on a link to listen to an audio clip or watch a video, they will open on http://putfile.com. You should only have to click your browsers back button to go back to this blog.

Portia de Rossi Forum

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Top 10 Videos from Putfile.com

Favorite line from "Arrested Development"

This line is by Lyndsay Bluth Funke
Click here to watch 'Wrench'

Portia's ex-girlfriends music video

Here is Francesca Gregorini's music video for the song "My Flight" off her album "Sequel".
Click here to watch 'francesca_gregorini-myflight'

One of the first pictures of Portia and her girlfriend Ellen DeGeneres taken. Ellen is set to host this years Primetime Emmy's again. Watch the live awards telecast Sunday, Sept. 18 (8:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on CBS.
 

Well now the point of this blog is to bring info and pictures and stuff to all Portia de Rossi fans and future fans. It's also for giving her show "Arrested Development" more recognition and stay on the air. "Arrested Development" is nominated for 11 Primetime Emmy's this year and for a good reason. It is by far the funniest and perhaps the best show on television. Critics have compared the show to "Seinfeld" and believe it could be as big as that show was. So everyone make sure you all get as many people as you can to tune in to FOX on Monday, September 19 at 8:00pm to watch the Season 3 Premiere of "Arrested Development". 

Help save "Arrested Development" go to http://saveourbluths.com or http://getarrested.com to find out how you (YES YOU!) can keep the show alive.