Betty DeGeneres

Betty DeGeneres is an American LGBT rights activist. She is the mother of Ellen & Vance DeGeneres and the first non-gay spokesperson of the National Coming Out Project of the Human Rights Campaign. She is a member of the Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFFLAG).

Early Life:
Betty was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. She attended Louisiana State University for two years and married Elliott DeGeneres in 1952 but now they are divorced. She eventually remarried a man named Roy Gruessendorf.

Career:
She is the author two books: Love, Ellen: A Mother Daughter Journey and Just a Mom. In Love, Ellen: A Mother Daughter Journey in which she describes her reaction to her daughter coming out as a lesbian, and her path from passive acceptance to becoming a passionate advocate for LGBT rights. She also describes the media scrutiny she received after Ellen came out. Her second book, Just a Mom, continues these themes. She also wrote a column for the (now defunct) website PlanetOut called "Ask Betty."

DeGeneres appeared as an extra in the episode "The Puppy Episode" of the television sitcom Ellen, in which her daughter Ellen's character comes out. DeGeneres appears in many episodes of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, sitting in the audience.

She is a breast cancer survivor and discusses this during public appearances.