It’s hard to believe the young-at-heart Ellen Degeneres just turned 60, but it’s true! Naturally, the TV talk show host went all out to celebrate.
Ellen spent the week of her January 26 birthday showering audience members with gifts and hosting guests like Justin Timberlake and Dax Shepard. Everyone showed up to pay her a fitting birthday tribute, but it was a surprise appearance by Ellen’s wife, actress Portia de Rossi, that brought this milestone birthday to a whole new level of amazing.
YouTube
“It’s your 60th birthday, and this gift had to be really special, and it had to represent who you are and what you really care about,” Portia said. “Not just now, but what you’ve always cared about. What you were influenced by and what has made you the amazing person that you are today.â€
Before announcing the big gift, Portia shared a little insight into the way Ellen’s mind works. Apparently, almost every day Ellen laments the fact that she feels she’s “not doing enough” to help the world become a better place. (Which is almost unbelievable because she does so much good!)
Instagram
She feels an obligation to use her fame and fortune to contribute to the betterment of the environment, and in particular, to animals.
Portia then shared a video she’d made to let Ellen know what her big birthday surprise would be. Apparently, on one of the couple’s first dates, Ellen had told Portia that one of her biggest heroes in life was conservationist Dian Fossey.
YouTube
Fossey had been a champion for mountain gorillas before being murdered by poachers in Rwanda, a story depicted by actress Sigourney Weaver in the 1988 movie “Gorillas In The Mist.”
YouTube
Today, there are only 880 gorillas alive on earth, so Portia decided it was time to enable Ellen to help with the mission to save these majestic creatures from extinction. She announced on the show that she was gifting Ellen a gorilla sanctuary in her name in Rwanda, erecting a complex called The Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.
YouTube
The sanctuary will be the first initiative of the The Ellen DeGeneres Wildlife Fund, a foundation that Portia set up in Ellen’s name.
“Now, you will join Dian as a champion and protector of these amazing protector of these animals, mountain gorillas,” Portia told her.
YouTube
Ellen was moved to tears at this news (who wasn’t?!) and recalled something Portia had said at their wedding that resonated with her, even more, today than it had then: “It’s good to be loved. It’s profound to be understood.”
Watch Ellen’s emotional reaction in the video below, and be sure to share it with animal lovers everywhere!
Want to be happier in just 5 minutes a day? Sign up for Morning Smile and join over 455,000+ people who start each day with good news.