Ellen DeGeneres cries as she gets an incredible 60th birthday gift from Portia de Rossi

Portia de Rossi has surprised Ellen DeGeneres on her show with an incredibly meaningful 60th birthday present.

The chat show host had no idea who was appearing next on her stage – until her wife came round the corner.

Speaking to a confused and delighted Ellen, Portia said: “I am here to give you your gift.

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“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 – not just now, but what you’ve always cared about.

“What you were influenced by and what has made you the amazing person you are today,” she continued.

“So I combined that and questions [from] when we first met, like ‘Who’s your idol?’ and ‘What would you do if you weren’t a talk show host?”

(YouTube/theellenshow)

She then proceeded to tell the audience: “Literally, guys, for like the last two years, Ellen has said to me: ‘I feel like I’m not doing enough.’

“Every day, almost!


“So, I put all that together and I got you this gift.”

The actress then played a recorded birthday message in which she paid tribute to Ellen’s hero Dian Fossey, whose pioneering work with gorillas was immortalised in Gorillas in the Mist.

Before she was murdered in 1985, the scientist founded the Karisoke Research Center in Rwanda to observe and protect mountain gorillas there.

(YouTube/theellenshow)

De Rossi then revealed the incredible present.

“For your birthday, Ellen, I am bringing you and your hero Dian together by building the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund,” she said.

“Ellen will carry on Dian’s legacy by giving them a permanent home in Rwanda.

“Now, you will join Dian as a protector and champion of these amazing animals, the mountain gorillas,” she added.

(YouTube/theellenshow)

“Happy birthday.”

The campus will be the first act of The Ellen DeGeneres Wildlife Fund, a foundation which Portia has set up, it was revealed.

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Ellen wiped away tears following the revelation, before emotionally thanking her wife of nine years.

“It’s the best gift,” she said.

(YouTube/theellenshow)

“When we got married, Portia’s line was: ‘It’s good to be loved. It’s profound to be understood.’

“And she understands me, because that is the best gift that anybody could have given me.

“I love you.”

Watch the emotional scene below: