What Ricky Martin and Ellen DeGeneres Have in Common

What Ricky Martin and Ellen DeGeneres have in common turns out to be surprisingly quite a lot. Why sure you can start with the obvious. Both Ricky Martin and Ellen DeGeneres have openly acknowledged their homosexuality and moved on with their lives. Could they have more in common then that fact ? A little digging reveals that Ricky and Ellen, well you judge for yourself how similar they really are.

Childhood/Youth. Starting from the very beginning, Ricky Martin and Ellen DeGeneres have in common the fact that they are both winter babies. Ricky was born on December 24 in 1971 while Ellen came into the world on January 26 years earlier in 1958. Both Ricky and Ellen's parents both worked. As children both shared the common experience of being raised under the influence of an organized religion. Ricky was a Catholic, even an altar server, while Ellen's family faith background is that of a Christian Scientist.

What Ricky Martin and Ellen DeGeneres also share in common during their growing up, formative years is the fact that both as young people experienced the divorce of their parents and the break up of their family. Though both experiences of parental divorce were unique, both young people certainly spent part of their youth dealing with that reality. While it may have affected them in different ways there is no doubt that it affected them both as they grew up.

In terms of education, what Ricky Martin and Ellen DeGeneres have in common is that in the final analysis they both determined that college was not the door that would take them to success. Ricky Martin completed high school and then attempted to pursue a career in entertainment. Ellen gave higher education a try but dropped out of the University of New Orleans after a single semester.

Multiple Talents, Multiple Awards There is no doubt that what Ricky Martin and Ellen DeGeneres have in common is a bucket full of talent. But in looking at their careers it appears that what they also share is the fact that both have multiple talents. For example while Ricky may be known by many as a recording star, he has also starred on Broadway and early in his career spent time working on stage in musical theater. Ellen, for her part, broke into show biz as a stand-up comedian but gradually emerged as a sit-com and later talk show star.

The well developed and diverse talents of Ricky Martin and Ellen DeGeneres have not gone unnoticed by audiences or by their peers. The result of the many hours they have put into practice and performance have paid off in both cases in awards and citations too numerous to mention. But among their achievements both have some high points. Martin has countless music awards including a Grammy and DeGeneres has walked away with a number of Emmy Awards.

The celebrity that they have achieved has led to their selection to perform in major entertainment venues. Martin was featured at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Ellen DeGeneres has managed to host the Grammy's, Emmy's and Oscar's.

Converting Talent to Service Ricky Martin and Ellen DeGeneres can both be applauded not just for their vocally rich or comedic performances but for their willingness to put themselves at the service of others. Ricky Martin has created his own foundation and identified himself with Habitat for Humanity in the interest of rebuilding homes in post earthquake Haiti. Ellen DeGeneres also got involved in Haiti relief by sponsoring an on line auction of lots of celebrity donations. Both performers have made the leap from just being well known to using that celebrity for the benefit of others.

Author, Author Not every author is a performer, for sure. And inversely not every performer is ready, willing and able to become an author. But one interesting thing that Ricky Martin and Ellen DeGeneres have in common is that they both have authored a book. Ricky most recently has produced an autobiography succinctly titled ME.
Ellen has authored two books: My Point ... and I Do Have One and The Funny Thing Is .

Finally what both Ricky Martin and Ellen DeGeneres have in common is the fact that not only do they live a homosexual lifestyle but that because and/or in spite of that lifestyle they have become huge hits and been tremendously successful in their chosen fields. How strange that with all they share in common and with all they have accomplished there are still folks who can only focus on one of the many things that Ricky Martin and Ellen DeGeneres have in common - homosexuality.

Sources:
www.imbd.com
www.biography.com/articles/Ricky-Martin
www.looktothestars.org