Friday, March 20, 2009

My Weekend Crush

While there are some who will only ever know Portia De Rossi as Ellen DeGeneres' wife, to reduce her to that would be to reduce what more than likely made her Ellen's wife in the first place. A gifted actress with Quartz-like comic timing, she is by all accounts the antithesis of the roles that have made her famous. Not an ice queen, not tightly wound, not blithely vapid, she is instead always described as warm and sensitive. I first noticed her years before Ellen become America's favorite lesbian, before “Ally McBeal” and before “Arrested Development,” back in that quirky little surprisingly Sapphic charmer called “Sirens.” If you've never seen it, then you've never seen Elle Macpherson and fellow female cohorts caress every every inch of Portia's body. Yeah, you're going to want to rent that.

Portia's new role as yet another aggressive, power-suited professional in “Better of Ted” once again shows off her impeccable comic chops. Her Veronica is a walking, talking sensitivity trainer's nightmare. Her role in the new series also has shone a welcome light on her and her relationship to a vast audience. Through it all she has displayed an effortless grace in handled both living in Ellen's shadow and being half of what is arguably the world's most famous gay couple. Together, they give America a face to gay marriage and demystify what a few fear so irrationally. The simple act of them loving each other so openly and talking about their lives so casually is at once wonderfully subversive and totally normal. Each time Portia goes on The Tonight Show, each time she talks to Newsweek or The Los Angeles Times, each time she is appears together with her wife she reinforces the simple fact that love is love. So then to deny her that love begins to seem unspeakably cruel. And that right there, that's how you change hearts and minds. Happy weekend, all.

UPDATE: Oh, the funny. In case you missed it, here is Portia's extra snarky Gay Marriage PSA from her Jimmy Kimmel Live! appearance Friday night. It's six kinds of awesome.

24 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:00 AM

    Very nice article. I love the fact that there are out lesbians on the A list finally and that they are real people that show we're all not nuts or dangerous. We need about 1000 more couples like them.

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  2. A 1000 + 1 and keep adding couples like hers...

    :)

    Happy weekend Ms. Snarker!!!!
    <3

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  3. Anonymous6:56 AM

    And she is an Aussie to boot....go Portia and Ellen may your love live forever!!! Crikey :-)

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  4. *sigh*
    i [heart] portia

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  5. Anonymous8:10 AM

    ... as time passes, I like Portia more and more, but Ellen less and less. Hmmm.

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  6. Anonymous8:36 AM

    I adore Portia De Rossi ... I remember her from back when she was dating Ringo Star's daughter (rumour had it they were engaged for a bit), around when she was in Ally McBeal.

    She was one of the lesbian women that made me realise that me being gay didn't preclude me from also being femme. You can know it all you want theoretically, but having someone actually be out there like you, that makes a HUGE difference.

    Not to mention, she's stunning beautiful :)

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  7. Portia DeRossi caught my curious teenaged eye in Ally McBeal and has kept me impressed since then. Super post, as usual.

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  8. Anonymous9:29 AM

    Oh, yeah, baby. She's so hot, but also, as already noted, has great comic timing.

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  9. Anonymous9:37 AM

    Great choice, Miss Dorothy.

    This has been some week. A low that just kept getting lower and still have to recover from on one coast while on the other coast a high and a joy that just kept getting better as the week went on.

    While one bright light was extinguished, two lights obviously are that much brighter together.

    Like you Miss Dorothy (and a few other readers) Sirens was my introduction to Portia...at a time for me when I had no idea either one of us had a bit of the queer in us. (And yes, Sirens did help to clue me in. For me, anyway. lol)

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  10. Anonymous10:05 AM

    I wonder how you always seem to know what's on my mind. Portia is definitely my crush this week ;)

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  11. Anonymous10:19 AM

    I never paid much attention to Portia and my impression of her was only from her Nell character in Ally McBeal and pictures of her with Ellen. With her recent press blitz for Better Off Ted, I've now seen her in some interviews and she's far more charming than I ever imagined. I can see why Ellen fell in love - she's adorably sweet and they're amazing together. I love how every once in awhile her Aussie accent comes out. Very sexy.

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  12. Anonymous2:52 PM

    Ah, Mandy Rogers. You've come a long way from your roots in country Victoria, baby.

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  13. I KNEW there was a reason I wanted a watch Sirens when it came out...heh. Love how Portia and Ellen are so funny and loving together. Just like any other well matched couple!

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  14. i always love her work... she is great on Better of Ted... it's a very well written show, and i'm looking forward to seeing more of it...

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  15. Anonymous6:26 PM

    Gah, I LOVE the movie Sirens and was thrilled when it turned out Portia was gay! Her comic timing in the movie is flawless.

    You want to see a very funny, very sexy movie (Elle gained 20 lbs for the role and looks spectacular, wish 20 extra looked as good in the mirror!) go rent/buy Sirens.

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  16. Anonymous8:07 PM

    Very nice accompanying picture, never seen that one before.

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  17. Anonymous8:48 PM

    Portia is hot but Better Off Ted is not.

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  18. Yes. Totally agree about the political difference the Portia/Ellen duo make. Mad props.

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  19. Anonymous12:13 AM

    Could you update about Portia on Jimmy Kimmel Please? Pretty please?

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  20. Anonymous12:45 PM

    anyway ds,
    your country is huge.

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  21. Anonymous4:14 PM

    Portia and Ellen both need to be commended for their contributions to easing the lives of those in the United States still struggling with allowing their identity to be seen and heard.

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  22. Haha Portia has always been a crush of mine! =]

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  23. Anonymous6:00 AM

    Thanks for the lovely read -- I was watching Castle this week and someone said, "Name one happy couple," and the always sexy Nathan Fillion as Rick Castle answered, "Degeneres and De Rossi" -- Take that America...

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  24. Anonymous6:44 PM

    I heart Portia <3 And 'Sirens' was hot! Don't forget Tara Fitzgerald was helping with the all over body massage too...i crush Tara.

    *side note: my verification word is 'dingles'...LOL...'dingles'! :D *

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