Ellen's Birthday Bash Delivers Highest Ratings in Three Years

Ellen kicked off her two-hour 60th birthday celebration on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" with its highest rated episode in nearly 3 years (3.4 HH rating). The episode delivered season highs in San Francisco (2.7 HH rating), Boston (4.3 HH rating), Sacramento (2.5 HH rating), Cincinnati (5.4 HH rating), Milwaukee (5.8 HH rating) and Las Vegas (4.6 HH rating).

The birthday bash also ranked #1 in its time period among key Adults 25-54 and Women 25-54 in the Top 3 markets --- New York (1.6/13 Adults 25-54 rating / share), Los Angeles (1.4/12 A25-54 rating / share) and Chicago (1.2/10 A25-54 rating / share).

The first day of Ellen's 60th birthday celebration on The Ellen DeGeneres on Thursday, February 1st with former First Lady Michelle Obama in her very first TV interview since leaving the White House. Additional surprise celebrity guests included bombshell star of "Modern Family" Sofia Vergara who stopped by to give Ellen an electric scooter; host of the "90th Academy Awards" Jimmy Kimmel figure skated his way onto the show to deliver a sweet message and a hilarious gag gift; the life of the party Jamie Foxx turned up the audience with a bottle of Cristal in-hand and made a special toast to the birthday girl; and the adorable Chance the Rapper surprised Ellen with flowers for a "truly special person."

Plus, Ellen's wife Portia de Rossi surprised the host of honor to present her with the most thoughtful and quintessential gift. Ellen has been a longtime admirer of visionary scientist Dian Fossey who spent most of her life studying the rare mountain gorilla in Rwanda, ensuring their survival in the wilderness. To honor Ellen's admiration of Dian coupled with her immense love for animals and their rights, Portia announced they will be building The Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. Portia also shared the campus is only the first initiative of the newly launched foundation The Ellen DeGeneres Wildlife Fund, which protects and advocates for the world's most vulnerable animals and wildlife. Watch as Ellen was overcome by emotion over the heartfelt gift that perfectly embodies her values.

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