Louisiana: Ellen DeGeneres

Louisiana: Ellen DeGeneres

In the 21st century, coming out as gay isn't as big a deal as it was in the 20th. Many of the young women who feel comfortable to talk openly about their sexuality routinely cite Ellen DeGeneres as a huge inspiration to them. For DeGeneres, coming out wasn't just difficult because of the era she did it in - it was made even harder because she grew up in the notoriously conservative south. During her struggle to find herself in Louisiana (and New Orleans in particular) she worked as a waitress, a painter and decorator, an air hostess, and a bartender.

Stand-up comedy proved to be DeGeneres' escape route. She started out in coffee houses and small clubs in New Orleans before being appointed the emcee of Clyde's Comedy Club, New Orleans. She was spotted there, and soon found herself booked all over the country. Although her career took her away from the stand-up stage for years so she could star in her own talk show, the format has remained her first love.

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Did You Know...

I

In the US, the average spent on an engagement ring is $6,351 but how do these figures compare with our favorite celebrities? The answer: they don't. As the diamonds increase in size, obviously the price tag appreciates handsomely. Well, we've compiled a list of some of the most expensive celebrity engagement rings.

II

This list would be nothing without Kim Kardashian's rock from Kanye, which clocked in at around a cool $4 million when he presented it to her at his stadium proposal in October 2013. Unfortunately, though, the 15-carat sparkler was among the jewelry stolen during Kim's infamous Paris robbery in 2016.

III

Jennifer Lopez's husband Alex Rodriguez popped the question to the singer, and he really had to step it up to outshine her previous engagement rings—and wow, did he deliver. The baseball star proposed with a reported 15-20 carat emerald cut stunner set on a platinum band that was estimated at $5 million. It's getting harder and harder not to be fooled by the rocks she's got...

IV

It should come as no surprise that Beyonce herself totes one of the world's highest-valued diamonds. Weighing in at 24 carats, Jay reportedly paid around $5 million (now worth $6,047,013) for Bey's flashy emerald-cut ring back in 2008.

V

Anna Kournikova's relationship Latin music artist Enrique Iglesias since the early '00s has been one of the most lowkey celebrity relationships to date. That is with the exception of her $5,400,000 engagement ring that made headlines in 2004. Now, worth a whopping $7,443,596, the giant yellow stunner was spotted on Kournikova even during her tennis matches. (Pssst! It's rumored she got two rings from Iglesias. Prior to this, she sported an equally giant pink pear-shaped ring.)

VI

Clocking in as the most expensive celebrity engagement ring, Mariah Carey's 35-carat bling from ex-fiancé James Packer reportedly cost a cool $10 million. And the "Obsessed" singer seemed to be a bit, well, obsessed with the jewel. She continued to wear the ring over a year post-breakup, and didn't part ways with the bauble until May 2018, selling it to a Los Angeles jeweler for $2.1 million.

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