• 2. Ellen DeGeneres
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Showing no signs of slowing down, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which has earned the Emmy for outstanding daytime talk show host for the past four years, is in its sixth and highest-rated season.

In the past year, DeGeneres has succeeded in reaching the not-always-LGBT-friendly middle American demographic on topics like hate crime legislation, and she’s put a relatable face on the issue of gay marriage, as she chronicled her own to actress Portia de Rossi.

She also forced presidential candidates John McCain, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama to explain their stances on marriage equality better than any official debate did. And in January, the American Express pitchwoman signed her first beauty advertising campaign, for CoverGirl, just before her 51st birthday.

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