She was born as Ellen J. Thoe in
Palo Alto, California, on September 19, 1962. The family lived in the area while her father, Dale Wesley Thoe, was a Ph.D. student at
Stanford University. Ellen K. began her career in radio while in college after a year of collegiate swimming. Originally planning a career in Veterinary Science, she took an internship at a radio station, and after one fill-in shift behind the microphone she was hooked. She switched her major and graduated with honors in Radio/TV/Film from
Purdue University. Over the years, larger market positions in radio convinced Ellen to move to various California radio stations, first in
San Diego, then
San Francisco, and finally in Los Angeles at KIIS-FM. Ellen is a regular guest on the show
The Talk and has participated in various productions such as the
Grammys, the
iHeartRadio Music Festival, the
People's Choice Awards, and was most recently selected as the voice of the 92nd
Academy Awards. Ellen also narrated
My Big Fat Greek Wedding and
My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding on TLC. Ellen was honored with a star on The
Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012 for her work in radio. Ellen K appeared as herself on
The Wayne Brady Show as his sidekick for two seasons in 2003–2004 and EXTRA TV a few years earlier. Ellen hosted the nightly TV news segments on KTLA Ch 5 titled, "Inside Hollywood" in 2012. On September 14, 2023, Ellen was the MC for rock star
Yoshiki's imprint ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. ==References==