Ellen DeGeneres Celebrates 68th Birthday, Calls It a ‘Tough Day’ Amid ‘What’s Happening in Our World’

Ellen DeGeneres has reached another year around the sun, but she’s finding it challenging to celebrate.

On Monday, January 26, the former daytime talk show host turned 68 and shared a selfie with wife Portia de Rossi on Instagram to mark the occasion.

“It’s a tough day to feel like celebrating a birthday,” the comedian captioned the photo. “I’m holding space for what’s happening in our world and holding close what I’m grateful for. Like my wife. And cookies.”

DeGeneres’ post comes one day after she posted a video of late ICU nurse Alex Pretti — who was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday, January 24 — honoring a veteran who passed away at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, where he worked.

As Globe previously reported, DeGeneres posted a video on Instagram speaking about the ongoing situation in Minneapolis on January 18, after an ICE agent shot and killed Renée Good on January 7.

“Hey everybody, I just wanted to say I’m so sorry for what is happening in Minneapolis and our country, really,” DeGeneres began in the video. “But specifically Minneapolis right now, because it’s where I shot my last standup special, and everybody there couldn’t have been more lovely. I shot there because they say it’s the happiest city in America, and I found that to be true.”

“My thoughts and my prayers are going out to everyone, and I’m proud of everyone who’s protesting peacefully, and I’m sorry for anyone who’s been hurt just for protesting,” she continued. “For doing what you should be doing.”

DeGeneres currently resides in the U.K. with de Rossi, 52. The couple relocated there from California in 2024.