Ellen describes herself and her journey as "off the beaten path"—she grew up in New York City where she attended parochial school, earned a BS in Accounting, an MBA in Finance and her CPA. She worked for one of the top ten accounting firms as an auditor before going to Wall Street and working at one of the large Investment Banks. On Wall Street, Ellen worked in Finance, Derivatives and Compliance in various capacities. Having witnessed 9/11 firsthand, just 100 feet from the first building to get hit, 9/11 was her awakening. Although she was always very conservative on the economy, crime and immigration, that horrific day opened her eyes even further.
While at her Wall Street job, her desire to perform in the arts and express herself led to numerous acting classes which led to stand-up comedy. In stand-up she found herself talking about the absurdities of what is happening to our society and the fact that she could not read the instructions on a bottle of shampoo anymore because it’s in Honduran. This was also coupled with the frustration with the entertainment industry--brought to us by the fine folks who gave us “Jon & Kate Plus 8.” She realized that expressing her conservative views and being able to call out the current state of affairs with her innate wit was who she really was. Ellen feels she needs to be one of those voices that will help take back our country.
Ellen performs her stand-up comedy all over the US and Canada. Audiences and agents have described her as the “little dynamo” given her petite stature and acerbic tongue. Her riffing is always a surprise to those seeing her for the first time. Ellen has a unique ability to build a quick rapport with people, as she can often be found “working” the audience as part of her show. Ellen has also become very popular in the Greek American community, being one of the very few Greek female stand-up comedians. She performs her act “Greek Chicks Rule” at Church functions and Greek fundraisers and is part of the popular “Greek Gods of Comedy.”
Ellen is an accomplished actress, having been in several independent films and TV shows, and is a recurring panelist on FoxNews.Com’s “Strategy Room.”
To find out more about Ellen and where she will be appearing, please visit her website, www.ellenkaris.com.
Ellen Karis
Larry David’s God-Given American Right to Be a Jerk
by Ellen KarisWhat in the world is wrong with people in the entertainment industry who come from humble beginnings, have a few years of real struggle and then with their uniqueness and by the grace of God (which you could interpret as luck), they make it big, as in rich and famous big. The chances of becoming as famous as Lindsay Lohan are 1 in 1,574,638 as tracked by E-Poll Market Research, but really, wouldn’t you rather be you?
Mr. David has been blessed beyond any struggling writer, producer, actor or stand-up comedian’s wildest dreams. His total cash receipts have still not been tallied since the funds continue to pour in from “Seinfeld,” but it’s accurate to say that with what he has earned to date, he could have paid for a lot of Nancy Pelosi’s botox.
Years after helping make television history, David jumped back into the small screen with the blessing of HBO and created “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” which — in line with him marching to the beat of his own drum — is done unscripted. The show has a very solid following as it is in its seventh season, which is three television lifetimes these days. Great Larry, Mazal Tov. Isn’t America grand? Bet you would only have had the career of Heidi from the Hills if you lived in Cuba. (more…)
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Whitney Didn’t Have it All
by Ellen KarisI watched Whitney Houston’s interview on Oprah and I did not have to wait until it was over to feel great sadness. Whitney burst out in to the scene with her first album when she was 22 years old, with a powerful singing voice like no other — intense, energetic and the ability to hit a gamut of notes. Unlike Michael Jackson, she was not thrust on to the stage by an overbearing father or competing for the spotlight with her siblings. She was raised a Baptist and had a very deep spirituality that she always mentioned whether she was receiving a Grammy or in a magazine interview. So how did this woman who was esthetically flawless and had it all, wind up sitting on the couch smoking marijuana laced with cocaine for days on end.
I believe it was a few reasons. Firstly, she married the wrong man, Bobby Brown, we all knew that—yes, all of us who did not know her personally knew that he was trouble. He spoke like trouble, he acted like trouble and he got in trouble. They started their marriage with him already having three kids from two different women he wasn’t married to and had been known for his outrageous behavior. She stated that she took her vows very seriously, she truly loved him and he allowed her to bring out her fun and crazy side. I do believe she took her vows very seriously and truly loved him, this woman could have had any man on the planet, but the fun and crazy side I’m a little unclear on, bringing up my second point. (more…)
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