Ellen DeGeneres has always described her wife Portia de Rossi as the biggest inspiration in her life, <br /><br />but it was a former girlfriend who gave her the motivation to launch a comedy career.<br /><br />The 60-year-old stand-up and talk show host made the decision to write the material for her first ever comedy performance <br /><br />when her lover was killed in a car accident 40 years ago when Ellen was just 20.<br /><br />It was from that shock death that the "Phone Call to God" routine was born. <br /><br />Ellen’s dream did come true and she appeared on 'The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson' back in 1986, <br /><br />becoming the first woman to be invited to sit down on Johnny's couch thanks to her "Phone Call to God" routine.<br /><br />You know the saying, when life gives you sour lemons, Ellen makes lemonade!<br />
