Lifestyle Pets Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi to be Honored by Humane Society The Humane Society is celebrating DeGeneres and de Rossi with its most prestigious honor. By Kate Hogan Published on February 11, 2009 05:00 PM Share Tweet Pin Email The Humane Society of the United States announced this week that it will be presenting talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres and wife Portia DeRossi with the Wyler Award, one of the organization’s top honors for animal activists. Named for late Broadway star and animal lover Gretchen Wyler, the award is presented annually to a celebrity who has spoken out on behalf of animal rights. DeGeneres has used her hit daytime talk show as a platform to discuss animal rights quite frequently, and together with DeRossi, helped pass California’s Proposition 2, the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, mandating comfortable living quarters for animals raised for food. In addition, the actresses are parents to several cats and dogs. The couple will receive their honor at the Genesis Awards in Beverly Hills on Saturday, March 28th, following in the footsteps of celebs like Sir Paul McCartney and Hayden Panettiere. In a statement, Hollywood Humane Society senior director Beverly Kaskey said, “As executive producer of the annual Genesis Awards, I am delighted that we are able to recognize Ellen and Portia at an event where their efforts and compassion will be enthusiastically applauded.”