Portia Lee James DeGeneres, known professionally by her pseudonym Portia de Rossi, is a famous Australian-American model, actor, and philanthropist. She changed her name legally at the age of 15, taking the name ‘Portia’ from the Shakespearean play ‘The Merchant of Venice’ and adopting the Italian title ‘de Rossi’ which she found to be glamorous. Portia believes that it was the most daring thing she has ever done and stated that the urgency to change her name was triggered by her inner conflict with her sexual identity. Portia began her journey in the film industry with the romantic-comedy drama movie ‘Sirens,’ appearing alongside Hugh Grant. She has also acted in several American television movies and series like ‘Too Something,’ ‘Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher,’ ‘Arrested Development,’ and ‘Better Off Ted.’ She gained massive popularity by playing the role of a Boston- based lawyer named ‘Nelle Porter’ in a comedy drama TV series titled ‘Ally McBeal.’ Her character provided the main comic relief in the series.