A Celebrity is Spotted

Earlier this year we took a much needed vacation to the famous Miraval Resort and Spa in Tucson, Arizona. The resort (among other things) is known for accommodating high profile guests, such as Oprah. In the informational brochures about Miraval there is a statement that relates to respecting the privacy of other guests. I took this to mean "if you see a celebrity, don't take pictures, or bug them"

Our first night in the dining room, I made eye contact with a woman seated across the dining room. Suddenly she starts enthusiastically waving at me. I looked behind me to see who she was waving at, and then it hit me, she was waving at me because she thinks I'm Ellen. So I sort of raised my hand and smiled at her, at the same time she realized I was not really Ellen. So we just smiled back at one another.

Throughout our stay at Miraval, and when ever I left the room, I could feel people looking at me. It happened over and over, the same scene...someone stares at me, then I make eye contact and smile, then they whisper to a friend who would then turn and look at me, and then turn back to their friend and whisper again. You know when you can tell that someone is looking at you or talking about you...well this continued the entire week. I was beginning to feel a bit paranoid, like this really can't be happening every time I leave my room, I must be imagining things. Then as we were waiting in line for a smoothie, a guest whispered to my other half, "your friend looks a lot like a famous celebrity". Of course, he didn't want to mention anything directly to me, but once he spoke, then we were engaged in a conversation about Ellen, and how much I look like her and act like her and sound like her.

On the flight back home, the flight attendant, who had been giving me the "look", gets to our row to offer drinks. She leans down and says, "okay I have to say something, but I am sure people tell you all the time…" I smiled and nodded back at her. She told me that she and her coworker saw me board the plane and had to really look close. She said it’s not unusual to see famous people flying 'incognito' on coach, so for a second they thought they really might be seeing Ellen. As we de-boarded and walked off the plane the other flight attendant yells out to me…”Bye Ellen”.

Finally we get home and start sorting through the photos. I put together a slide show to share our experience with family and friends. I got a call from my Mom after she viewed the photos and she said she really had to stare hard at one picture, she couldn’t tell if it was me or Ellen. Aside from my own Mom not being able to identify me, a couple of other friends mentioned this one picture where I really look like Ellen. I have to admit, most of the time I don’t see the look-alike thing, but in this picture I must say I kinda do.



Ellen or LynEllen?



Photo Opportunity with LynEllen

A few months back Dad and his wife came for a visit. We went to the famous King Estate Winery for dinner and wine tasting. As we were eating in the dining room, a large party was seated next to us. As we dined and sipped wine, I could feel the stares from the other table. One by one the gentlemen at the table kept getting up and walking by our table, but they would have to scoot by my chair and as they went by they touched me, like gently on the shoulder or arm whatever.

Then the moment came, the two gentlemen, did I mention they were in there late 60’s, walked by again, but this time as they passed they looked at me and said “We love your show”. Meanwhile, Dad and my other half, Kim, were in the restroom, missing this whole interaction. I knew what the men meant, but Dad's wife, was clueless and had no idea what they were talking about…so I said to the man, "tell her what you mean." He looked at her and said "What? Don’t you know…that’s ELLEN". As the conversation continued turns out the entire party was talking about me and had seen me on the Ellen Show.

Of course they all told me how much they love Ellen and insisted on getting a picture with me. I shyly obliged and went over for a quick photo opportunity with my new friends. Cheers!

Birthday Party with Ellen

I went to a friend’s 50th surprise birthday party. One woman in particular was blown away at the resemblance between myself and Ellen. She could not stop staring at me to the point that I was a bit uncomfortable. She also insisted that I study up on comedy and become funny. When her friend arrived at the party, they double teamed me followed me all around and kept saying over and over "Wow you do look like Ellen!" I kept catching them stare at me all night. I would just smile at them and give a little shrug and they would both shyly smile back. That is the first time someone has suggested I study up on my comedy, but not the first time someone has asked if I was funny. Maybe I'll start with Ellen's "funny" book....

Later that evening, the "Birthday Girl" came over to the table where I was sitting. She told me that a gentleman sitting a few tables over, leaned  to his wife and whispered… remind me to tell you something when we get home. The wife said back, in a much louder tone, what…that that woman over there looks like Ellen?

The birthday girl was happy to have a celebrity CRASH her party...even though it was just me, LynEllen - Ellen's look alike.