Ellen DeGeneres launched the first night of her spectacular Greatest Night of Giveaways with Jennifer Aniston by her side on Tuesday. The heartwarming moment came when Jennifer, aged 50, was moved to tears while assisting a family in need. The emotional scene unfolded as she watched a touching video of a daughter passionately reaching out to Ellen, aged 61, for support for her father, who was struggling with unemployment. The video was created by viewer Elyse Kimball, portraying the difficult journey of her father Jeff, who tragically lost his wife to cancer when their two daughters were still young.
Touching moment: Jennifer Aniston was visibly moved to tears during her appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show when she saw a heartfelt video of a family in need that the show was assisting.
“He has put his all into taking care of our family of three. He doesn’t deserve this,” Elyse said, tears streaming down her face in the video.
“He means everything to me. He’s my rock, getting me through the ups and downs of life. I want to do something special for him, something he truly deserves, but I can’t do it alone,” she added, her voice choked with emotion.
The heartfelt video moved Jennifer to tears, and Ellen decided to surprise the family by sending a film crew under the guise of a show about individuals transforming their lives.
Elyse expressed that her father truly deserved support, having bravely raised two young daughters by himself following the passing of their mother, Amy, at the young age of 38 due to cancer.
During a one-hour show on NBC, Jennifer and Ellen extended their support to a family in need. The video package featured Jeff Kimball, who lost his wife Amy when his daughters Elyse and Lexi were very young. Jeff and his daughters were later brought on stage by Ellen, where Jennifer comforted them as they wiped away tears. Jeff shared how Ellen’s character Dory from Finding Nemo was an inspiration to Amy during her battle with cancer.
Tears were gently wiped away as the actress watched a touching video featuring a single father.
Tearful moment: The actor from Friends was there for support as Elyse, accompanied by her sister Lexi and father Jeff, prepared to take the stage.
“She was about to undergo a 13-hour surgery. Before she went in, I blew her a kiss and told her, ‘Just keep swimming,'” he recalled.
Jennifer gasped, “Oh, my God! What do you think your mom would say if she knew you guys were here right now?”
Jeff replied, “She would be thrilled. Ellen, she adored you. She’d probably say, ‘Watch out, I’m coming to join you soon!'”
Close-knit family: Jeff, Lexi, and Elyse were surprised with many presents from Ellen and Jennifer. Ellen also shared that their house had been beautifully decorated with Christmas lights while they were away. Upon returning home, they were greeted with a spectacular Christmas tree, numerous gifts, and new furniture. Jennifer even gave them a special Eiffel Tower ornament for their tree.
Various gifts: The household was adorned with festive decorations and overflowing with gifts during the holiday season.
Ornament from Paris: Jennifer surprised the family with a Christmas tree decoration shaped like the Eiffel Tower, just before announcing their upcoming trip to the City of Lights.
The cast member from Friends shared that one of Amy’s wishes was to visit Paris someday. Afterward, Ellen mentioned that she would be sending the family off to the charming city for a holiday. Jennifer chimed in, mentioning her recent visit to Italy and suggesting they include it in their travel plans. Ellen proposed adding London to the itinerary, to which Jennifer responded with a lighthearted “why not Greece too?”
Long vacation plans: The actress suggested adding Italy to the itinerary, prompting Ellen to turn it into a month-long European getaway.
“Guess what? You’re heading to Europe for a whole month!” Ellen exclaimed to the thrilled family.
The family then engaged in a lively game of Say Whaaat? and were each given $50,000 in Visa cards as a surprise.
The first episode kicked off with a heartwarming moment as Michelle Obama, 55, unexpectedly visited students at Randle Highlands Elementary School in southeast Washington, DC.
Telephone Twist: The Kimball clan ended up with a cool $150,000 in their pocket thanks to a round of Say Whaaat?
In the first episode, viewers were treated to the sight of Michelle Obama, 55, making a surprise appearance at Randle Highlands Elementary School in southeast Washington, DC. The school’s principal, Kristie Edwards, revealed that the school is located in a challenging neighborhood, with 65 percent of students being in foster care or homeless. Michelle’s unexpected visit to a computer lab led to emotional reactions from the students, who couldn’t contain their excitement upon meeting her.
During her visit, Michelle also made a generous donation of $100,000 to the school, to help with funding various expenses. Reflecting on her childhood, Michelle shared a valuable lesson she learned from her parents – that it’s important to not only focus on personal success, but also to give back and support others in need. Her words of wisdom resonated with the audience, highlighting the importance of helping others along life’s journey.
During her trip to Vietnam, Former First Lady Michelle Obama was spotted in action on Monday. She was promoting education initiatives for adolescent girls in the region. In a heartwarming gesture, Michelle gathered everyone in the school gym using the public address system. She shared her experience from Ellen’s Greatest Night of Giveaways and surprised the school by announcing the construction of a new outdoor basketball court, noting the absence of one on campus.
Michelle went on to donate new computers for the school’s lab and provided the teachers with brand new laptops. The children couldn’t contain their excitement as she gifted each of them a shiny new iPad, with white confetti raining down around them. Ellen expressed her gratitude to Apple for the generous donations, as well as to the financial services company Green Dot, which made a $100,000 contribution to the Obama Foundation’s Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund.
To add to the excitement, Sterling K. Brown, known for his role in the NBC series “This Is Us,” also joined in the giveaways, spreading joy and support to the school community.
TV personality Sterling K. Brown made a generous appearance on Ellen’s debut giveaway event. He pleasantly surprised Rico El-lis, a talented sign spinner who turned to spinning signs to assist his family financially. Rico shared the challenges of living in a car with his mother and brother when they struggled to make ends meet. Despite his mother’s attempt to lighten the situation by calling it ‘camping’, Rico soon realized the harsh reality of their circumstances. Sterling took Rico to a car dealership, where he excitedly announced Ellen’s offer for him to choose any car from the lot.
Sign spinner Rico El-lis got the shock of his life when he met the star from NBC’s hit show This Is Us. Not only did he get to pick out a sleek white convertible, but he also ended up giving Ellen a lesson in sign-spinning right in the studio.
To top it all off, Ellen surprised Rico with a generous gift of $100,000 in a Green Dot Unlimited Bank Account and even offered him a job on her talk show. And that wasn’t the end of the surprises that day – the audience, who thought they were just attending a regular Ellen show, went crazy when they found out it was actually a giveaway episode.
Ellen and Jennifer didn’t disappoint, showering the audience with gifts like a $500 Visa gift card, a top-of-the-line Hydro rowing machine, $700 worth of Samsonite Voltage luggage, and a fabulous six-day trip to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Don’t miss Ellen’s Greatest Night Of Giveaways airing Wednesday and Thursday on NBC. The upcoming episodes will feature appearances by Justin Timberlake, Robert Downey Jr., Chrissy Teigen, Jason Momoa, Steph Curry, Michael B. Jordan, and Melissa McCarthy, so you definitely won’t want to miss out on the fun!
A brand-new car, along with $100,000 and a job opportunity, was generously given to Rico by Ellen.