Ellen DeGeneres is drawing new attention after using her final Netflix stand-up special, For Your Approval, to reveal a series of medical diagnoses she received after stepping away from her long-running daytime show. Now 66, the comedian told viewers she only discovered she had osteoporosis, arthritis, OCD, and ADHD once her schedule finally slowed down following the end of The Ellen DeGeneres Show and the controversy surrounding allegations of a toxic workplace. Without the demands of daily television, she began visiting doctors, and the results, she joked, were surprisingly bleak.
She told the audience she has “full-blown osteoporosis,” a diagnosis she learned about after what she called a “silly bone density test.” In classic Ellen fashion, she lightened the revelation with humor, saying she feels like “a sandcastle with legs” that could collapse in a strong rainstorm. She also described the moment she first experienced sharp pain from arthritis, believing she had injured herself—only to be told by her doctors it was simply age catching up. The honesty, she admitted, isn’t easy in a career built on maintaining charm, charisma, and camera-ready confidence.
But DeGeneres didn’t limit her revelations to physical conditions. She also opened up about being diagnosed with OCD and ADHD while undergoing therapy during the height of the backlash around her show. Raised in Christian Science, she said her family rarely discussed illness or mental health, leaving her confused when her therapist brought up OCD. She initially believed it referred to being organized. Only later did she recognize the patterns she had grown up around, noting her father’s compulsive habit of repeatedly checking locks and appliances. Her wife, Portia de Rossi, quickly confirmed the diagnosis when asked.
Ellen used humor to soften each confession, joking that her ADHD makes completing a comedy special nearly impossible. She ended by saying her OCD, ADHD, and forgetfulness almost “cancel each other out,” leaving her surprisingly balanced despite everything.
