My dad found my sexuality a challenge: Ellen DeGeneres

London: Funnywoman Ellen DeGeneres has revealed her father found it a "challenge" to have an "openly gay child" because he worried about how it would affect her life.

The 58-year-old star came out gay in 1997 and she admits it wasn't easy for her father, insurance agent Elliott Everett DeGeneres, to deal with because he wanted her to have a quiet life and was the opposite of her "sassy" mother Betty DeGeneres, reported Hello! magazine.

"My parents divorced when I was young - they were very different personalities. My mother is a strong woman, sarcastic and sassy, and I learnt how to be a tough woman from her. My dad is a wonderful man but he has a lot of fear and he was overprotective of me.

"He didn't want me to hurt myself so he wanted me to be nice and quiet all the time and not really argue or speak my opinion. So imagine his challenge of having an openly gay child...," Ellen said.