<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"Ellen DeGeneres and Tim Gunn are animal lovers!\r\nThe two stars were named PETA&amp;apos;s Woman and Man of the Year on Wednesday.\r\n\r\n&amp;quot;Tim Gunn and Ellen DeGeneres show us that one person really can make a difference in the world by rejecting cruel deeds in favor of compassionate acts,&amp;quot; PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk told UsMagazine.com in a statement. &amp;quot;Their message that animals must be treated kindly and respectfully has reached scores of people, and many of them have changed their buying habits, all because Gunn and DeGeneres spoke up for the voiceless.&amp;quot;\r\nBoth honorees made &amp;quot;an exceptional effort to place animal rights issues before a large audience,&amp;quot; the statement said.\r\nThe Project Runway star&amp;apos;s animal-friendly fashion sense -- he is the creative director at the fur-free Liz Claiborne Inc. -- prompted PETA to extend the honor to him. Gunn, 56, also narrated PETA&amp;apos;s &amp;quot;Fashion Victims&amp;quot; video and promotes designers who use faux-fur fabric.\r\n\r\nPETA also applauded the DeGeneres&amp;apos; cruelty-free lifestyle and recognized the 51-year-old talk show host&amp;apos;s decision to become a vegan in 2008.\r\n\r\n&amp;quot;I personally chose to go vegan because I educated myself on factory farming and cruelty to animals, and I suddenly realized that what was on my plate were living things, with feelings,&amp;quot; she said on her official site.\r\nDeGeneres -- who follows Oprah Winfrey as PETA&amp;apos;s Woman of the Year -- and Gunn will each receive an award plaque and a letter of appreciation from PETA. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/ellen-degeneres-tim-gunn-honored-as-petas-people-of-the-year-20093012>