She makes a living making people laugh and clowning around on TV with the likes of Jennifer Aniston and Justin Timberlake. But famed funny lady Ellen DeGeneres showed “Extra” a very private face that her fans rarely get to see.

Ellen was moved to tears telling us about her new book "The Funny Thing Is…” inspired by her deeply held belief that laughter truly is the best medicine.

In fact, Ellen became so emotional that she had to gather herself and start over. She says, “I got a letter from somebody the other day… Now I’m going to cry. I got a letter from a guy the other day. A woman, she is taking care of her father and he's got Alzheimer’s and he hasn't been speaking at all."

That is, until he saw Ellen on TV. She says, “And she had the show on, and he was watching the show and he said, ‘I like her. She’s very smart.’ And he hadn’t spoken.”

And, ironically, that leaves Ellen speechless.

If you're in Los Angeles, head to Barnes and Noble at The Grove on November 1st for Ellen's book signing.