DeGeneres hopes to inspire equal rights with De Rossi wedding

US talk show queen Ellen DeGeneres hopes her marriage to actress Portia De Rossi will inspire generations to become more open-minded about same-sex unions.

The lesbian couple tied the knot in an intimate ceremony at their Beverly Hills, California home on Saturday after the state lifted its ban on gay marriage.

And the 50-year-old insists the pair's own marital obstacles could break down barriers for equal rights activists in the future.

DeGeneres says: "I feel like it is long overdue. And I think someday people will look back on this - like women not having the right to vote, and segregation and anything else that seems ridiculous - like we all don't have the same rights."