De Rossi wants to take DeGeneres's name

Portia De Rossi has filed legal documents to officially adopt her partner Ellen DeGeneres's last name.

The actress lodged the papers at Los Angeles County Superior Court on Friday, requesting that she be formally known as Portia DeGeneres.

According to TMZ, a judge is expected to approve the petition.

The stars wed in 2008 when gay marriage was legalised in California but the Proposition 8 bill outlawed same-sex marriages just months later.

However, the controversial bill was overturned in a ruling last week.