Code Example 2 - FlasherDotOrg: AS3 Tutorials Part I (Drawing Circles & Ellipses)

Your code should look like this:
var ellipse:Shape = new Shape(); ellipse.graphics.beginFill(0xFFFF00); ellipse.graphics.drawEllipse(300, 175, 85, 175); ellipse.graphics.endFill(); addChild(ellipse);