Ellen DeGeneres picked to host Oscars

updated 3:41 p.m. ET Sept. 11, 2006

LOS ANGELES - Ellen DeGeneres has been tapped to host next year’s Oscars, the Academy of Motions Pictures Arts and Sciences said Thursday.

It will be the comedian and TV talker’s first time hosting the Oscars show and first appearance on the award show. She has hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards telecast twice and co-hosted it once, and hosted the Grammys twice.

“Ellen DeGeneres was born to host the Academy Awards,” said producer Laura Ziskin in a statement. “I can already tell she is going to set the bar very high for herself and therefore for all of us involved in putting on the show. Now all we need is a lot of great movies.”

The 79th Annual Academy Awards are scheduled to be broadcast live from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on ABC on Sunday, Feb. 25. This year’s Oscarcast, in March, was fronted by “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart.

DeGeneres is the host of the syndicated talk show “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” which has won 15 Daytime Emmys since going on the air in 2003.

DeGeneres also starred in the ABC sitcom “Ellen,” which aired between 1994 and 1998, and the CBS sitcom, “The Ellen Show,” which ran 2001-2002. She has also been a regular in films and has authored several books.

“When Laura Ziskin called, I was thrilled,” said DeGeneres in a statement. “There’s two things I’ve always wanted to do in my life. One is to host the Oscars. The second is to get a call from Laura Ziskin. You can imagine that day’s diary entry.”

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