Who are the best Oscars hosts of all time?

Follow the Oscars ceremony 2023 live online

The 95th Academy Awards ceremony will take place in Los Angeles on Sunday, 12 March, bringing together the great and the good of show business. The Oscars are the most coveted awards in the film industry and the biggest stars will descend on Hollywood for the evening.

But while those nominated and the eventual winners will go down in cinematic history, the glitzy ceremony is also a chance for the hosts to make a name for themselves.

The host for the 2023 Oscars will be Jimmy Kimmel, the talk show host who previously led the ceremonies in 2017 and 2018. Kimmel becomes the tenth person to host the Academy Awards three or more times.

“Being invited to host the Oscars for a third time is either a great honor or a trap,” Kimmel said after the announcement was made. “Either way, I am grateful to the Academy for asking me so quickly after everyone good said no.”

Here’s some of the most memorable Oscars hosts of all time…

Bob Hope

There is no name more synonymous with Oscar-hosting duties than Bob Hope, the comedian who hosted the ceremony a record ten times from 1940 to 1978. With his comic timing and droll delivery Hope was a crowd favourite and was presented with a gold medal from the Academy in 1966 for his services. He presented awards at the 50th anniversary ceremony in 1978, establishing himself as a true legend of the Oscars.

Billy Crystal

Bob Hope may have the edge in terms of longevity but Billy Crystal is credited with modernising the role of Oscars host with a new high-energy style. The actor, star of When Harry Met Sally, hosted the Academy Awards ceremony from 1990 to 1993 and notably ended the 1991 edition by riding a horse off-stage.

Whoopi Goldberg

In terms of ground-breaking Oscars hosts few can compete with Whoopi Goldberg, who became the first woman and the first African American person to host the ceremony. She hosted for the first time in 1994, before returning again in 1996, 1999 and 2002. She has become an iconic host for her witty remarks and glamourous costumes, and is one of very few people to have both hosted and won an award at the Oscars.

Ellen DeGeneres

The talk show host has hosted the Oscars twice, with very different receptions. The first, in 2007, was a slightly stilted performance but her 2014 return produced one of the most iconic images in the ceremony’s history. Her Oscars selfie, featuring Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, went viral on Twitter and became the most ‘liked’ tweet of all-time.