Ellen DeGeneres to receive 15th annual Mark Twain Humor Award

The hilarious, compassionate and dance-loving Ellen DeGeneres will receive this year’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor award.

On Tuesday, it was announced that the popular talk show host would receive the 15th Mark Twain Award. Ellen is praised for her work in television, her compassion and ambassador work. According to NPR, DeGeneres will be honored October 22 “with a lineup of star performers.”

DeGeneres released a statement saying, “It’s such an honor to receive the Mark Twain Prize. To get the same award that has been given to people like Bill Cosby, Tina Fey and Will Ferrell, it really makes me wonder . . . why didn’t I get this sooner?”

DeGeneres, who came out during her 1990’s sitcom Ellen, suffered severe depression after her show was canceled. She later went on to voice Dory in Pixar’s Finding Nemo, release a series of books and perform comedy shows on HBO. She later began hosting The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Chairman David M. Rubenstein said that DeGeneres was chosen for the prestigious award because “her special brand of humor has allowed us to find hilarity in the mundane and has kept us laughing for years.”

Cappy McGarr, executive producer, said of the award, “The Kennedy Center is apolitical. We have had so many people who have their own brand and type of humor. We don’t pick winners because of any advocacy they do. It is all about funny and a funny life.”