Beverly Hills, CA — Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today that television icon Ellen DeGeneres will return for a second round at hosting the Academy Awards® which will be broadcast live on Oscar Sunday, March 2, 2014, on the ABC.
“There are few stars today who have Ellen’s gift for comedy, with her great warmth and humanity. She is beloved everywhere,” said Zadan and Meron. “As a longtime friend, we had always hoped to find a project for us to do together and nothing could be more exciting than teaming up to do the Oscars.
“Ellen is talented, wonderfully spontaneous, and knows how to entertain a worldwide audience,” said Dawn Hudson, Academy CEO. “She’s a big fan of the Oscars; we’re huge fans of hers. It’s a perfect match.”
DeGeneres hosted the 79th Academy Awards in 2007, for which she received a Primetime Emmy® nomination for “Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program.”
DeGeneres has made a home for herself in daytime with her hit syndicated talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which has earned a total of 45 Daytime Emmys during its 10 seasons.
Her acting career in television includes roles in several successful sitcoms. The sitcom These Friends of Mine which ran from 1994 to 1998 changed its name after one season to Ellen. DeGeneres received Emmy nominations each season in the Best Actress category for this show. In 1997, DeGeneres was the recipient of the coveted Peabody Award as well as earning an Emmy for writing the critically acclaimed “Puppy Episode” when her character came out as a gay woman to a record 46 million viewers.
DeGeneres recently announced the highly anticipated sequel to Finding Nemo, Disney-Pixar’s Finding Dory, currently scheduled to be released in November 2015.
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2013 will be presented on Oscar® Sunday, March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
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