Hosting the Academy Awards once is a challenge. Doing it repeatedly requires something rarer the ability to hold a room of Hollywood’s most prominent figures, manage the unpredictable logistics of live television and deliver enough genuine entertainment to earn another invitation. A small group of performers has managed that repeatedly, and their records reveal as much about comedy and television history as they do about one night a year in Los Angeles.
With Conan O’Brien taking the stage for the 98th Academy Awards on March 15, 2026 for his second hosting appearance, here is a look at every celebrity who has hosted the Oscars three or more times ranked by the number of times they were asked back.
Bob Hope — 19 times
No one has come close to Bob Hope’s hosting record, and given the pace of modern awards television, no one likely will. The British-American comedian and actor first took the Oscar stage at the 12th Academy Awards in 1940 and returned 18 more times across nearly four decades, with his final hosting appearance coming in 1978. He presided over the show’s first televised ceremony in 1953 and its first color broadcast in 1966 — two of the most significant technical milestones in the event’s history.
Hope died on July 27, 2003, at age 100. His association with the Oscars was so enduring that when Billy Crystal was hosting in 1991, Hope appeared onstage and introduced himself as the Macaulay Culkin of 1927.
Years hosted: 1940-1943, 1945, 1946, 1953, 1955, 1958, 1959-1962, 1965-1968, 1975 and 1978.
Billy Crystal — nine times
Crystal remains the most celebrated host of the modern era, his nine appearances defined by opening musical numbers, celebrity impressions and a genuine love for the craft of film that came through in every ceremony. He first hosted at the 62nd Academy Awards in 1990 and returned most recently for the 84th ceremony in 2012. Crystal has been candid that he is unlikely to host again, but his nine appearances leave him comfortably second on the all-time list.
Years hosted: 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2004 and 2012.
Johnny Carson — five times
The man widely known as the King of Late Night brought his three-decade Tonight Show instincts to the Oscar stage five times, beginning at the 51st Academy Awards in 1979. He hosted for four consecutive years before returning in 1984. Carson died in 2005, leaving a legacy that defined American late-night television and, on five occasions, one of its most prestigious annual broadcasts.
Years hosted: 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1984.
Jack Lemmon — four times
Lemmon holds a distinction almost no one else can claim: he hosted the Oscars four times and won the award twice, taking home Best Supporting Actor for Mister Roberts in 1955 and Best Actor for Save the Tiger in 1973. His first hosting appearance came in 1958 alongside Bob Hope, Rosalind Russell, James Stewart and, improbably, Donald Duck. He hosted solo for the first time in 1964 and for the last time in 1985. Lemmon died in June 2001 at age 76.
Years hosted: 1958, 1964, 1972 and 1985.
Whoopi Goldberg — four times
Goldberg made history at the 66th Academy Awards in 1994 as the first Black woman to solo host the Oscars one of two significant firsts she holds in the show’s history. She is also the only woman to have hosted the ceremony more than three times, with four appearances across eight years. A Best Supporting Actress winner for Ghost in 1990 and one of the rare performers to hold an EGOT, Goldberg brought a distinctive combination of comedy and presence to each of her four appearances.
Years hosted: 1994, 1996, 1999 and 2002.
Jimmy Kimmel — four times
Kimmel brought his late-night instincts to the Oscar stage four times, beginning with the 89th Academy Awards in 2017 the evening that became known for Envelopegate, when the wrong film was announced as Best Picture. After a gap, he returned in 2023 following the all-female hosting trio of Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes, then hosted again in 2024. He marked his fourth appearance with a characteristically dry statement that he had always dreamed of hosting the Oscars exactly four times.
Years hosted: 2017, 2018, 2023 and 2024.
Jerry Lewis — three times
Known as the King of Comedy, Lewis hosted three times, with his third appearance in 1959 producing one of the more memorable improvised moments in the ceremony’s history. The final award was presented ahead of schedule, ending the show 20 minutes early a live television first. Lewis responded by rallying performers onstage to sing There’s No Business Like Show Business while time was killed. Lewis died in 2017.
Years hosted: 1956, 1957 and 1959.
David Niven — three times
Niven holds a distinction no one else in Oscar history can claim: he is the only person to have hosted and received an Oscar in the same year, winning Best Actor for Separate Tables at the 31st ceremony in 1959. His third and final hosting appearance in 1974 became memorable for a different reason famed photographer Robert Opel streaked across the stage while Niven was at the podium. Niven died on July 29, 1983, at age 73.
Years hosted: 1958, 1959 and 1974.
Steve Martin — three times
An EGOT winner like Goldberg, Martin hosted the Oscars three times with his first two appearances in 2001 and 2003 delivered solo. His third stint at the 82nd ceremony in 2010 featured co-host Alec Baldwin. He also opened the 92nd Academy Awards in 2020 alongside Chris Rock during the year the ceremony went without an official host.
Years hosted: 2001, 2003 and 2010.
Conrad Nagel — three times
One of the least remembered names on this list, Nagel was a leading man of the 1920s and 1930s and a co-founder of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences itself. He hosted two of the earliest ceremonies in 1930 and 1932 during the latter he was serving as the Academy’s president before returning in 1953 to co-host alongside Bob Hope. He received an Honorary Academy Award in 1940 for his work with the Motion Picture Relief Fund. Nagel died in 1970 at age 72.
Years hosted: 1930, 1932 and 1953.
