Jimmy Kimmel is best known for his nightly show. However, he is also one of Hollywood’s go-to hosts for its biggest celebrations. In fact, Jimmy Kimmel and the Oscars share a long history. In recent years, he has also added a new chapter as an award-winning game show host.
Jimmy Kimmel and the Oscars: four ceremonies
Kimmel first hosted the Academy Awards in 2017. Then he returned for the 2018 ceremony. After a break, he came back in 2023 with a show that celebrated the return of moviegoing after the pandemic. That performance earned him an Emmy nomination. Finally, he hosted again in 2024, his fourth time leading the ceremony.
His fourth turn put him alongside Whoopi Goldberg and Jack Lemmon as four-time hosts. Only Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal and Bob Hope have hosted the Oscars more often. Announcing his return, Kimmel joked that he had “always dreamed of hosting the Oscars exactly four times.”
His wife, Molly McNearney, served as an executive producer of the broadcasts. Meanwhile, the Oscars’ producers called Kimmel one of the all-time great hosts of the ceremony.
Emmys and other award shows
Kimmel has also hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards three times: in 2012, 2016 and 2020. Earlier in his career, he hosted the American Music Awards several times, as well as the ESPY Awards. In addition, he hosted the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in 2012.
Back to his game show roots
Kimmel’s first TV job was co-hosting a game show. So it felt like a homecoming when he became host of ABC’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in 2020.
In September 2025, he won the Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Host for a Game Show. He beat Ken Jennings, Steve Harvey, Colin Jost and Elizabeth Banks. In his speech, he paid warm tribute to the show’s original host, Regis Philbin.
For Kimmel, it was a full-circle moment. More than 25 years earlier, in 1999, he had won his first Emmy for co-hosting Win Ben Stein’s Money. Then, in September 2026, he won the same award again, making it two years in a row.