Ellen DeGeneres to Receive Carol Burnett Award at 2020 Golden Globe Awards
Ellen DeGeneres will be receiving a special honor at the 2020 Golden Globe Awards.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show host and three-time Golden Globe nominee will receive the Carol Burnett Award at the 77th annual awards, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) announced Monday. The award celebrates the highest level of achievement in television.
“The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is delighted to honor Ellen DeGeneres with the Carol Burnett Award,” HFPA President Lorenzo Soria said in a statement.
“From her sitcoms, to stand-up, to becoming a household staple on daytime television, she is a pioneer who has captivated audiences for nearly 25 years with her undeniable charm and wit. In addition to her television success, she’s an advocate and philanthropist, lending her voice to those who don’t have one, and spreading kindness and joy through the power of her platform,” said Soria. “We look forward to celebrating her achievements at this year’s ceremony.”
Named after actress Carol Burnett, the award, which is presented annually to an honoree who has made outstanding contributions to the television medium on or off the screen, was first awarded to the Carol Burnett Show star at the 2019 Golden Globes. DeGeneres, 61, is the second entertainer that will be honored with the accolade.
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In May, DeGeneres announced that her syndicated talk show, which is currently in its 17th season, had been renewed through the 2021-22 season. The show has earned a total of 63 Daytime Emmy Awards.
“From the beginning I said that this show was going to be like a relationship. We have been through the good, the bad, the Fifty Shades of Grey phase. It’s been a lot of fun and 16 years is a pretty good run,” the standup comedian said on her show. “Sometimes in a relationship, you need to take a break. But I don’t, you’re stuck with me because I just signed for three more years.”
“I really had no idea what this show was going to be when we started,” she continued. “I had gone through a tough time. I lost my career for a little while. This show was my second chance and it turns out it also helped other people go through a tough time. I got letters from people telling me that I helped them go through chemo and that they were inspired by one of my guests or watching the show made them laugh for the very first time in a long time. That’s why I’m going to keep doing this show, for people like you.”
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In addition to DeGeneres, Tom Hanks will also be honored at the 2020 Golden Globe Awards.
The 63-year-old Oscar winner will receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award. “The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is proud to bestow the 2020 Cecil B. DeMille Award to Tom Hanks,” Soria said in a statement in September announcing the news.
“For more than three decades, he’s captivated audiences with rich and playful characters that we’ve grown to love and admire,” Soria continued. “As compelling as he is on the silver screen, he’s equally so behind the camera as a writer, producer and director.”
Hanks is just one of two actors in history to win back-to-back Best Actor Oscars, the first of which he won for Philadelphia in 1994. His second Oscar came the following year for his role in Forrest Gump.
The 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards will air Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
