Live from New York, it’s, well, a whole slew of people, really.
Some 500-plus famous faces have taken the stage in NYC’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza to host Saturday Night Live in the 50-plus seasons since it debuted on Oct. 11, 1975, with the truly elite going on to collect their velvet five-timers jacket. (Most recently, Martin Short joined the coveted club last December, celebrating alongside the sketch comedy show’s other frequent fliers like Melissa McCarthy, Emma Stone, Kristen Wiig, Tina Fey and Tom Hanks.)
But it takes more than a little notoriety to earn the chance to jog out of those Studio 8H doors.
Just ask Travis Kelce who had to hustle hard to score his 2023 hosting gig.
As proud Kansas City native and now-former castmember Heidi Gardner recently revealed, the NFL star’s victory against his brother Jason Kelce‘s Philadelphia Eagles in that year’s Super Bowl was his winning ticket to getting the okay from SNL creator Lorne Michaels.
“I was like, ‘That is so much pressure to ask,'” Gardner recounted on a December 2024 episode of the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast. “Then he won the Super Bowl.”
Meanwhile, Martha Stewart tried a trick play of her own to lock up the gig, revealing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon this past January that she was asked shortly after completing her five-month jail stint in 2005, but, “My parole officer wouldn’t give me the time to do it.”
Added Stewart, “That bastard. I still have his name and number. I’m so pissed.”
Fortunately, Betty White may be proof that the dream isn’t yet lost for 84-year-old Stewart.
Because the beloved Golden Girls star was 88 when she got the call from Michaels, the legendary producer swayed by the 500,000 fans who joined a Facebook group called “Betty White to Host SNL (Please)”.
As he would see, the biggest gift would be from White, who slayed her May 2010 hosting duties.
And she’s not the only standout host in the comedy show’s history. We traveled down a road and back again to round up some of SNL‘s most memorable emcees.
Kim Kardashian
The Kardashians star poked fun at her relationship with ex Kanye West, her connection to O.J. Simpson and her sister Kourtney Kardashian‘s PDA-heavy romance with now-husband Travis Barker. But she really took flight in an Aladdin-themed sketch that saw her kiss cast member Pete Davidson. The pair would go on to date for nine months.
Tom Hanks
With 10 hosting gigs under his belt—including the show’s first remotely-filmed episode back in April 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic—you know that when America’s Dad is in Studio 8H, you’re in for a wonderful time. Don’t believe us? We have just three words for you: David. S. Pumpkins.
Jon Hamm
Hamm left audiences stunned with his considerable comedic chops when he hosted for the first time in 2008. He’s has sinced followed up two more times and has had a handful of surprise cameos.
From his unforgettable “Jon Hamm’s John Ham” sketch—you know, lunch meat you eat on the toilet—to his live-action Ace in an adaptation of the iconic Ambiguously Gay Duo animated sketch, he’s ingratiated himself with cast in a way few other hosts ever have.
Melissa McCarthy
There is arguably no one on this planet more committed to their craft than the Bridesmaids legend. Case in point? The “Taste Test” sketch in her first at bat as host, back in 2011, when she covered herself in Hidden Valley ranch dressing for a gag.
In less than a decade, she’s already joined the infamous Five-Timers Club, and even began making semi-regular appearances a particularly enraged Sean Spicer during his brief tenure in the Trump administration.
Justin Timberlake
Nearly every celeb on this list could’ve become a full-time cast member on SNL, easily. And for a time there, it seemed like JT actually might. From “Omletteville,” “D–k in a Box,” and “Barry Gibb Talk Show” to “Mother Lover,” each of Timberlake’s five appearances as host made moments that permeated pop culture. And his appearance as one of Beyonce‘s “Single Ladies” back-up dancers alongside Bobby Moynihan and Andy Samberg? Amazing.
Steve Martin
There are few people who have hosted SNL more than the legendary comedian—in fact, there’s only one—and in his 16 stints in Studio 8H between 1976 and 2009, he created memorable characters (the “wild and crazy” Festrunk Brothers, King Tut) and delivered what would become one of the show’s most heartfelt moments, honoring Gilda Radner‘s passing from cancer with a look back at a blissful dance the two shared through the studio.
Scarlett Johansson
Not only is ScarJo part of the SNL family thanks to her romance with Colin Jost, but the six-time host has created some indelible moments over the years since her debut in 2006.
She’s been on hand for whenever the show needed someone to step into Ivanka Trump‘s shoes, appeared in the grotesque Shud the Mermaid sketch opposite Kate McKinnon and played Lexi (daughter to Fred Armisen‘s Mark) as the duo hawk chandeliers, ceramic busts, marble columns and porcelain fountains in the fan-favorite sketch.
Betty White
Unlike everyone else on this list (save for Kim Kardashian), the late TV icon only hosted SNL once. And, at 88 years old, she became the show’s oldest host in its history. The appearance was made even more special because it was literally fan-demanded through a successful Facebook campaign after White’s role in The Proposal.
She’s also on this list because, well, she was freaking hilarious. Our favorite sketch from the episode is this absurd one where Tina Fey‘s census taker tries, in vain, to get a straight answer out of White.
Dwayne Johnson
A member of the Five Timer’s Club, Johnson earned his spot on this list the minute he agreed to do The Rock Obama. Enough said.
Alec Baldwin
With 17 official hosting gigs on his resume and countless appearances as former President Donald Trump, Baldwin may be the only star not officially on the payroll who is more closely associated with SNL.
From classics like Canteen Boy and Schweddy Balls to impressions of Tony Bennett and, yes, Trump, Baldwin has given fans so much during his many, many visits to Studio 8H.
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
