Ellen DeGeneres tweeted the news to her 21 million followers. "It's official: I'm hosting the #Oscars! I'd like to thank @TheAcademy, my wife Portia and, oh dear, there goes the orchestra," she wrote.

When stars and starlets take to the red carpet next March 2, DeGeneres will assume the daunting task of entertaining not only the Hollywood elite at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, but tens of millions of home viewers.