WASHINGTON — Julia Louis-Dreyfus has been named this year’s recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
Variety reported that the 57-year-old actress will receive the prize at at the Kennedy Center on Oct. 21.
"Like Mark Twain, Julia has enriched American culture with her iconic, unforgettable, and outright hilarious brand of humor," Deborah F. Rutter, the president of the Kennedy Center, said in a statement, according to The New York Times. "Over four decades, her wildly original characters and her gift for physical comedy have left us in stitches."
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Louis-Dreyfus will be the sixth woman and 21st recipient overall of the prize. She joins the likes of Richard Pryor, Whoopi Goldberg, Lily Tomlin, Lorne Michaels, Steve Martin, Billy Crystal, George Carlin, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, Ellen DeGeneres, Carol Burnett, Jay Leno, Eddie Murphy and Bill Murray as those who have received the prize. Bill Cosby's 2009 prize was rescinded by the Kennedy Center earlier this year after his sexual assault conviction.
“Well, this is insanely exciting,” Louis-Dreyfus tweeted Wednesday in response to the news.
“Merely to join the list of distinguished recipients of this award would be honor enough, but, as a student of both American history and literature, the fact that Mr. Twain himself will be presenting the award to me in person is particularly gratifying,” Louis-Dreyfus said in a statement.
The Oct. 21 ceremony will be in Washington, D.C.