25 best award show hosts
By Reed Gaudens
14. Kristen Bell
Show: 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2018)
Memorable Moments: As the first-ever host of the Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2018, Kristen Bell had the pleasure (and pressure) to set the tone for the annual show and its future hosts. She opened the show with jokes, swipes at the First Lady, the usual gentle roast of the nominees, and a truly beautiful speech about equality, inclusivity, and positivity that earned a gif-worth “Well said” from Reese Witherspoon. Bell later reveled in the joys being about say whatever she wanted as host and rightfully gushed over Greta Gerwig.
Public Reception: Who has anything negative to say about Kristen Bell? If you do for some egregious reason, please kindly sit down. Bell previously hosted the Independent Spirit Awards in 2015 alongside Fred Armisen, but left to her own devices, her natural wit and thoughtful presence were the star of the show and proved that she’s more than worth the price of admission without a co-host. It’s a precarious job for award show hosts during this tense time in the world, and Kristen Bell walked that high beam with perfect poise.
Why They’re One of the Best: You know Kristen Bell. Veronica Mars. Eleanor Shellstrop. Princess Ana. She’s iconic, underrated, and just an excellent human. No one else could have taken the reins as the first-ever host of the Screen Actors Guild Awards and infused the ceremony with as much heart and humor. In all honesty, she could have stood at the mic and talked, shared behind-the-scenes stories from The Good Place, and sang covers for the two-hour show then presented the awards in the final five minutes and it still would have been a must-watch award show. A rule for all things entertainment and just a general life rule: more Kristen Bell, please.