12:37AM EDT October 23. 2012 - WASHINGTON -- Ellen DeGeneres is usually the one cracking jokes and busting out one of her signature dance moves -- anything to make people laugh. But on Monday night, the tables were turned as a star-studded lineup of her friends and colleagues, past and present, showed up to the salute the comedian at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
The festivities were to recognize DeGeneres, 54, as the 15th recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. She follows in the footsteps of fellow comedians Bill Cosby, Lorne Michaels, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey and others who have had the honor bestowed upon them.
DeGeneres, who has earned critical acclaim with her syndicated daytime talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, has received countless honors and accolades, but she says this honor is "the icing."
"I'm flattered. It's fantastic. Of course I think, 'What took so long?'" she joked on the red carpet. DeGeneres said that being a comedienne isn't about recognition. "You don't do it for awards, you do it to make people happy," she said.
DeGeneres famously came out as gay on her sitcom, Ellen, in 1997. "It was the right thing for me to do ... it happened to help a lot of people and it happened to cause a ruckus. That was a very fearful time in general for the gay community." DeGeneres' wife, Portia de Rossi, accompanied her on the star-studded red carpet and sang her praises. "I am very, very proud of Ellen. She's not only the funniest person I know, but she's such a good person," she said. Her favorite thing about DeGeneres? "I really like those little moments that only I recognize as her being her true self, when I can see she's being vulnerable," she said.
Stars on the red carpet agreed that DeGeneres' kindness and contributions to the gay community set her apart. "I like to think that Ellen made Will & Grace possible," star Sean Hayes said. "And Will & Grace made it possible for Modern Family. (DeGeneres') fearlessness was her contribution and it continues to be."
"She's the one who went in with the machete and did it all by herself," said Glee star Jane Lynch.