Celebrities who have hosted the Kids’ Choice Awards that you wouldn’t expect

Several celebrities, including comedians, actors, musicians, athletes, and even cartoon characters, have had the honor of hosting the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards throughout the years

Several celebs have hosted the kid-voted awards show throughout the years (Image: FilmMagic )

The 2025 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards kick off on June 21 at 8 PM EST, broadcast live on Nickelodeon and available to stream the next day on Paramount+.

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The kid-voted awards show’s inaugural ceremony was in 1987, and the iconic green slime made its debut in 2002. Every year, kids vote for their favorite actors, musicians, cartoon characters, athletes, shows, and more to be awarded a coveted orange blimp trophy.

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Several stars have hosted the Kids’ Choice Awards, including Ben Stiller, Justin Timberlake, Jack Black, John Cena, Victoria Justice, Keenan Thompson, and many more. This year, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Tyla will serve as the show’s emcee.

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From comedians to movie stars, athletes, musicians, and even cartoon characters, some of the biggest stars in the world have hosted the Nickelodeon awards show.

Tyla is hosting the 2025 Kids’ Choice Awards

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Here are some of the show’s most unexpected hosts throughout the years.

Rosie O’Donnell

Rosie O’Donnell has hosted the most times

The comedian and former talk show host holds the record for most times hosted, with a whopping eight consecutive years at the helm of TV’s most fun award show between 1997 and 2003. While Rosie was a television fixture in the 90s and early 2000s, these days she keeps a low profile in her new home country of Ireland.

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Whitney Houston

The ‘I Will Always Love You’ singer hosted twice in the 90s (Image: Michael Ochs Archives )

The late diva hosted the Kids’ Choice Awards twice, in 1995 and 1996, alongside Rosie. Whitney was known not just for her incredible singing talent but also for her infectious energy and presence, which lit up every room she was in.

Josh Duhamel

The actor hosted the show in 2013 (Image: WireImage )

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The soap opera star, best known for his starring role as William Lennox in the Transformers movie franchise, hosted the show in 2013. He is also known for his voice acting in animated series like Nickelodeon’s Fanboy & Chum Chum.

Mark Wahlberg

The Boston native claimed to be unslimable

The actor hosted the beloved awards show in 2014, which may seem a bit strange given his filmography and troubled past. Despite claims of being “slime proof,” Marky Mark endured a full 30 seconds of slime on stage.

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DJ Khaled

DJ Khaled was joined by his family

The prolific music producer emceed in 2019, joined on the orange carpet by his wife Nicole Tuck and their toddler Ashad, who loves watching Nickelodeon and inspired the music mogul to take on the role.

Rob Gronkowski (with Miranda Cosgrove)

Gronk was the first athlete to host the show

The NFL tight end, known as ‘Gronk,’ co-hosted the show in 2022 with iCarly star Miranda Cosgrove. He and Nate Burleson, who co-hosted the year after alongside Charli D’Amelio, are the only professional athletes to ever host the show.

SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star

SpongeBob and Patrick co-hosted last year

The beloved cartoon besties hosted as a duo last year, the first time any animated character has hosted the awards show. ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ holds the record for the most awards, with 21 total blimps won.

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The 2025 Kids’ Choice Awards kick off live at 8 PM EST on June 21 on Nickelodeon with host Tyla.

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