March with her wife, Australian actress Portia de Rossi, after having wanted to go for many years, being unable to visit in summer (which she preferred) due to taping conflicts of her show. Toward the end of the episode, which featured Nicole Kidman as a guest, she announced to the audience that they will also be going on a holiday to Australia in a giveaway special. On March 3, 2014, DeGeneres hosted the show live, one day after her being the host of the 86th Academy Awards. This episode features that year's Oscar winners Cate Blanchett, Jared Leto, and Lupita Nyong'o as guests. Guest hosts From time to time a guest host filled in for DeGeneres. This was previously quite rare, but gradually became more common, especially in the final seasons, and was considered a regular part of the show. Ellie Kemper filled in to be the first guest host on the show on January 24, 2014, as DeGeneres was unable to host the show due to having the flu. Kemper hosted for a second time on December 24, 2018. She hosted for a third time on December 23, 2019. Miley Cyrus hosted on September 29, 2016, which was also day four of the 7th Annual Cat Week, as DeGeneres was sick. Sean Hayes hosted on May 30, 2018 while DeGeneres was in Africa visiting the gorillas in Rwanda to help with the Ellen DeGeneres Wildlife Camp. He hosted for a second time on October 4, 2019. He hosted for a third time on October 18, 2019. He hosted for a fourth time on January 31, 2020. He hosted for a fifth time on February 28, 2020. He hosted for a sixth time on March 13, 2020. He hosted for a seventh time on March 30, 2020. Kristen Bell hosted on May 31, 2018 while DeGeneres was in Africa. Lea Michele hosted the last episode of Season 15 on August 29, 2018. This was DeGeneres' gift to Michele, whose birthday was on the day of the taping. Mario Lopez hosted two bonus episodes (that aired after the Lea Michele episode), on August 30, 2018, and August 31, 2018. He hosted for a third time on January 29, 2021. He hosted for a fourth time on March 29, 2021. He hosted for a fifth time on October 14, 2021. He hosted for a sixth time on October 15, 2021. He hosted