Most times hosting Saturday Night Live
Actor Alec Baldwin holds the record for most times hosting Saturday Night Live, with 17 appearances. Second all-time is comedian Steve Martin, with 16.
Three others (John Goodman, Tom Hanks, and Buck Henry) have hosted at least 10 times.
- Alec Baldwin … 17
- Steve Martin … 16
- John Goodman … 13
- Buck Henry … 10
- Tom Hanks … 10
See a complete list of the Five-Timers Club >
Most SNL hosting appearances by a woman
The record for most times hosting SNL by a woman is 7 by Scarlett Johansson.
The first time Johansson hosted was in Season 31 on January 14, 2006. Her most recent hosting gig was in Season 50 on May 17, 2025.
Two other females have hosted 6 times: Drew Barrymore and Tina Fey.
Record for most consecutive seasons hosting Saturday Night Live
In a record that is unlikely to ever be matched or broken, John Goodman hosted SNL in 11 consecutive seasons. His streak stretched from Season 15 to Season 25. In all, Goodman has hosted 13 times.
Four of the Goodman episodes are graded as A by SNL Rankings, including April 10, 1999 when the music guest was Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.
Hosting multiple times in same season
Six guests have hosted at least twice in the same season, and two guests have accomplished it multiple times.
The record for hosting in one season is three, by Steve Martin in Season 3.
| HOST | SEASON | FIRST EPISODE | SECOND EPISODE | THIRD EPISODE |
| Buck Henry | Season 1 | January 17, 1976 | May 22, 1976 | |
| Candice Bergen | Season 1 | November 8, 1975 | December 20, 1975 | |
| Elliott Gould | Season 1 | January 10, 1976 | May 29, 1976 | |
| Buck Henry | Season 2 | October 30, 1976 | May 21, 1977 | |
| Steve Martin | Season 2 | October 23, 1976 | February 26, 1977 | |
| Eric Idle | Season 2 | October 2, 1976 | April 23, 1977 | |
| Buck Henry | Season 3 | November 19, 1977 | May 20, 1978 | |
| Steve Martin | Season 3 | September 24, 1977 | January 21, 1978 | April 22, 1978 |
| Buck Henry | Season 4 | November 11, 1978 | May 26, 1979 | |
| Michael Palin | Season 4 | January 27, 1979 | May 12, 1979 | |
| Buck Henry | Season 5 | November 10, 1979 | May 24, 1980 | |
| Steve Martin | Season 5 | October 13, 1979 | May 17, 1980 |
In the early seasons of SNL, the show relied on tested and successful hosts to helm the show, which had yet to fully form, and was more chaotic than it would be later. Buck Henry was asked to host the final show of the season each year from Season 2 through Season 5. That’s because Executive Producer Lorne Michaels liked to have a veteran host on the show for when the cast, writers, and crew were tired from a long season.
Shortest span between hosting gigs
Actress Candice Bergen holds the record for the shortest time between hosting appearances on SNL. In Season 1, she hosted on Nov. 8, 1975, in only the fourth episode of the show’s history. Only 42 days later on Dec. 20, Bergen hosted again.
Male and Female Hosts
686 men have hosted SNL, out of 988 episodes that have had a single host. There have been 302 women to host the show, through Season 50.
The record for most female hosts is 10 in Season 27 and also Season 35.
First black host
In Seasons 43, 46, and again in Season 48, eight minorities hosted the show, which is the most in any single season.
For just over two years and nine months, SNL did not have a host of color, from Season 13 on January 30, 1988 (Carl Weathers) to Season 16, November 10, 1990 (Jimmy Smits). There were 48 consecutive episodes hosted by a white host. The executive producer for those seasons was Lorne Michaels. Also during that stretch, seasons 14-16, only 25 percent of the shows were hosted by women.
There have been 122 SNL episodes hosted by people of color. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until Season 16 that the first Hispanic person hosted: Jimmy Smits.
In the first five seasons of SNL, there were only four black hosts.
Actors have hosted most, politicians the least
- 653 of SNL episodes all-time have been hosted by actors.
- Former cast members have hosted 73 shows. Chevy Chase has the most, with eight.
- Comedians have hosted Saturday Night Live 112 times. Steve Martin is the comedian who has hosted the most times, with 16.
- Musical artists have hosted 76 times. Justin Timberlake has hosted 5 times.
- Athletes have hosted 27 episodes, with Charles Barkley (4) the only athlete to host more than once.
- Politicians have hosted Saturday Night Live 12 times. Donald Trump has hosted twice, but his first hosting gig did not come when he was a politician.
Famous people who hosted SNL
Six times a “famous person” (someone not generally considered an actor, athlete, etc.) has hosted SNL:
- Donald Trump: real estate mogul (first hosting appearance)
- Ron Reagan Jr.: son of President Ronal Reagan
- Paris Hilton: heiress
- RuPaul: drag queen
- Elon Musk: egotist and liar
- Kim Kardashian: for some reason
Most former cast members hosting Saturday Night Live in one season
Five former cast members hosted in Season 22, a record. Those cast members were Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Martin Short, Chevy Chase, and Mike Myers.
Most SNL hosting appearances by a former cast member
The former cast members with most hosting appearances on SNL:
- Chevy Chase … 8
- Tina Fey … 6
- Bill Murray … 5
- Martin Short … 5
- Will Ferrell … 5
- Kristen Wiig … 5
- Dana Carvey … 4
- Chris Rock … 4
In all, 32 former cast members have hosted Saturday Night Live for a total of 82 episodes. That means about 8 percent of SNL episodes have been hosted by either one or two former cast members.
Twice, a pair of former cast members have hosted together: Chevy Chase and Martin Short (with Steve Martin) in Season 12; and Tina Fey and Amy Poehler in Season 41.
Longest stretch between hosting SNL
When Eddie Murphy hosted on December 21, 2019 he was making his return to the show after a 35-year absence. Eddie hosted Episode 9 of Season 10, when Dick Ebersol was producing his final year. The 35 years and six days between hosting appearances for former cast member Murphy is the record.
The second-longest drought between hosting gigs is 22 years and six months by Woody Harrelson, from May 16, 1992 to November 15, 2014.
Only cast member to host SNL while they were in the cast
Leave it to Eddie Murphy to make history. On December 11, 1982, Murphy, who was a cast member in that Season 8, stepped in to host Saturday Night Live. His co-star in the movie 48 Hours, Nick Nolte, was supposed to host that evening. But Nolte reportedly partied a bit too much, and was unable to do the job. Murphy made history by becoming the only active cast member to host Saturday Night Live.
Most musical guest appearances on Saturday Night Live
Paul Simon has made 12 distinct musical guest appearances on Saturday Night Live, beginning with the second-ever episode in Season 1. He also performed in two of the SNL anniversary specials. Simon has also hosted the show four times.
The Foo Fighters are the band who has appeared the most times on SNL.
Here’s a list of the musical artists who have performed in the most episodes of SNL:
- Paul Simon … 12
- Foo Fighters … 9
- Coldplay … 8
- Tom Petty … 8
- Beck … 7
- Kanye West … 7
- Randy Newman … 6
- Arcade Fire … 6
- Eminem … 6
Youngest SNL host
In episode 7 of Season 8 on November 20, 1982, 7-year old Drew Barrymore hosted SNL. The actress remains the youngest person to host the show. Barrymore has hosted the show five additional times, the most recent time when she was 34 years old.
Oldest host of Saturday Night Live
Actress Betty White was 88 years old on May 8, 2010 when she hosted Saturday Night Live during Season 35. That’s the record for the oldest to host the show.
Hosts and producers
Former cast member Bill Murray is the only person to host Saturday Night Live under each of the three executive producers to helm the program. Murray hosted in Season 6, the only season when Jean Doumanian was the executive producer of SNL. He hosted for the second time on December 12, 1981 in Season 7, under Dick Ebersol. To complete the cycle of executive producers, Murray hosted in Season 12 after Lorne Michaels had returned to the show.
