艾伦·德杰尼勒斯获美国马克·吐温幽默奖

Some of the nation's top comedians hailed* Ellen DeGeneres as a trailblazer* on Monday night as she received the nation's highest humor prize.

The Kennedy Center is awarding DeGeneres the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. The show will be broadcast on October 30 on PBS stations.

On the red carpet before the show, DeGeneres said she doesn't see herself as political with her comedy, even though she's been a trailblazer.

"I just want to make people happy and make people laugh," she said.

Coming out on TV 15 years ago feels like another life, she said.

"I did it because it was the right thing for me to do," said DeGeneres, who is being honored as the nation's top comedian 15 years after nearly losing her career. "It was the right thing for me to do to not live with shame. I happened to help a lot of people, and it happened to create a ruckus*."

Jimmy Kimmel called it a milestone. "For a lot of people, Ellen is their only homosexual friend," he said. "She's there in their living room every single day."

Sean Hayes said DeGeneres made his former show, "Will and Grace," possible. He said her "fearlessness" was her biggest contribution.

When DeGeneres first heard she was receiving the same honor that Bill Cosby, Tina Fey and Will Ferrell won in recent years, she joked, "It really makes me wonder ... why didn't I get this sooner?"

DeGeneres, 54, began her career as a comedy club emcee in her native New Orleans.

The prize honors comedians in Mark Twain's tradition of satire and social commentary. Past winners include Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin and Whoopi Goldberg.

Hugh Grant attends a news conference to promote the film "Cloud Atlas" during the 37th Toronto International Film Festival September 9, 2012