Jennifer Aniston, Ellen DeGeneres' First-Ever Guest, Will Appear on 'The Ellen Show' 's Final Episode

The Ellen DeGeneres Show will end its nearly two-decade run on May 26, in an episode featuring Jennifer Aniston, Pink, and Billie Eilish

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Ellen DeGeneres will have a full-circle moment when she says goodbye to her long-running talk show this month.

The comedian famously kicked off The Ellen DeGeneres Show back in 2003 by interviewing Friends star Jennifer Aniston. And on Tuesday, it was announced that DeGeneres' first guest would be her last, with Aniston slated to return for Ellen's series finale on May 26.

Joining Aniston to help DeGeneres close her nearly two-decade long chapter will be Pink, who wrote the show's Emmy Award-winning theme song.

Billie Eilish, a favorite of the show, is slated to appear as well.

Leading up to the finale, a slew of celebrities are scheduled to stop by and pay tribute to DeGeneres. Names announced include Zac Efron, Kate McKinnon, Justin Timberlake, Keith Urban, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Luke Bryan, Kerry Washington, Brad Paisley, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Oprah Winfrey, Mila Kunis, and Bruno Mars.

Cousins Sophia Grace and Rosie, who gained popularity after DeGeneres showed their cover of Nicki Minaj's "Super Bass" in 2011, will also appear on one of the show's last episodes.

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DeGeneres revealed in May 2021 that her talk show would end with its 19th season, in an announcement that came months after the program was embroiled in controversy over allegations of workplace toxicity. She told The Hollywood Reporter at the time the scandal was not the reason behind the decision.

Just last month, DeGeneres revealed in an announcement on Twitter that she taped the final episode of her talk show. She praised the 19-season gig, calling it "the greatest privilege of my life."

"When we started this show in 2003, the iPhone didn't exist. Social Media didn't exist. Gay marriage wasn't legal. We watched the world change, sometimes for the better, sometimes not," she shared.

"But whatever was happening, my goal was always for the show to be a place where we could all come together and laugh for an hour," she added. "Being invited into your lives has been the greatest privilege of my life and has brought me incredible joy. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

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Also in April, DeGeneres kicked off The Ellen DeGeneres Show by commemorated the 25th anniversary of her former sitcom's iconic coming-out episode.

The two-part episode — both of which aired on April 30, 1997 — was groundbreaking television, and has been called the most influential gay moment on television. Titled "The Puppy Episode," it featured DeGeneres's character coming out as gay. It also coincided with DeGeneres's own milestone coming out.

"When I came out, people warned me that it was going to ruin my career, and they were right for a while," she said during her opening monologue. "Actually, for exactly three years, I lost my career. But look at me now."

"So, it's been 25 years since my coming-out episode, and the only time I'm in the closet now is when Portia and I play hide and seek," DeGeneres added, referencing her wife, Portia De Rossi. "I think about what the next 25 years will bring, and I hope that we keep evolving. I hope, like a little tiny egg that turns into a caterpillar that then turns into a cocoon that eventually, emerges and spreads its big gay butterfly wings."

Episodes of The Ellen DeGeneres Show air weekdays in syndication (check local listings).