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Julia Louis-Dreyfus to receive Mark Twain Prize for comedy

Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus arrives at Broadcast Television Journalists Association's third annual Critics' Choice Television Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on June 10, 2013, in Los Angeles, Calif. Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is this year’s recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

“Like Mark Twain, Julia has enriched American culture with her iconic, unforgettable and outright hilarious brand of humor,” Deborah F. Rutter, the president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, said in The New York Times Wednesday. “Over four decades, her wildly original characters and her gift for physical comedy have left us in stitches.”

READ MORE: HBO postpones production of ‘Veep’ as Julia Louis-Dreyfus continues treatment for breast cancer

In a statement, Louis-Dreyfus said: “Merely to join the list of distinguished recipients of this award would be honor enough, but, as a student of both American history and literature, the fact that Mr. Twain himself will be presenting the award to me in person is particularly gratifying.”

The Seinfeld actress will be handed her award in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 21.

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WATCH BELOW: The latest on Julia Louis-Dreyfus

READ MORE: Julia Louis-Dreyfus diagnosed with breast cancer

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The 11-time Emmy winner also tweeted, “Well, this is insanely exciting.”

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Past recipients include Whoopi Goldberg, Steve Martin, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, Ellen DeGeneres, Jay Leno, Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray and David Letterman.

The 11-time Emmy winner will star in the seventh and final season of HBO’s Veep. The hit series will return in 2019.

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