Ellen Loves A Good Topical Halloween Costume

Ellen DeGeneres loves Halloween, as you might know if you're a fan of her show. She always has a great Halloween special and loves to spook and scare celebrity guests — Eric Stonestreet getting pranked is one of the most amazing. And of course, she goes all out with her Halloween costumes, and her best are the ones that are the most topical. On Friday, DeGeneres revealed her highly-anticipated choice for 2015: the fictional Karla Kardashian, the kooky, often-overlooked Kardashian sister. "I'm the lesser known Kardashian sister," she said, coming out to cheers when she showed up in her costume with leggings and big frizzy wig with some unfortunate bangs. "Since I'm the younger sister, I get all the hand-me-downs," saying that her Shape-ups were a gift from Kim.

DeGeneres almost always chooses a costume that's relevant; it's her job to know what's buzzing. And she's had plenty of hits in the 12 years that her show has been on the air, with some more successful than others. I know people love her Nicki Minaj costume from 2013, but there are so many better costumes in DeGeneres' collection. Here are my favorite of her topical costumes from throughout the years:

7. Karla Kardashian (2015)

Pretty funny, but definitely not her funniest. Although I do appreciate that the show made their own opening credits for the newest season of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, now featuring Karla.

6. Sophia Grace (2011)

This one gets points for being ultra-meta. After adorable Sophia Grace and Rosie went viral for their cover of "Super Bass" by Nicki Minaj, they appeared on DeGeneres' show, and the host paid homage to their popularity by dressing up as Sophia.

5. Dr. Phil (2003)

DeGeneres popped on the bald cap to appear as Dr. Phil in 2003, and I gotta say, the resemblance is uncanny. Their shows premiered very close to each other, and obviously, Ellen has become the breakout star in the past decade, and Dr. Phil is... still around.

4. "Change" (2008)

As in, "Hope and Change." I love that DeGeneres did a "political" costume as a pun. Get it?! She's literally change we can believe in.

3. The Cover Of O Magazine (2009)

It was no secret that DeGeneres long wanted to be on the cover of O Magazine , so she cleverly made it happen on her own, putting herself on the cover. "Stop staring at my articles!" she said. "This is just a photo that Oprah and I took over the weekend," she said. "This is what we do when we hang out, push each other on swings." A month later DeGeneres really did appear on the cover of O, in a very adorable gingerbread-themed shoot with Oprah herself, but personally, I like this life-size version better.

2. Snooki's Poof (2010)

Oh my god. DeGeneres came out onto the stage in 2010 as Snooki's poof. Remember, this was at the height of the Jersey Shore, and the comedienne dressed as a giant pompadour. "I was almost late to the show because I didn't realize how long it takes to Gym Tan and Laundry," she said. Watching Ellen do an interview with Vanessa Williams (dressed like a baby) with her tiny head poking out of the hair is just too much of a treat for me.

1. Amal Alamuddin Clooney & George Clooney

My favorite DeGeneres getup came in 2014 when the talk-show host did a double-costume. She dressed up as Amal Alamuddin Clooney, the human rights lawyer who happened to marry actor George Clooney. Please watch this video. DeGeneres has a stuffed body pillow, basically, with George Clooney's face on it. "This might be my sexiest costume yet," she said. "Because what is sexier than a woman with a brain?" It's topical and biting against the way that Amal Alamuddin Clooney was publicized as simply "George Clooney's new wife," when in fact, she's an accomplished, high-profile lawyer, and obviously he's the one who got lucky in this situation.

Happy Halloween, Ellen! May you always stay in the spooky, silly spirit.