Vogue editor Dame Anna Wintour, U2 frontman Bono and billionaire George Soros are among those who will receive America’s highest civilian honour from outgoing President Joe Biden.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom will be awarded to 19 people this year, spanning cultural icons, politicians and campaigners.
They have been chosen because they are “good people who have made extraordinary contributions to their country and the world”, the White House said.
Biden will present the medals at the White House in a ceremony on Saturday.
Bono, who’s real name is Paul David Hewson, has already been awarded the highest cultural honour of France and received an honorary knighthood.
He is known for campaigning against poverty and supporting those with HIV/Aids.
Wintour, one of the most significant players in fashion, has been serving as editor-in-chief of Vogue since 1988 and among other charities helped raised more than $20m for Aids research.
She also raised money for UK arts organisations following funding cuts in 2022.
Billionaire philanthropist and major Democrat donor George Soros and US politician Hillary Clinton are also among recipients.
In 2018, Soros, a Hungarian-born financier, was one of the high-profile critics of Donald Trump to be targeted by a mail bomber.
Clinton, the former US secretary of state, will receive the award just weeks before her former political rival is sworn in as president. She lost to Trump in the 2016 election.
Cultural luminaries – including actors Denzel Washington and Michael J Fox – will receive the medal alongside football star Lionel Messi, retired Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Earvin “Magic” Johnson and fashion designer Ralph Lauren.
American Film Institute founder George Stevens Jr and former Kennedy Center chair David Rubinstein are among the cohort receiving medals.
Other recipients include humanitarian and chef José Andrés, whose World Central Kitchen has helped provide food for civilians in war zones and areas hit by natural disasters; acclaimed British conservationist Jane Goodall and science educator Bill Nye.
Former US Attorney General Robert F Kennedy, former Defense Secretary Ash Carter, civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer and former Governor of Michigan George W Romney will receive the award posthumously.
Established under former president John F Kennedy, the medal is awarded at the discretion of the president on the advice of an external advisory panel.
Previous recipients of the award include the most decorated gymnast of all time Simone Biles, Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh and Apple founder Steve Jobs.
By BBC News
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