Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, large cultural complex (opened 1971) in Washington, D.C., with a total of six stages, designed by Edward Durell Stone. The complex, surfaced in marble, makes use of the ornamental facade screens for which the architect is known. Its three main theatres are entered from the Grand Foyer, which faces the Potomac River. The Concert Hall, the largest auditorium, has been designated a national monument; its acoustics are considered exceptional, and its embossed ceiling and crystal chandeliers have been much admired.
Created by the National Cultural Center Act of 1958, the facility was renamed as a “living memorial” to the assassinated president John F. Kennedy, the first American president to take an active interest in promoting the performing arts. It hosts a variety of theatre, dance, and musical performances, both national and international, and is the home of the National Symphony Orchestra as well as the DeVos Institute of Arts Management. Since 1978 it has been the site of an annual gala at which a number of performers are awarded the Kennedy Center Honors.
Winners of the Kennedy Center Honors are provided in the table.
| year | name | field |
|---|---|---|
| *They received special Kennedy Center Honors as the "trailblazing creators of a transformative work that defies category." | ||
| 1978 | Marian Anderson | opera singer |
| Fred Astaire | dancer, actor | |
| George Balanchine | choreographer | |
| Richard Rodgers | composer | |
| Artur Rubinstein | pianist | |
| 1979 | Aaron Copland | composer |
| Ella Fitzgerald | singer | |
| Henry Fonda | actor | |
| Martha Graham | dancer, choreographer | |
| Tennessee Williams | playwright | |
| 1980 | Leonard Bernstein | conductor |
| James Cagney | actor | |
| Agnes de Mille | dancer, choreographer | |
| Lynn Fontanne | actress | |
| Leontyne Price | opera singer | |
| 1981 | Count Basie | jazz pianist |
| Cary Grant | actor | |
| Helen Hayes | actress | |
| Jerome Robbins | dancer, choreographer | |
| Rudolf Serkin | pianist | |
| 1982 | George Abbott | theatre producer, director, writer |
| Lillian Gish | actress | |
| Benny Goodman | swing musician, bandleader, clarinetist | |
| Gene Kelly | dancer, actor | |
| Eugene Ormandy | conductor | |
| 1983 | Katherine Dunham | dancer, choreographer |
| Elia Kazan | theatre and film director | |
| Frank Sinatra | singer, actor | |
| James Stewart | actor | |
| Virgil Thomson | composer, music critic | |
| 1984 | Lena Horne | singer, actress |
| Danny Kaye | actor, comedian | |
| Gian Carlo Menotti | composer | |
| Arthur Miller | playwright | |
| Isaac Stern | violinist | |
| 1985 | Merce Cunningham | dancer, choreographer |
| Irene Dunne | actress | |
| Bob Hope | entertainer, actor | |
| Alan Jay Lerner | playwright, lyricist | |
| Frederick Loewe | composer | |
| Beverly Sills | opera singer | |
| 1986 | Lucille Ball | actress |
| Ray Charles | soul musician, pianist, singer, bandleader | |
| Hume Cronyn | actor | |
| Jessica Tandy | actress | |
| Yehudi Menuhin | violinist | |
| Antony Tudor | choreographer | |
| 1987 | Perry Como | singer |
| Bette Davis | actress | |
| Sammy Davis, Jr. | singer, dancer, entertainer | |
| Nathan Milstein | violinist | |
| Alwin Nikolais | choreographer | |
| 1988 | Alvin Ailey | dancer, choreographer |
| George Burns | actor, comedian | |
| Myrna Loy | actress | |
| Alexander Schneider | violinist, conductor | |
| Roger L. Stevens | arts administrator | |
| 1989 | Harry Belafonte | folk singer, actor, producer |
| Claudette Colbert | actress | |
| Alexandra Danilova | ballet dancer | |
| Mary Martin | actress, singer | |
| William Schuman | composer | |
| 1990 | Dizzy Gillespie | jazz trumpeter, composer, bandleader |
| Katharine Hepburn | actress | |
| Risë Stevens | opera singer | |
| Jule Styne | composer | |
| Billy Wilder | film director | |
| 1991 | Roy Acuff | country vocalist, composer, fiddler |
| Betty Comden | theatre and film writer | |
| Adolph Green | theatre and film writer | |
| Fayard Nicholas | dancer | |
| Harold Nicholas | dancer | |
| Gregory Peck | actor | |
| Robert Shaw | conductor | |
| 1992 | Lionel Hampton | swing musician, bandleader |
| Paul Newman | actor | |
| Joanne Woodward | actress | |
| Ginger Rogers | dancer, actress | |
| Mstislav Rostropovich | musician, conductor | |
| Paul Taylor | dancer, choreographer | |
| 1993 | Johnny Carson | television entertainer |
| Arthur Mitchell | dancer, choreographer | |
| George Solti | conductor | |
| Stephen Sondheim | composer, lyricist | |
| Marion Williams | gospel singer | |
| 1994 | Kirk Douglas | actor |
| Aretha Franklin | soul singer | |
| Morton Gould | composer | |
| Harold Prince | theatre director, producer | |
| Pete Seeger | folk musician | |
| 1995 | Jacques d'Amboise | dancer, choreographer |
| Marilyn Horne | opera singer | |
| B.B. King | blues musician | |
| Sidney Poitier | actor | |
| Neil Simon | playwright | |
| 1996 | Edward Albee | playwright |
| Benny Carter | jazz musician, composer, arranger | |
| Johnny Cash | country musician, singer, songwriter | |
| Jack Lemmon | actor | |
| Maria Tallchief | ballet dancer | |
| 1997 | Lauren Bacall | actress |
| Bob Dylan | singer, songwriter | |
| Charlton Heston | actor | |
| Jessye Norman | opera singer | |
| Edward Villella | dancer, choreographer | |
| 1998 | Bill Cosby | actor, comedian, producer |
| Fred Ebb | lyricist | |
| John Kander | composer | |
| Willie Nelson | country singer, songwriter, guitarist | |
| André Previn | pianist, composer, conductor | |
| Shirley Temple Black | actress, diplomat | |
| 1999 | Victor Borge | pianist, comedian |
| Sean Connery | actor | |
| Judith Jamison | dancer, choreographer | |
| Jason Robards | actor | |
| Stevie Wonder | singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist | |
| 2000 | Mikhail Baryshnikov | dancer |
| Chuck Berry | singer, songwriter, guitarist | |
| Plácido Domingo | opera singer, conductor, opera administrator | |
| Clint Eastwood | actor, director | |
| Angela Lansbury | actress | |
| 2001 | Julie Andrews | actress, singer |
| Van Cliburn | pianist | |
| Quincy Jones | music producer, composer | |
| Jack Nicholson | actor | |
| Luciano Pavarotti | opera singer | |
| 2002 | James Earl Jones | actor |
| James Levine | conductor, pianist | |
| Chita Rivera | dancer, singer, actress | |
| Paul Simon | singer, songwriter | |
| Elizabeth Taylor | actress | |
| 2003 | James Brown | singer, songwriter, dancer |
| Carol Burnett | actress | |
| Loretta Lynn | country singer | |
| Mike Nichols | director | |
| Itzhak Perlman | violinist | |
| 2004 | Warren Beatty | film actor, director |
| Ossie Davis | actor, writer, producer, director | |
| Ruby Dee | actress, writer | |
| Elton John | singer, composer, pianist | |
| Joan Sutherland | opera singer | |
| John Williams | composer | |
| 2005 | Tony Bennett | singer |
| Suzanne Farrell | dancer, teacher | |
| Julie Harris | actress | |
| Robert Redford | film actor, director, producer | |
| Tina Turner | singer, actress | |
| 2006 | Andrew Lloyd Webber | musical theatre composer |
| Zubin Mehta | conductor | |
| Dolly Parton | singer, actress | |
| William ("Smokey") Robinson | singer, songwriter | |
| Steven Spielberg | film director, producer | |
| 2007 | Leon Fleisher | pianist, conductor |
| Steve Martin | actor, writer | |
| Diana Ross | singer, actress | |
| Martin Scorsese | film director | |
| Brian Wilson | composer, singer | |
| 2008 | Morgan Freeman | actor |
| George Jones | country singer | |
| Barbra Streisand | singer, actress, director, producer, writer | |
| Twyla Tharp | dancer, choreographer | |
| Pete Townshend | rock guitarist, singer, composer | |
| Roger Daltrey | singer, composer, actor | |
| 2009 | Mel Brooks | writer, director, actor, producer |
| Dave Brubeck | jazz pianist, composer | |
| Grace Bumbry | opera singer | |
| Robert De Niro | actor, director, producer | |
| Bruce Springsteen | rock singer, composer | |
| 2010 | Merle Haggard | country singer, songwriter |
| Jerry Herman | musical theatre composer, lyricist | |
| Bill T. Jones | dancer, choreographer, theatre director | |
| Paul McCartney | singer, songwriter, musician | |
| Oprah Winfrey | television host, producer, actress | |
| 2011 | Barbara Cook | singer |
| Neil Diamond | singer, songwriter | |
| Yo-Yo Ma | cellist | |
| Sonny Rollins | jazz saxophonist, composer | |
| Meryl Streep | actress | |
| 2012 | Buddy Guy | blues musician |
| Dustin Hoffman | actor, director | |
| Led Zeppelin | rock band | |
| David Letterman | comedian, television host | |
| Natalia Marakova | ballerina, choreographer, teacher | |
| 2013 | Martina Arroyo | opera singer |
| Herbie Hancock | pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, composer | |
| Billy Joel | pianist, singer, songwriter | |
| Shirley MacLaine | actress | |
| Carlos Santana | musician, songwriter | |
| 2014 | Al Green | soul singer |
| Tom Hanks | actor | |
| Patricia McBride | ballet dancer | |
| Sting | singer, songwriter | |
| Lily Tomlin | comedian, writer, actress | |
| 2015 | Carole King | singer, songwriter |
| Geoge Lucas | filmmaker | |
| Rita Moreno | actress, dancer, singer | |
| Seiji Ozawa | conductor | |
| Cicely Tyson | actress | |
| 2016 | Martha Argerich | pianist |
| the Eagles | rock band | |
| Al Pacino | actor | |
| Mavis Staples | singer | |
| James Taylor | singer, songwriter | |
| 2017 | Gloria Estefan | singer, songwriter |
| Carmen de Lavallade | dancer, choreographer | |
| Norman Lear | television writer, producer | |
| LL Cool J | rapper, actor | |
| Lionel Richie | singer, songwriter | |
| 2018 | Cher | singer, actress |
| Philip Glass | composer, pianist | |
| Reba McEntire | singer, actress | |
| Wayne Shorter | jazz saxophonist, composer | |
| creators of the play Hamilton (Andy Blankenbuehler, Thomas Kail, Alex Lacamoire, and Lin-Manuel Miranda)* | ||
| 2019 | Earth, Wind, & Fire | pop and soul band |
| Sally Field | actress | |
| Sesame Street | TV show | |
| Linda Ronstadt | singer | |
| Michael Tilson Thomas | conductor, composer, pianist | |
| 2020 | Debbie Allen | choreographer, actress |
| Joan Baez | activist, singer, songwriter | |
| Garth Brooks | singer, songwriter | |
| Midori | violinist | |
| Dick Van Dyke | actor | |
| 2021 | Justino Díaz | opera singer |
| Berry Gordy | record executive, producer, songwriter | |
| Lorne Michaels | producer, screenwriter | |
| Bette Midler | singer, actress, writer | |
| Joni Mitchell | singer, songwriter | |
| 2022 | George Clooney | actor, director, screenwriter |
| Amy Grant | singer, songwriter | |
| Gladys Knight | singer | |
| Tania León | composer | |
| U2 | rock band | |