page_title: Kennedy Center Honors
section_title: Recipients
hierarchical_section_title: Kennedy Center Honors / Recipients
caption_attribution_description: English: President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush pose with the Kennedy Center honorees, from left to right, actress Julie Harris, actor Robert Redford, singer Tina Turner, ballet dancer Suzanne Farrell and singer Tony Bennett, Sunday, December 4, 2005, during the reception in the Blue Room at the White House.
context_page_description: The Kennedy Center Honors is an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. The honors have been presented annually since 1978, culminating each December in a star-studded gala celebrating the honorees in the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, D.C.
context_section_description: There have been 230 recipients to date of the Kennedy Center Honors award during the Honors' 42 years (as of 2019), although the award given to Bill Cosby in 1998 was rescinded in 2018, following a sexual assault conviction. The vast majority have been bestowed on individuals. On 11 occasions since 1985, awards have been presented to duos or groups, including three married couples who were actors: Hume Cronyn & Jessica Tandy, Paul Newman * Joanne Woodward and Ossie Davis & Ruby Dee. The dancers Fayard Nicholas & Harold Nicholas of the Nicholas Brothers were honored, along with three musical theater songwriting duos: Alan Jay Lerner & Frederick Loewe, Betty Comden & Adolph Green, and John Kander & Fred Ebb. The musicians of four music groups were awarded: Pete Townshend & Roger Daltrey of The Who; John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page & Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin; Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit, Joe Walsh & (posthumously) Glenn Frey of the Eagles; and Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Ralph Johnson & (posthumously) Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire. 
  In 2018, the award for "trailblazing creators of a transformative work that defies category" was created and presented at the annual ceremony to the creators of the musical Hamilton: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thomas Kail, Andy Blankenbuehler and Alex Lacamoire.
  The 2019 honorees included, for the first time, a television program; the co-founders of Sesame Street, Joan Ganz Cooney and Dr. Lloyd Morrisett, accepted the Kennedy Center Honors on behalf of all of the creators.
caption: 2005 Kennedy Center Honorees Julie Harris, Robert Redford, Tina Turner, Suzanne Farrell and Tony Bennett, with President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush, in the Blue Room at the White House, December 4, 2005.
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