The Kennedy Center Honors selections for 2022 were George Clooney, Amy Grant, Gladys Knight, Tania Leon and U2. The KCH committee will be announcing the 2023 honorees sometime in the summer in advance of a December ceremony. Tour our photo gallery to see who are our choices for the top 50 entertainers who need to be chosen soon.
In other recent years, we offered a similar special photo gallery and have been very happy to see several of our suggestions be honored. Those have included country music superstar Reba McEntire plus pop star and Oscar-winning actress Cher in 2018 and two-time Academy Award winner Sally Field and orchestral conductor Michael Tilson Thomas in 2019. We had also recommended 2020 honorees Joan Baez, Garth Brooks and Dick Van Dyke (celebrated in May 2021 instead of December 2020) in our previous annual galleries. Of the 2021 selections, Gordy and Midler had been championed here. The Kennedy Center Honors selections for 2021 were Justino Diaz, Berry Gordy, Lorne Michaels, Bette Midler and Joni Mitchell.
And now we provide our latest list of Kennedy Center Honors top 50 recommendations for 2023. Of course, only five of them can be chosen but certainly all are worthy. Enjoy our gallery ranked from #1 to #50, including such overdue people as Denzel Washington, Jessica Lange, Dionne Warwick, Mick Jagger, Harrison Ford, Liza Minnelli, Tommy Tune and many more. Each year the selection committee chooses five entertainment veterans from a variety of fields – film, television, popular music, theatre, and the fine arts (dance, opera, classical music). Selected artists are almost always over 50 and generally are 60 and beyond. The committee does not provide for posthumous selections.
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1. Denzel Washington
Image Credit: Chelsea Lauren/DDH Washington is one of only two African-Americans with two Academy Awards for acting (“Glory,” 1989; “Training Day,” 2001). His other Oscar nominations were for “Cry Freedom” (1987), “Malcolm X” (1992), “The Hurricane” (1999), “Flight” (2012), “Fences” (2016, producing and acting), “Roman J. Israel, Esq.” (2017) and “The Tragedy of Macbeth” (2021). He also won a Tony Award for the same role in “Fences” (2010). He received the AFI life achievement award in 2019 and the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2016.
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2. Liza Minnelli
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive/Penske Media Minnelli is very close to EGOT, having never won a Grammy Award before. She won a Tony Award for “Flora the Red Menace” (1965), an Oscar for “Cabaret” (1973), and an Emmy for “Liza with a Z” (1973). The daughter of legendary entertainer Judy Garland, other films have included “The Sterile Cuckoo” (1969, her first Oscar nomination), “New York, New York” (1977), and “Arthur” (1981).
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3. Mick Jagger
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive/Penske Media Whether he gets selected by himself (like Paul McCartney) or with his group The Rolling Stones (like The Who and Led Zeppelin), this honor is long overdue. The lead singer was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with his band in 1989. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2003. Their lengthy list of hit singles has included “Satisfaction,” “Get Off My Cloud,” “Ruby Tuesday,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Brown Sugar,” “Wild Horses,” “Angie,” and “Start Me Up.”
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4. Dionne Warwick
Image Credit: Stephen Lovekin/Variety Warwick ranks only behind Aretha Franklin with the most charting hit songs for female vocalists (56). She has won Grammys for the songs “Do You Know the Way to San Jose,” “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” “I’ll Never Love This Way Again,” “Deja Vu” and “That’s What Friends Are For.” Other nominations were for “Walk on By,” “Alfie,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” “This Girl’s in Love with You” and “Then Came You.”
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5. Harrison Ford
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety Ford is the biggest box office star in American history but still hasn’t had much of an awards career but did receive an Oscar nomination for “Witness” (1985). He was awarded the American Film Institute life achievement in 2000 and the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes in 2002. His film career has included the “Star Wars” trilogy, “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Working Girl,” “Regarding Henry,” “Patriot Games,” “The Fugitive,” “Air Force One,” and “42.”
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6. Tommy Tune
Image Credit: Stephen Lovekin/WWD Tune has been one of the top choreographers and dancers in Broadway history. He is a nine-time Tony Award winner for his performances in “Seesaw” and “My One and Only,” for his direction of “Nine,” “Grand Hotel” and “The Will Rogers Follies” and choreography of “A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine,” “My One and Only,” “Grand Hotel” and “The Will Rogers Follies.”
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7. Jessica Lange
Image Credit: Chelsea Lauren/Variety Lange is just one notch away from EGOT. She is a two-time Academy Award winner (“Tootsie,” 1982; “Blue Sky,” 1994) among her six nominations. She is a three-time Emmy champ (“Grey Gardens,” 2009; “American Horror Story,” 2012; and “American Horror Story: Coven,” 2014). Lange won a Tony Award in 2016 for “Long Day’s Journey Into Night.” Other films in her career have included “Frances,” “Sweet Dreams,” “Crimes of the Heart,” “Cape Fear,” and “Big Fish.”
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8. Barry Gibb
Image Credit: AB1/Adriana M. Barraza/WENN/Newscom/The Mega Agency It’s a shame that Gibb would not be able to share a Kennedy Center Honor with his two brothers Robin and Maurice, who have both died. Together they were the Bee Gees, one of the most successful bands of the 1960s and 1970s. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, and Gibb was knighted in 2018 by Queen Elizabeth II. He is a six-time Grammy winner for the song “How Deep Is Your Love,” the song “Stayin’ Alive,” the album “Saturday Night Fever” (twice), the song “Guilty” as Producer of the Year.
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9. Emmylou Harris
Image Credit: Scott Rudd Harris is as known for her songwriting as she is as one of the top country artists in history. She is a 13-time Grammy Award winner, including her first victory in 1977 for “Elite Hotel.” She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008.
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10. Arturo Sandoval
Image Credit: Al Diaz/MCT/Newscom/The Mega Agency The Cuban-born Sandoval is one of the greatest trumpet players in music history. He defected to America in 1990 while performing with previous KCH recipient Dizzy Gillespie. He is a 10-time Grammy winner, Emmy winner and recipient of the 2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom.
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11. Glenn Close
Image Credit: Clint Spaulding/WWD The film career of Close got off to a blazing hot start with five Oscar nominations in the 1980s alone (“The World According to Garp,” “The Big Chill,” “The Natural,” “Fatal Attraction,” “Dangerous Liaisons”) with a sixth in 2011 for “Albert Nobbs” and then “The Wife” and “Hillbilly Elegy.” She is a three-time Emmy winner for “Serving in Silence” and “Damages” plus a three-time Tony Award winner for “The Real Thing,” “Death and the Maiden” and “Sunset Boulevard.”
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12. Bob Newhart
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Deadline Newhart has proven to be one of the most beloved comedians in American history since the early 1960s. In fact he won at the 1961 Grammy Awards as Best New Artist and for Album of the Year. He was inducted into the TV Academy Hall of Fame in 1993 for his roles on “The Bob Newhart Show” and “Newhart.” He won his only Emmy Award in 2013 for a guest role on “The Big Bang Theory.” He was the 2002 recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center.
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13. Renee Fleming
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive/Penske Media Fleming is a four-time Grammy-winning opera singer among her 16 career nominations. She also received the National Medal of Arts and many other honors from around the world and in America.
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14. Alan Alda
Image Credit: Mark Von Holden/Variety Alda has established himself as a triple threat on television, on stage, and in films. He won five Emmy Awards for the legendary comedy series “M*A*S*H” spread out over acting, directing, and writing (the only person to prevail in only three fields). He also took home a sixth Emmy for his role on “The West Wing” and was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1994. He’s been nominated at the Oscars (“The Aviator,”), Grammys (“Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself,” 2008), and three times at the Tony Awards (“The Apple Tree,” 1967; “Jake’s Women,” 1992; “Glengarry Glen Ross,” 2005).
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15. Diane Keaton
Image Credit: Steve Eichner / WWD Keaton is an Oscar-winning actress (“Annie Hall,” 1977) who has been primarily working in films since the early 1970s. Her career has included “The Godfather,” “Reds,” “Marvin’s Room,” “Baby Boom,” “Father of the Bride,” “The First Wives Club” and “Something’s Gotta Give.” She was the 2017 recipient of the American Film Institute life achievement award.
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16. Eddie Murphy
Image Credit: Rob Latour/Variety Murphy blasted into the entertainment world in the early 1980s with “Saturday Night Live.” His film career has included an Oscar nomination for “Dreamgirls” plus “Trading Places,” “Beverly Hills Cop,” “The Nutty Professor” and “Dolemite Is My Name.” He received the 2015 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. He won his first Emmy Award in 2020 for returning to host “SNL.” He received the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2023.
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17. Bonnie Raitt
Image Credit: DH1/Dimitri Halkidis / WENN/Newscom/The Mega Agency Raitt might be the most famous female rocker and blues guitarist in music history. She is a 13-time Grammy winner for such singles as “Something to Talk About,” “Love Sneakin’ Up On You, “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and “Just Like That.” She has also been an activist for environmental issues and preserving music history and celebrating its founders. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
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18. Frankie Valli
Image Credit: JR3/ZOB/Jesse Randall/ WENN/Newscom/The Mega Agency Valli is the best known founder of the pop and rock group The Four Seasons beginning in 1960. The group had major hit singles in “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Rag Doll” and “”December, 1963.” Valli had solo hits in “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” “My Eyes Adored You” and “Grease.” The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. “Jersey Boys,” a Broadway musical of their lives, is still being performed around the world.
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19. Jane Fonda
Image Credit: Andrew H Walker/WWD If Fonda is selected for a Kennedy Center Honors, she would be the first child of a previous recipient, her father Henry Fonda. She is a two-time Oscar winner for “Klute” (1971) and “Coming Home” (1978) and an Emmy winner for the TV movie “The Dollmaker” (1984). She received the 2014 American Film Institute life achievement award and 2021 Cecil B. DeMille Award.
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20. Wynton Marsalis
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive/Penske Media Marsalis is one of the top trumpet players in American history. He was the first jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize (“Blood on the Fields”). He is the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center and is a nine-time Grammy winner.
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21. Cynthia Gregory
Image Credit: PHOTOlink/Newscom/The Mega Agency Gregory is one of the most famous American prima ballerinas of recent decades. She first became well known in San Francisco as a teenager before joining the American Ballet Theatre in 1965. She has had roles in “Giselle,”” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Coppelia,” “Don Quixote,” “The Eternal Idol” and “At Midnight.”
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22. George Strait
Image Credit: Gary Wiepert / UPI Photo Service/Newscom/The Mega Agency Strait has been one of the most popular country music artists of the past four decades and recently retired from touring. He is third only to Elvis Presley and The Beatles for the most gold and platinum albums in music history. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006.
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23. Michael J. Fox
Image Credit: ZUMA Press / MEGA Michael J. Fox is a five-time Emmy winner for “Family Ties,” “Spin City” and “Rescue Me.” He was one of the biggest box office stars with “Back to the Future,” “The Secret of My Success,” “Casualties of War” and “Doc Hollywood.” He received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 2022 raising hundreds of millions for Parkinson’s research.
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24. Fleetwood Mac
Image Credit: Stephen Lovekin/Variety Fleetwood Mac would be only the fifth group honored by the Kennedy Center after The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles and Earth, Wind and Fire. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. The most widely known members are Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie (included posthumously), Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.
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25. Francis Ford Coppola
Image Credit: Rob Latour /Variety While Coppola hasn’t been a prolific director in the film industry, he has been highly influential. He has won five Academy Awards for writing “Patton” (1970), writing “The Godfather” (1972) and writing, producing and directing “The Godfather Part II” (1974). Other films directed by Coppola have included “The Conversation,” “Apocalypse Now” and “Peggy Sue Got Married.”
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26. Whoopi Goldberg
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive/Penske Media Goldberg is one of the few people who have achieved EGOT in her entertainment career. She won an Oscar for “Ghost,” a Grammy for her comedy album “Direct From Broadway,” a Tony Award for producing “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and a Daytime Emmy for hosting “The View.” Other film roles have included “The Color Purple,” “Sister Act” and “The Lion King.” She was the 2001 recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center.
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27. Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss
Image Credit: LL1/WENN/Newscom/The Mega Agency Alpert and Moss are the founders of the legendary recording studio A&M Records, home of The Carpenters, Joe Cocker, Cat Stevens, Carole King, Janet Jackson and The Police. Alpert is also one of the greatest trumpet players in American history with eight Grammys. The two men were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.
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28. Johnny Mathis
Image Credit: SH5/Mandatory Credit: Sakura/WENN/Newscom/The Mega Agency Pop star Mathis has sold over 360 million records worldwide during his career. Some of his most popular hits have been “Misty,” “Chances Are” and “It’s Not for Me to Say.” He received a Grammy life achievement award in 2003.
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29. Patti LaBelle
Image Credit: Matthew Peyton/Getty Images Singer Patti LaBelle is one of the most electrifying artist of recent decades. She has sold more than 50 million records worldwide with such hits as “Lady Marmalade,” “New Attitude,” “New Day,” “On My Own” and more. She won two Grammy Awards and is in the Grammy Hall of Fame.
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30. Ann-Margret
Image Credit: Digital Press Photos/Newscom/The Mega Agency Ann-Margret began her career as an actress, singer and dancer in 1961. Top film roles have included “Bye Bye Birdie,” “Viva Las Vegas” and her Oscar-nominated performances in “Carnal Knowledge” and “Tommy.” She won a 2010 Emmy for “Law and Order: SVU.”
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31. Eric Clapton
Image Credit: Allen Roger / Mirrorpix/Newscom/The Mega Agency Clapton is the only person to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times (as a solo artist and as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream). The British guitarist and singer is one of the most influential of all time. He is an 18-time Grammy Award winner.
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32. Bernadette Peters
Image Credit: 108AR/CH/WENN/Newscom/The Mega Agency Peters is one of the most acclaimed Broadway stars of the past five decades. She has two Tony Award wins for “Song and Dance” and “Annie Get Your Gun” plus nominations for “On the Town,” “Mack and Mabel,” “Sunday in the Park with George,” “The Goodbye Girl” an “Gypsy.” She is a three-time Grammy nominee and three-time Emmy nominee.
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33. Shirley Caesar
Image Credit: MT3/WENN/Newscom/The Mega Agency Caesar is known as the “First Lady of Gospel Music” and began her career at age 12. She has recorded more than 40 albums, winning 12 Grammy Awards plus the Grammy life achievement award.
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34. Jeff Bridges
Image Credit: Kathy Hutchins Photography/Newscom/The Mega Agency Bridges was born into an acting family with father Lloyd and brother Beau leading the way. He has mainly focused his career in film with an Oscar win for the 2009 movie “Crazy Heart” and six other nominations for “The Last Picture Show,” “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot,” “Starman,” “The Contender,” “True Grit” and “Hell or High Water.” He received the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2019.
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35. Vince Gill
Image Credit: Stephen Lovekin/Variety Gill began his career in the 1970s as part of the Pure Prairie League but jumped into a highly successful solo country music career in 1983. Selling more than 26 million albums, he has won 22 Grammy Awards, more than any other male solo country artist. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007.
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36. Patti LuPone
Image Credit: JM11/Joseph Marzullo / WENN/Newscom/The Mega Agency LuPone has had a career in film and television but is best known for her work on Broadway. She is a three-time Tony Award winner for “Evita” (1980), “Gypsy” (2008) and “Company” (2022). Her other nominations were for “The Robber Bridegroom,” “Anything Goes,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” “and “War Paint.”
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37. Billy Crystal
Image Credit: Mirrorpix/Newscom/The Mega Agency Crystal is a comedian and actor almost equally known for his work on television and in film. Top films have included “When Harry Met Sally,” “City Slickers” and “Monsters, Inc.” He has hosted the Academy Awards ceremony nine times beginning in 1990. He is a six-time Emmy winner, a Tony winner (“700 Sundays”) and the recipient of the 2007 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
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38. David Mamet
Image Credit: AM1/ARB/Anthony G. Moore / WENN/Newscom/The Mega Agency Mamet is a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright who received Tony nominations for “Glengarry Glen Ross” (1984) and “Speed-the-Plow” (1988). He is also an Oscar nominee for his screenplays of “The Verdict” (1982) and “Wag the Dog” (1997). Other films have included “About Last Night,” “The Untouchables,” “House of Games” and “American Buffalo” (based on his play).
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39. Spike Lee
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety Lee is a five-time Oscar nominee for “Do the Right Thing,” “4 Little Girls” and “BlacKkKlansman” and winner for Best Adapted Screenplay. He received an honorary Academy Award in 2016. He has also won two Emmys for “When the Levees Broke.” Other films have included “Malcolm X,” “Jungle Fever,” “Inside Man” and “Da 5 Bloods.”
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40. Sophia Loren
Image Credit: Kathy Hutchins / Hutchins Photo/Newscom/The Mega Agency Loren won an Oscar early in her career for the 1960 film “Two Women.” She received an honorary Academy Award in 1992. She won a Grammy Award in 2004.
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41. Pinchas Zukerman
Image Credit: Sam Tsang/SCMP/Newscom/The Mega Agency Zukerman was born in Israel but has worked most of his career in America as a violinist and conductor. Working under the guidance of the legendary Leonard Bernstein, he has gone on the record over 100 releases. He founded the National Arts Centre Young Artists Programme in 1999.
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42. Michael Douglas
Image Credit: Chelsea Lauren/Variety In addition to Jane Fonda mentioned earlier, Douglas could have the unique opportunity to follow up his father Kirk Douglas as an honoree. He won an Oscar for Best Picture of 1975 with “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” but is primarily known as an actor with an Oscar for “Wall Street” (1987) and an Emmy for “Behind the Candelabra” (2013). Other major film role have included “The China Syndrome,” “Romancing the Stone,” “Fatal Attraction,” “The American President,” “Traffic” and “Wonder Boys.” He received the American Film Institute life achievement award in 2009.
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43. Ron Howard
Image Credit: Kathy Hutchins Photography/Newscom/The Mega Agency Howard has been in show business for over 60 years, first as one of America’s finest child and teen actors and later as an in-demand director and producer for films. He is best known as an actor for “The Andy Griffith Show,” “Happy Days” and “American Graffiti.” He won two Oscars for “A Beautiful Mind” plus had such other top movies as “Splash,” “Cocoon,” “Parenthood,” “Apollo 13” and “Frost/Nixon.” He was inducted into the TV Academy Hall of Fame in 2013.
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44. Jodie Foster
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety Foster is a two-time Oscar winner for “The Accused” and “The Silence of the Lambs” and also received nominations for “Taxi Driver” and “Nell.” She has been working since a very early age and has also starred in “Contact,” “Panic Room,” “Inside Man” and “The Mauritanian.” She received the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2013.
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45. Phil Collins
Image Credit: JR3/ZOB/Jesse Randall/ WENN/Newscom/The Mega Agency Collins already had a top-level career in the 1970s with the band Genesis when he decided to simultaneously go on his own as a solo artist. With all of his work combined, he had more Top 40 singles domestically in the 1980s during the 1980s. He is an Oscar winner for the 2000 movie “Tarzan” and an eight-time Grammy winner for “Against All Odds,” “No Jacket Required,” “The Prince’s Trust All-Star Rock Concert,” “Two Hearts,” “Another Day in Paradise,” “Tarzan” and as Producer of the Year. Genesis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.
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46. Queen
Image Credit: Keystone/Getty Images British band Queen enjoyed a resurgence in popularity due to the 2018 film “Bohemian Rhapsody.” They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. Band members are John Deacon, Freddie Mercury (posthumous), Roger Taylor and Brian May. Top hit songs included “Killer Queen,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “You’re My Best Friend,” “Somebody to Love,” “We Will Rock You,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “Another One Bites the Dust.”
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47. Audra McDonald
Image Credit: Andrew H. Walker/Variety McDonald has won more Tony Awards than any other Broadway performer. Her six victories have been for “Carousel,” “Master Class,” “Ragtime,” “A Raisin in the Sun,” “Porgy and Bess” and “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill.” She is also an Emmy winner for “Sweeney Todd” and Grammy winner for “Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.”
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48. Tony Kushner
Image Credit: ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA Kushner is an American playwright who won a Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award and Emmy for “Angels in America.” He received Oscar nominations for his screenplays of “Munich,” “Lincoln” and “The Fabelmans.” He also wrote the book for the acclaimed musical “Caroline, or Change?”
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49. Brooks and Dunn
Image Credit: KATHY HUTCHINS / Kathy Hutchins Photography/Newscom/The Mega Agency The country duo of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn is one of the most successful in music history. A grand total of 20 songs have hit #1 on the country music charts, including “My Maria” and “Ain’t Nothin’ About You.” They have won 17 CMA Awards, 26 ACM Awards and 2 Grammys. They were selected in 2019 for induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
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50. Bill Murray
Image Credit: Tara Mays/Variety Murray is one of the most successful comedic actors of all time, but he can also bring the goods in dramatic roles. He was an Oscar nominee for “Lost in Translation” and a two-time Emmy winner for “Saturday Night Live” and “Olive Kitteridge.” He received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2016. Other films have included “Stripes,” “Caddyshack,” “Ghostbusters,” “Tootsie,” “What About Bob?,” “Groundhog Day,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and “Rushmore.”
