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Vogue editor Dame Anna Wintour, U2 frontman Bono and billionaire George Soros are among those to receive America’s highest civilian award from outgoing President Joe Biden.
This year, 19 people will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, including representatives of culture, politicians and activists.
They were 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.
Bonowhose real name is Paul David Hewson, has already been awarded France’s highest cultural award and received an honorary knighthood.
He is known for his anti-poverty campaign and support for people with HIV/AIDS.
Wintourone of fashion’s most significant players, has been Vogue’s editor-in-chief since 1988 and has helped raise more than $20 million for AIDS research, among other charities.
She too collected money for UK arts organizations after funding cuts in 2022.
Billionaire philanthropist and major Democratic donor George Soros and US politician Hillary Clinton also among the recipients.
In 2018, Soros, a financier of Hungarian origin, was one of the most vocal critics of Donald Trump who was the target of a mail blast.
Clinton, a 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.
The luminaries of culture – including actors Denzel Washington and Michael J. Fox – will receive a medal together with a football star Lionel Messiretired Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Earvin “Magic” Johnson and fashion designer Ralph Lauren.
Founder of the American Film Institute George Stevens Jr and former chairman of the Kennedy Center David Rubinstein are included in the cohort of awardees.
Other recipients include a humanitarian organization and a chef Jose Andreswhose World Central Kitchen helped feed civilians in war zones and disaster areas; recognized British conservationist Jane Goodall and science teacher Bill Nye.
Former US Attorney General Robert Kennedyformer defense minister Ash Cartercivil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer and former governor of Michigan George Romney will receive the award posthumously.
The medal, established under former President John F. Kennedy, is awarded at the discretion of the president on the advice of an external advisory panel.
Previous winners of the award include the most decorated gymnast of all time, Simone Biles, Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh and Apple founder Steve Jobs.
