Vogue editor Anna Wintour, U2 frontman Bono and billionaire George Soros are among those to receive America's highest civilian honor from outgoing President Joe Biden.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom will be awarded to 19 people this year, including cultural icons, politicians and activists.
They were chosen because they are “good people who have made outstanding 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 honor and received an honorary knighthood.
He is known for his campaign against poverty and support for people with HIV/AIDS.
Wintourone of fashion's most significant players, serving as Vogue's editor-in-chief since 1988. and, among other charities, helped raise more than $20 million for AIDS research.
She too collected money for UK arts organizations after funding cuts in 2022
Billionaire philanthropist and major Democratic donor George Soros and American politician Hillary Clinton are also among the recipients.
In 2018 Soros, a Hungarian-born financier, was one of the high-profile critics of Donald Trump who became the target of 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 together with the football star Lionel Messiretired Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Irvin “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 among the cohort receiving medals.
Other recipients include humanitarian aid and a chef Jose Andreswhose World Central Kitchen helped provide food for civilians in war zones and areas affected by natural disasters; an acclaimed British conservationist Jane Goodall and science teacher Bill Nye.
Former US Attorney General Robert Kennedyformer Minister of Defense Ash Cartercivil 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 committee.
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.