Kennedy Center Honors 2025: See Honorees From Gloria Gaynor to Sylvester Stallone
Donald Trump is leading this year’s Kennedy Center Honors. See the full list of award recipients here.
Donald Trump announced the recipients of the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors: an annual awards ceremony that recognizes individuals in the performing arts for their achievements in music, film, theatre and other art forms. With a few months to go until the ceremony takes place at Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center Opera House, the president announced the honorees for the event, including “I Will Survive” hitmaker Gloria Gaynor and Rocky star Sylvester Stallone. According to The Washington Post, Hollywood icon Tom Cruise was also offered the honor but declined the recognition due to “scheduling conflicts.”
On August 12, Trump called the ceremony a “very exciting project,” referring to the recent overhaul of the Kennedy Center Board and to the upcoming awards ceremony.
“We’re going to do something that will go rapidly, relatively inexpensively, and we’ll make it better than it ever was,” Trump noted, adding that he was “delighted to be here as we officially announce the incredible talented artists who will be celebrated later this year at the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors.”
The president also revealed that he signed on to host the awards ceremony. Below, read on to find out who the honorees are for this year’s Kennedy Center Honors event.
The Kennedy Center is proud to announce our incredible lineup of 2025 Kennedy Center Honorees:
•George Strait (@GeorgeStrait)
•Michael Crawford
•Sylvester Stallone (@TheSlyStallone)
•Gloria Gaynor (@GloriaGaynor)
•Kiss (@Kiss)Congratulations to our 48th Class! pic.twitter.com/y8iWt4U0Lq
— The Kennedy Center (@kencen) August 13, 2025
When Is the Kennedy Center Honors 2025 Ceremony?
This year’s Kennedy Center Honors will take place in December 2025.
Who Are Kennedy Center Honorees of 2025?
The following are the honorees for the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors ceremony;
- George Strait, known as the “King of Country Music”
- Gloria Gaynor, famous for her single “I Will Survive” and multiple disco era songs
- Sylvester Stallone, known for his movies Rambo and Rocky
- Michael Crawford, recognized for playing the titular role in The Phantom of the Opera
- KISS, the legendary rock band formed by original members Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss in the 1970s
How to Watch the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors
In the past, the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony has been available to watch on CBS and to stream on Paramount+. It’s likely that this will be the case for the 2025 event.