The Kennedy Center event, in its 45th edition, recognizes stars of music, stage and screen for their contribution to American culture.
At a preview reception for the five White House honorees, President Joe Biden addressed each of them personally, praising their individual talents and saying they embodied the spirit of the country.
“Seeing each other, seeing each other, coming together in a common cause: tonight we celebrate a truly exceptional group of artists,” Biden said.
The room was packed with celebrities, the second star-studded White House event in recent days. Actors Julia Roberts and Matt Damon were sitting next to each other, across from journalist Katie Couric.
In the front row, former Washington, DC police officer Michael Fanone, who was beaten defending the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, sat next to singer Eddie Vedder.
Clooney, an actor and filmmaker who played a doctor on NBC’s hit television series “ER” before launching a film career that earned him two Academy Awards, has also won praise for his humanitarian work.
Grant rose to fame as a contemporary Christian music singer who later went on to pop stardom, racking up six Grammy Awards.
The winner of seven Grammy Awards, Knight is best known for hits including “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and “Midnight Train to Georgia” as the lead singer of The Pips, who became Gladys Knight & The Pips in 1962.
Cuban-born León is a conductor and composer, and her orchestral piece “Stride” won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Music.
Irish band U2, with its members Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr., have won 22 Grammy Awards and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.