US President Joe Biden has named 17 recipients for the Presidential Medal of Freedom for 2022.
The awards, described as America's "highest civilian honour", will be presented in Washington DC later this week.
In a statement, the White House says the 17 recipients have all "overcome significant obstacles to achieve impressive accomplishments in the arts and sciences, dedicated their lives to advocating for the most vulnerable among us, and acted with bravery to drive change in their communities – and across the world – while blazing trails for generations to come."
Here's who the President has named as recipients.
Simone Biles
Who: Seven-time Olympic medallist, mental health and child safety advocate
Why: America's most decorated gymnast of all time went into the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with the weight of the GOAT title on her shoulders — so when she withdrew from some of her best events to focus on her mental health, it forced the sporting world (and beyond) to rethink how it sees success. The 25-year-old also spoke out against abuse within the gymnastics and wider sporting systems, testifying against former team doctor Larry Nassar and giving evidence to the Senate Judiciary Committee into the FBI's response.
Denzel Washington
Who: Actor and director, Boys & Girls Clubs of America spokesperson
Why: The 67-year-old will add the Presidential Medal of Freedom to his collection of two Oscars, two Golden Globes, a Tony and the Cecil B DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding contributions to entertainment. In 2000, he became the first black American in 36 years to win an Oscar for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama and some — namely, the New York Times — have dubbed him the best actor of this century.
John McCain
Who: Former US politician and navy officer
Why: A Vietnam veteran, McCain served six terms for the Republicans and was the party's US presidential nominee in 2008. When he died of brain cancer in 2018 at the age of 81, he released a final statement saying: "Do not despair of our present difficulties but believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history."
Megan Rapinoe
Who: World Cup and Olympic champion footballer, LGBTQI+ advocate
Why: As well as being undoubtedly one of the best footballers in the world, Rapinoe has been a key driver for equal pay, LGBTQI+ rights and ending gender discrimination, to name a few causes, and most recently the 36-year-old has been vocal on issues like the banning of transgender athletes in professional sport and the overturning of Roe v Wade. She reacted to the announcement by posting a clip on Instagram saying "you guys, I'm going to the f***ing White House!"
Steve Jobs
Who: Entrepreneur, co-founder of Apple and Pixar
Why: From college dropout to one of the most influential people in modern technology, Steve Jobs has been remembered as a "visionary and creative genius". More than a decade after his death in 2011 aged just 56, the White House says Jobs's "vision, imagination and creativity led to inventions that have, and continue to, change the way the world communicates, as well as transforming the computer, music, film and wireless industries."
Sandra Lindsay
Who: Critical care nurse
Why: Sandra Lindsay was the first American to receive a COVID-19 vaccine outside of clinical trials, and became one of the faces of the country's vaccination push. Since pictures of her getting that first jab were beamed around the world in late 2020, she's served as parade Grand Marshal at New York City's Hometown Heroes Parade for frontline workers, received the US Citizenship and Immigration Services Outstanding Americans by Choice recognition, and met with the President of the US General Assembly.
Khizr Khan
Who: Constitution Literacy and National Unity Centre founder, religious freedom advocate
Why: At the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Khizr Khan famously spoke out against Donald Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from the US. He lost his son, Captain Humayun Khan, in the Iraq war in 2004. Khan served on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom until earlier this year.
Gabrielle Giffords
Who: Former congresswoman, gun violence prevention advocate
Why: Gabby Giffords co-founded a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to reducing gun violence soon after the Sandy Hook shooting in 2013. She herself was shot in the head during a mass shooting in 2011, which forced her to step down from Congress.
Julieta García
Who: Former University of Texas Brownsville president
Why: Dr Julieta García was the first Hispanic woman to serve as a college president in the US and dedicated her career to serving students from the Southwest Border region. TIME magazine identified her as one of the best college presidents in the country in 2009.
Fred Gray
Who: Lawyer and activist
Why: Fred Gray Senior has been involved in some of the most significant civil rights cases in American history, representing and working with the likes of Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and the NAACP. Now aged 91, he was elected to the Alabama State Legislature in 1970 — becoming one of the first African American members since the Reconstruction era — and became the first African American president of the Alabama Bar Association in 2002.
Sister Simone Campbell
Who: Nun, lawyer and poet
Why: The former NETWORK Lobby executive director is a founder of "Nuns on the Bus", a tour of religious community members that first started in 2012 to bring attention to policies on inequality, poverty and health. On receiving the Medal of Freedom, she says she hopes "our work for economic justice and political healing might receive a renewed focus in these challenging times!"
Richard Trumka
Who: Union leader
Why: Richard Trumka had been the president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations for more than 10 years before he died unexpectedly last year, aged 72. Described as an "outspoken advocate for social and economic justice", he was also the president of the United Mine Workers.
Diane Nash
Who: Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee founding member, "Freedom Rider"
Why: Civil rights activist Diane Nash first started going to nonviolence workshops in the late 1950s after transferring to Tennessee's Fisk University to study. She was jailed alongside three other activists soon after for "requesting service at a segregated lunch counter" in South Carolina, which caught the attention of Martin Luther King.
Alan Simpson
Who: Former US senator
Why: Republican Alan Simpson served in Wyoming for almost two decades, from 1979 to 1997. Simpson also served in the US Army in the 1950s, and the White House says the 90-year-old is being recognised for his advocacy in "campaign finance reform, responsible governance, and marriage equality". Just last week he called Donald Trump a "spoiled brat".
Wilma Vaught
Who: Retired Air Force Brigadier General, President Emeritus of the Military Women’s Memorial
Why: Brigadier General Wilma Vaught is one of the most decorated women in US military history. She was one of just seven female generals in the Armed Forces when she retired in 1985, and the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs named her Veteran Advocate of the Year in 1998.
Raúl Yzaguirre
Who: Former ambassador to the Dominican Republic and National Council of La Raza president
Why: Raúl Yzaguirre served as the US ambassador to the Dominican Republic under Barack Obama, and was the president of National Council of La Raza for three decades. He also served in the US Air Force and is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Father Alexander Karloutsos
Who: Former vicar general of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Why: Father Alexander Karloutsos served as a priest for more than 50 years and was named a Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (the highest honour a married clergyman can receive in the Orthodox Church) in 1994. He has worked with the White House, Congress and other US politicians and political groups for decades.
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