The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has named its 49th class of Kennedy Center Honorees, and the list mixes Hollywood star power with music industry heavyweights. Andy Garcia, David Foster, Paul Anka, David Mamet, and Barbara Mandrell will receive the lifetime achievement award at a ceremony set for December 7, 2026, at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. The venue change is a first in the honors program’s history, forced by the ongoing closure and legal fight surrounding the Kennedy Center’s main building.
The announcement came on Monday, November 2, 2026, through a joint statement from President Donald Trump and the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees. Trump, who serves as chairman of the board, was quoted in the release saying the class represents artists “whose lifelong work has shaped American culture and inspired generations of audiences.”
The Five Honorees and What Each Brings to the List
Each name on the 2026 Kennedy Center Honors list carries a different kind of legacy, and together they cover film, popular music, country music, and American theater.
Andy Garcia is the actor in the group. The Cuban American performer earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Vincent Mancini in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Part III (1990). That nomination made him the first Cuban to be nominated for an acting Oscar. His film credits also include Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables (1987), Internal Affairs (1990), and Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Eleven (2001) and its sequels. The Kennedy Center cited his work as an actor and director in film and television, as well as his achievements as a music producer, in its announcement. In 2026, Garcia wrote, directed, and starred in the film Diamond, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. He co-wrote the score with longtime collaborator, Cuban trumpeter Arturo Sandoval.
David Foster is the producer and composer whose name sits behind some of the biggest pop hits of the last five decades. The Canadian musician has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations, plus one Emmy and one Golden Globe. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Original Song. Foster produced and arranged Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” and composed “Tell Him,” the duet between Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand. His list of collaborators includes Madonna, Michael Jackson, Earth, Wind & Fire, Chicago, Dolly Parton, and Andrea Bocelli, among many others. Foster also composed the music for the Broadway musical Boop! The Musical, which opened in 2025 and is set for a national U.S. tour.
Paul Anka is the singer-songwriter whose career stretches back to the late 1950s. He had his first hit at 15 years old with “Diana” in 1957. Anka wrote “My Way” for Frank Sinatra and the theme song for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, which became the longest-running theme in television history. He is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. His other honors include the Songwriters Hall of Fame’s Johnny Mercer Award, BMI’s Icon Award, and France’s National Order of Merit. Anka released his latest album, Inspirations of Life and Love, in 2026.
David Mamet is the playwright and screenwriter known for his sharp, hard-boiled dialogue. His major works include Glengarry Glen Ross and American Buffalo. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Glengarry Glen Ross, and his writing has shaped American theater and film for decades. Mamet is also a vocal supporter of Trump’s politics, which has been noted in coverage of this year’s list.
Barbara Mandrell is the country music figure in the class. She is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, and her hits include “Years” and “Sleeping Single in a Double Bed.” Her remake of Otis Redding’s “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” and “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right” are also part of her catalog. Mandrell was one of country music’s biggest stars in the 1970s and 1980s.
Why the 2026 Ceremony Is Not at the Kennedy Center
For the first time since the honors began in 1978, the ceremony will not take place inside the Kennedy Center’s Opera House. The December 7 event is set for Capital One Arena in downtown Washington. The move follows the closure of the Kennedy Center’s main building, which has been off-limits to the public for weeks. Center officials described the closure as temporary, citing potential danger from crumbling infrastructure.
The closure is tied to a larger fight over the building’s future. President Trump, who became chairman of the Kennedy Center’s board in 2025, has pushed for a two-year, $257 million renovation of the facility. The board voted in September 2026 to close the building for renovations, but the closure has been challenged in court.
The Legal Fight Shaping This Year’s Honors
Representative Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center’s board, filed a lawsuit to block the closure. In October 2026, lawyers for Beatty cited internal documents arguing that the closure was really driven by the center’s financial decline under Trump’s leadership, not by structural problems. Court filings showed that Kennedy Center officials recommended closure as a way to stem the lack of revenue from falling ticket sales.
Ticket sales have dropped since Trump took over the center in February 2025, as many artists have refused to perform at the venue. A federal judge previously blocked a board vote to close the center, and the legal battle over its future remains active.
The name of the institution has also been part of the dispute. The board voted in December 2025 to add Trump’s name to the building. A federal judge ruled in May 2026 that only Congress has the authority to rename the building, and Trump’s name came down in June. After a judge blocked another attempt to put the president’s name back on the building in September 2026, the board voted to close the center.
Trump has said renovations will not begin unless a higher court allows his name to return, warning that the building could otherwise end up “ripped down.” The Justice Department has backed the president, arguing the center faces financial and physical collapse without his name.
What Is Still Unknown About the December 7 Event
No host has been announced for the 2026 Kennedy Center Honors ceremony. Trump hosted the 2025 gala himself, becoming the first president to emcee the event. That broadcast saw a steep drop in viewership and honored Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Gaynor, George Strait, KISS, and Michael Crawford.
A broadcast partner for 2026 has also not been named. CBS aired the event every year from its debut in 1978 through 2025, but the network’s broadcast rights expired after last year’s telecast. Paramount+ streamed the show in recent years, but neither CBS nor Paramount+ has committed to televising the 2026 ceremony. A Kennedy Center spokesperson said a broadcast partner will be announced at a later date.
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The Kennedy Center’s announcement did not address whether Trump plans to host the ceremony again, and the White House did not respond to a request for comment on whether he plans to attend.
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