Ms. Lauryn Hill to Receive Living Legend Icon Award at 2026 BET Awards

Ms. Lauryn Hill is set to receive the Living Legend Icon Award at the 2026 BET Awards, which will broadcast live on Sunday, June 28, at 8 p.m. ET/PT from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Druski is set to host the show.

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The Living Legend Icon Award “honors the pioneers who mastered their craft and never let go of the culture,” according to BET.

“Ms. Lauryn Hill is the very definition of a living legend,” Connie Orlando, EVP, specials, music programming and music strategy, BET, said in a statement. “Across every era, she has never chased the moment; she has shaped it. Her artistry redefined what was possible in our music and gave a generation permission to be fearless, spiritual, and free. Her influence is woven into the fabric of the culture, and it is a profound honor to celebrate her legacy on Culture’s Biggest Night.”

Hill, 51, rose to fame as a member of The Fugees, whose 1996 album The Score topped the Billboard 200 for four weeks. In 1998, she released her debut solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, an intimate, genre-defying work that received near-unanimous critical acclaim. The album also topped the Billboard 200 for four weeks and spawned a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, “Doo Wop (That Thing).” Miseducation became the first hip-hop album to win the Grammy for album of the year and contributed to Hill becoming the first woman to win five Grammys in one night. The album was voted into the National Recording Registry in 2014 and the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2024.

Hill returned to the Grammy stage earlier this year, performing in an extended In Memoriam tribute to Roberta Flack and D’Angelo.

The Living Legend Icon Award is a new award. In 2015, the BET introduced the Ultimate Icon Award with Janet Jackson as the first recipient. Last year, for the first time, four artists — Mariah Carey, Jamie Foxx, Snoop Dogg and Kirk Franklin — received the award.