Ms. Lauryn Hill to Rightfully Receive Her Flowers at the BET Awards

Ms. Lauryn Hill is set to be honored at the 2026 BET Awards. Ms. Hill, 51, will receive the Living Legend Icon Award sponsored by Sprite at the upcoming show, which takes place Sunday, June 28 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. 

The Living Legend Icon Award "honors the pioneers who mastered their craft and never let go of the culture,” explained BET in a press release. “This distinction belongs to the artists and creators whose body of work has remained essential not because the culture held on to them, but because they never stopped holding on to it."

Audiences were introduced to the teenage Lauryn Hill in 1993’s Sister Act 2, just before the rapper/singer/actress began her recording career in earnest as a member of the Fugees. That trio would break through big with their sophomore album, The Score, in 1996. After that album's legendary commercial and critical success, Hill became a culture-shifting icon with her solo debut, 1998’s landmark The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill. 

At the 1999 Grammys, Miseducation… famously took home awards, including Album of the Year — the first hip-hop album to achieve that distinction. It’s become a fixture on Greatest Albums lists, and in 2014 it was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress due to its cultural and historical significance.

In the 30 years since The Score, Ms. Hill has been widely recognized as one of the most influential artists of her generation. As a member of the Fugees and in her solo career, the New Jersey native’s image and artistry have remained a frame of reference. 

Her debut solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, has been inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame and she’s been nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In 2022, Hill was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.

"Ms. Lauryn Hill is the very definition of a living legend," Connie Orlando, the EVP of Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy for BET, said in the release. "Across every era, she has never chased the moment; she has shaped it."

Orlando continued, "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."

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