Grammy-winning Beninese singer Angelique Kidjo is about to make history as the first African artist to be honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Kidjo was recently named among the 2026 Hollywood Walk of Fame honorees announced by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
Other notable recipients include American pop star Miley Cyrus, French actor Timothée Chalamet, and former basketball player turned sports analyst Shaquille O’Neal.
Also honoured are Filipino singer Lea Salonga, French actress Marion Cotillard, Indian actress Deepika Padukone, British actress Emily Blunt, and Canadian actress Rachel McAdams, among others.
Official dates for the star ceremonies are yet to be announced, but honorees have two years to schedule their inductions.
Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo is a Beninese-French singer-songwriter, actress, and activist. Kidjo has won five Grammy Awards and is a 2023 Polar Music Prize laureate. She has released many albums, performed around the world, and frequently collaborated with other artists.
She performed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony on July 23, 2021.[4] On September 15, 2021, Time included her in their list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Kidjo is fluent in five languages: Fon, French, Yorùbá, Gen (Mina) and English. She sings in all of them, and she also has her own personal language, which includes words that serve as song titles such as “Batonga”. Kidjo often uses Benin’s traditional Zilin vocal technique and vocalese.
Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo was born in Ouidah, French Dahomey, in what is now Benin.[9] Her father is from the Fon people of Ouidah and her mother from the Yoruba people. Her father was a musician, and her mother worked as a choreographer and theatre director.[10] She grew up listening to Yoruba and Beninese traditional music, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, James Brown, Manu Dibango, Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, Fela Kuti, Stevie Wonder, Osibisa and Santana. By the time she was six, Kidjo was performing with her mother’s theatre troupe giving her an early appreciation for traditional music and dance.
“Angelique Kidjo making history as the first African on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is a testament to her incredible talent and dedication. What an inspiration to aspiring artists from the continent! 🎉💫”