Hollywood star Meryl Streep and singer-songwriter James Taylor have been selected to receive the U.S. government's highest arts honour by President Barack Obama.
Sophie's Choice star Streep and Grammy winner Taylor will be joined by famed music producer Quincy Jones and To Kill a Mockingbird novelist Harper Lee as recipients of the White House's National Humanities Medal and National Medal of Arts.
Pianist Van Cliburn and author Joyce Carol Oates are also among the 20 luminaries selected to receive a medal from Obama at the White House ceremony on Wednesday (02Mar11).