Prime Highlights-
- Teyana Taylor will receive the Icon of the Year award at the 2026 BET Awards, recognizing her impact across music, film, and television.
- Lauryn Hill will receive the inaugural Living Legend Icon Award at the same ceremony.
Key Facts-
- Taylor’s 2025 album Escape Room earned her first Grammy nomination in the Best R&B Album category.
- Cardi B leads the 2026 BET Awards nominations with six categories, followed by Kendrick Lamar and Mariah the Scientist with five each.
Background-
Teyana Taylor is set to be recognized with the Icon of the Year award at this year’s BET Awards in Los Angeles. BET announced the honor citing Taylor’s wide-ranging creative output across music, film, and television as the reason behind the recognition. The award is sponsored by Hyundai.
Connie Orlando, Executive Vice President of Specials, Music Programming and Music Strategy at BET, said Taylor does not wait for opportunities but creates them herself, describing her influence as something felt across every corner of culture right now.
Taylor, 35, first made her mark in music with her debut album VII. Her most recent studio album, Escape Room, earned her a first-ever Grammy nomination in the Best R&B Album category.
Her film work has matched that momentum. Taylor won a Golden Globe and received an Academy Award nomination for her performance in One Battle After Another. She also appeared in Hulu’s All’s Fair and the Netflix film The Rip, cementing her standing as a serious screen presence alongside her music career.
The 2026 BET Awards will also honor Lauryn Hill with the inaugural Living Legend Icon Award, sponsored by Sprite. Comedian Druski will host the show. On the nominations front, Cardi B leads all artists with six nods. Kendrick Lamar and Mariah the Scientist follow with five each.
This year’s show also introduces two new award categories. The Fashion Vanguard Award will recognize cultural impact in fashion, while the Pulse Award will go to a creator, campaign, or content series making a strong mark on Black culture.
