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Home Culture Angélique Kidjo Becomes First African Artist to Receive Hollywood Walk of Fame Star

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Angélique Kidjo Becomes First African Artist to Receive Hollywood Walk of Fame Star

Ikenna ChurchillJuly 3, 20252 Mins read119

In a moment both deeply personal and culturally significant, Angélique Kidjo has been named to the 35 members of the Hollywood Walk of Fame’s Class of 2026. Through this announcement, she will become the first African artist to be awarded a star on the iconic boulevard, an emblematic gesture of recognition in a world where African voices are celebrated but rarely centred.

The news, released by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce on July 2, 2025, placed Kidjo among a multigenerational group of international artists. Miley Cyrus, Timothée Chalamet, Demi Moore, Shaquille O’Neal, and Bollywood superstar Deepika Padukone are among the newly inducted. The class bridges film, music, television, sports, and live stage, a testament to the cultural and global achievements of the honorees this year.

However, it is Kidjo’s presence that resonates more.

Angélique Kidjo was born in Ouidah, Benin, in 1960. Her career has been a phenomenal journey of music, activism, and global diplomacy. At the age of six, she began singing and rose to fame worldwide with a compelling blend of Afrobeat, jazz, funk, and West African traditional rhythms. Her work is international, and her voice, warm, commanding, and distinctly African, has earned her five Grammys and a reputation as one of the most honoured musicians in the world.

Offstage, Kidjo has been an ardent advocate for social justice. Through her Batonga Foundation, she has advocated for girls’ education across Africa, and as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, she has spoken passionately about issues of gender inequality and youth empowerment. Her labour is as committed to purpose as to performance, driven by the belief that art need not merely divert but also stimulate and transform.

Over the last decade, international interest in African music has surged, with Afrobeats gaining traction on American charts and African artists headlining major festivals. But this crossover at the heart of Hollywood hasn’t occurred before. For Kidjo, it’s not only gratification but an evolution, an acknowledgement that African imagination is not merely alongside global culture but of it.

Her Walk of Fame star will be one of thousands, but it is one with a special history, one of ancestral beat, emigration, and resilience. It is a victory for Kidko, certainly, but for the continent she keeps singing about in her songs. With every stage appearance, she brings Benin, Africa, and a lifetime of experience to the world.

The entire Class of 2026 testifies to Hollywood’s sensitivity to cultural diversity. Miley Cyrus will be honoured in the Recording category, Emily Blunt and Demi Moore in Motion Pictures, and Shaquille O’Neal in Sports Entertainment. Each is a corner of the world of entertainment, but few have the cultural significance of Kidjo’s induction.

Although no date for her star ceremony has been announced, ceremonies like this typically occur within two years of a nomination. When the moment comes, the event will draw to it a cross-section of fans, artists, diplomats, and admirers, those who recognise that this star signifies more than a piece of sidewalk tile. It’s an indication of possibility.

To all the African artists who have been seeking their place in the currents of world acceptance, Kidjo’s achievement will be a beacon of light. It loudly declares that the world is listening and long overdue for hearing. Her journey, marked by innovative imagination and steadfast activism, now leaves an indelible mark in Hollywood legend.

In an era where cultural borders are dissolving and stories travel faster than ever before, Angélique Kidjo’s light shines brightly for both what has been done before and what lies ahead. It is a celebration of talent, of identity, and of the indomitable power of voice.