Sylvia Rhone Honored With Ultimate Icon Award at 2026 BET Awards

Legendary music executive Sylvia Rhone will receive the Ultimate Icon Award at the 2026 BET Awards. The show, which likes to call itself “Culture’s Biggest Night,” will broadcast live on Sunday, June 28, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on BET. Druski is set to host the show, which will be held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

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According to BET, “the Ultimate Icon Award honors the trailblazers whose work has transcended their field, figures whose names have become synonymous with excellence.” The two previous non-artist winners were Debra L. Lee , who served as chairman and CEO of BET from 2005-2018, and filmmaker Tyler Perry . They were honored in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

Rhone, 74, is a pioneering music executive whose five-decade career reshaped the recording industry and forged historic pathways for women and people of color. Rising from Harlem, she became the first woman to serve as CEO of a major record label owned by a Fortune 500 company and went on to hold top executive roles across all three major music groups. She served in top posts at Atlantic, Elektra, Motown and Epic, where she was named chairwoman and CEO in 2019. Rhone expanded the labels’ global reach, overseeing career-defining releases across genres, while playing a vital role in shaping the rise of hip-hop. She exited her post as chairwoman/CEO of Epic Records in September 2025.

Rhone has received numerous honors. In January, at the Recording Academy’s Special Merit Awards ceremony, she received a trustees award (alongside fellow honorees Bernie Taupin and the late Latin music legend Eddie Palmieri ). Other honors include the Recording Academy’s Global Impact Award,  Billboard ’s Executive of the Year and the City of Hope Spirit of Life Award.

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Beyond her business achievements, Rhone has long been recognized for her intentional leadership and commitment to equity. She pioneered inclusive talent and promotion practices that reshaped executive culture across the industry, creating pathways for greater representation of women and people of color both onstage and in boardrooms.

“Sylvia Rhone’s influence extends far beyond the music business and into the culture itself,” Connie Orlando , executive vp & head of programming at BET, said in a statement. “She championed artists and executives, shattered ceilings that had never been broken, and redefined what leadership looks like for women and people of color in every boardroom that followed. Her legacy is heard in the music, seen in the careers she built, and felt in the generation of leaders walking the path she cleared. We are proud to honor Sylvia Rhone with the Ultimate Icon Award at the ‘BET Awards’ 2026.”

This is the third honorary award to be announced ahead of the show. All three awards have the word “icon” in their names. Ms. Lauryn Hill is slated to receive the Living Legend Icon Award. Teyana Taylor will receive the Icon of the Year award.

_Originally reported by [Billboard](https://www.billboard.com/pro/sylvia-rhone-icon-award-2026-bet-awards/)._