The pioneering music executive and cultural architect will be celebrated at culture’s biggest night, airing live Sunday, June 28, at 8 PM ET/PT from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles
The 2026 BET Awards announcements continue to deliver. Following the earlier reveals that Ms. Lauryn Hill will receive the inaugural Living Legend Icon Award and that Teyana Taylor will receive the Icon of the Year honor, BET has now announced that legendary music executive Sylvia Rhone will receive the Ultimate Icon Award at this year’s ceremony.
Rhone’s career is one for the history books. She made history as the first Black woman to lead a major record company owned by a Fortune 500 corporation, and across leadership roles at Epic Records, Universal Motown, Elektra Entertainment Group, Atlantic Records, and EastWest Records, she built one of the most impressive rosters the industry has ever seen. The artists she identified, developed, and championed read like a greatest hits of American music: Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes, Stevie Wonder, Lil Wayne, En Vogue, Tracy Chapman, Erykah Badu, Brandy, Kid Cudi, Anita Baker, MC Lyte, Akon, and many more.
Most recently, Rhone served as Chairman and CEO of Epic Records, where she guided a new generation of chart-topping artists including Travis Scott, Future, 21 Savage, Tyla, Giveon, Mariah the Scientist, and Andre 3000, before stepping down from the role in 2025 following one of the label’s most successful periods in recent history. Beyond her business achievements, Rhone has long been recognized for pioneering 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,” said Connie Orlando, EVP and Head of Programming at BET. “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.”
The BET Awards 2026 airs live Sunday, June 28, from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, hosted by Druski. Additional honorees, performers, presenters, and special guests will be announced in the coming weeks.