President Joe Biden will present the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, to 17 people, including actor Denzel Washington. Biden’s honors list, which was first shared with Variety, includes those involved with Hollywood, sports, politics, the military, academia, civil rights, and social justice advocacy.

Washington and the other nominees are those who, according to the White House, “have overcome significant obstacles to achieve impressive accomplishments in the arts and sciences, dedicated their lives to advocating for the most vulnerable among us, and acted with bravery to drive change in their communities, and across the world, while blazing trails for generations to come."

Over the course of his long career, Washington has won two Oscars for the films Glory and Training Day, in addition to receiving nominations such as for The Tragedy of Macbeth. Besides that, he’s also received a Tony Award for his work in the 2010 revival of Fences, which he later made into a movie, and a 2016 Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award, which is an honorary Golden Globe Award for outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.

“The honor is reserved for people who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values or security of the United States, world peace or other significant societal public or private endeavors,” the White House said.

Related: The Equalizer 3 Starring Denzel Washington Set for Fall 2023

Simone Biles, John McCain Among Other Recipients

John McCain Biopic Is Happening with Full Support from His Family

Some of the recipients that have been announced are no longer with us, such as John McCain, U.S. Navy veteran, POW, 2008 Republican presidential nominee, and someone who served in both houses of Congress. And Steve Jobs, who was the co-founder, chief executive, and chair of Apple Inc.

One of the other people being recognized was Sandra Lindsay, who received the first COVID-19 vaccine dose in December 2020, live and on television. She later became an advocate for the COVID vaccine as well. Besides the already mentioned, another notable recipient is Simone Biles, the most decorated U.S. gymnast in history, having won 32 Olympic and World Championship medals.

The other recipients are as follows:

— Sister Simone Campbell. Campbell is a member of the Sister of Social Service and a former executive director of NETWRK, a Catholic social justice organization. She is an advocate for economic justice, overhauling the U.S. immigration system and health care policy.

— Julieta Garcia. A former president of the University of Texas at Brownsville, Garcia was the first Latina to become a college president, the White House said. She was named one of the nation’s best college presidents by Time magazine.

— Gabrielle Giffords. A former U.S. House member from Arizona, the Democrat founded Giffords, an organization dedicated to ending gun violence. She was shot in the head in January 2011 during a constituent event in Tucson and was gravely wounded.

— Fred Gray. Gray was one of the first Black members of the Alabama Legislature after Reconstruction. He was a prominent civil rights attorney who represented Rosa Parks, the NAACP and Martin Luther King Jr.

— Father Alexander Karloutsos. Karloutsos is the assistant to Archbishop Demetrios of America. The White House said Karloutsos has counseled several U.S. presidents.

— Khizr Khan. An immigrant from Pakistan, Khan’s Army officer son was killed in Iraq. Khan gained national prominence and became a target of Donald Trump’s wrath, after speaking at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

— Diane Nash. A founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Nash organized some of the most important 20th-century civil rights campaigns and worked with King.

— Megan Rapinoe. The Olympic gold medalist and two-time Women’s World Cup soccer champion captains the OL Reign in the National Women’s Soccer League. She is a prominent advocate for gender pay equality, racial justice and LGBTQI+ rights who has appeared at Biden’s White House.

— Alan Simpson. The retired U.S. senator from Wyoming served with Biden and has been a prominent advocate for campaign finance reform, responsible governance and marriage equality.

— Richard Trumka. Trumka had been president of the 12.5 million-member AFL-CIO for more than a decade at the time of his August 2021 death. He was a past president of the United Mine Workers.

— Wilma Vaught. A brigadier general, Vaught is one of the most decorated women in U.S. military history, breaking gender barriers as she has risen through the ranks. When Vaught retired in 1985, she was one of only seven female generals in the Armed Forces.

— Raúl Yzaguirre. A civil rights advocate, Yzaguirre was president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza for 30 years. He served as U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic under Obama.

Washington is the only actor, or entertainment figure recognized this year. In the past, Robert DeNiro and Tom Hanks were other entertainment figures to receive the Presidental Medal of Freedom. Both of which were given to them by Barack Obama. George W. Bush also awarded Fred “Mister” Rogers a medal.

Biden himself is a recipient, having been awarded a medal by Obama for his public service as both a U.S. senator and vice president. That occurred in January 2017, a week before the two of them left office. The medals that Biden will present will occur at the White House next week.