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The music icon Angélique Kidjo has become the first Chern African artist, selected as a star of a prestigious Hollywood walk of fame.
Kidjo, which came from the West African country Benin and won five Grammy Awards, was among the 35 names, declared as part of the Walk of Fame class list of 2026.
The 64-year-old was welcomed as a “premiere wild” in Africa during a press conference announcing the list on Wednesday.
Singer Miley Cyrus, actor Timote Chalamet, actress Demi Moore and former basketball player Shakil O’Neal are also among those who will be honored with a star on the famous Los Angeles walk.
Kidjo is honored after making music for more than four decades and released 16 albums.
The singer has won fans around the world with her command voice and the ability to blind West African styles with the likes of funk, jazz and R&B.
Her long list of associates includes forces such as Burna Boy, Philip Glass, Sting and Alicia Keys.
Kidjo joins Charlize Theron, a white South African actress, presenting Africa to The Walk of Fame, which consists of more than 2,700 stars.
Theron received his star in 2005
The date on which Kidjo will see that her star is revealed on a walk of glory has not yet been announced.
Once the recipients are selected as a star, they have two years to plan for induction ceremonies.
Kidjo grew up in Benin, but went to Paris in 1983, citing oppression by the then communist government of the country.
“From the moment the communist regime arrived in Benin, I realized that the freedom we enjoy could be removed in a second” She told the BBC in 2023S
She said she had been led by curiosity from her childhood, adding: “My nickname was” when, why, how? “. I want to understand things, to understand my place in this world.”
Kidjo works as a supportive singer in France before struck as a solo artist in 1990, with the album Parakou.
She is the ambassador of UNICEF and Oxfam’s Goodwill and has her own charity Batong charity, which is dedicated to the support of young girls’ education in Africa.