Top performing artists, including a ballerina and a bluesman, were honored Sunday at Washington's annual John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for their lifetime contribution to American culture.
This year's honorees were blues guitar icon Buddy Guy, Academy Award-winning actor Dustin Hoffman, late-night talk show host David Letterman, ballerina Natalia Makarova and rock band Led Zeppelin.
U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama attended the ceremony at the Kennedy Center.
Earlier Sunday, the president and first lady held a reception for the honorees at the White House where Obama said the honorees "inspired us to see things in a new way" and to "appreciate how much beauty there is in the world."
At the Kennedy Center, the president jokingly thanked the members of Led Zeppelin for behaving themselves at the White House, as he said the legendary rock band has a history of "hotel rooms trashed and mayhem all around."