Meryl Streep and Stevie Wonder among Medal of Freedom recipients

Meryl Streep, Stevie Wonder and Stephen Sondheim are among the 19 recipients of this year's (14) Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The entertainment icons were chosen by President Barack Obama on Monday (10Nov14), and the nation's highest civilian honor is given to those who have made contributions to the security or national interests of the U.S.

In addition to Streep, Wonder and Sondheim, veteran newsman Tom Brokaw, actress Marlo Thomas, political matriarch Ethel Kennedy, choreographer Alvin Ailey and author Isabel Allende are among the other honorees.

The medals will be awarded during a ceremony at the White House on 24 November (14).