Miriam Makeba

Awards & Honours

Awards Won

Honours

Rankings

Records

Makeba's achievements are extraordinary. She was the first African woman to win a Grammy, and her music reached audiences worldwide at a time when African artists rarely crossed borders. She testified against apartheid at the United Nations, served as Guinea's delegate to the UN, and became a FAO Goodwill Ambassador. Her song "Pata Pata" remains one of the most recognizable African songs ever recorded, with over 36 million streams on Spotify alone. Her legacy as a cultural ambassador and activist is unmatched.

AwardsMakeba won a Grammy Award for Best Folk Recording in 1965 for An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba, becoming the first African woman to win a Grammy. She also received the Dag Hammarskjöld Peace Prize, the Polar Music Prize, the Otto Hahn Peace Medal in Gold, and the South African Order of the Companions of O.R. Tambo, posthumously. She was honored with the Kora All Africa Music Awards Lifetime Achievement Award and a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.

Honours & Distinctions

Order of the Companions of O.R. Tambo

Government of South Africa·2009

Awarded posthumously for her contributions to the struggle against apartheid.

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

The Recording Academy·2014

Posthumous recognition of her career and influence.

FAO Goodwill Ambassador

Food and Agriculture Organization·1999

Appointed as a goodwill ambassador to fight hunger and poverty.

Rankings & Lists

#Listed

Top 100 Great South Africans

SABC3·2004

Records & Feats

First African woman to win a Grammy

Awards·1965

Won Best Folk Recording for 'An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba' in 1965.