Some of these are pretty random.
According to the U.S. government, “The Presidential Medal of Freedom is given by the president of the United States to honor individuals who have made great contributions to either the United States or the world.”
Win Mcnamee / Getty Images
I decided to go through the list and pick out any of the bigger and more famous names out since 2002.
Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
What’s even more interesting is to see which President picked who.
1.
Julia Child
Photo Researchers / Getty Images
Awarded by George W. Bush in 2003.
2.
Dave Thomas
Peter Power / Toronto Star via Getty Images
Awarded by George W. Bush in 2003.
3.
Charlie Daniels
Tim Mosenfelder / Getty Images
Awarded by George W. Bush in 2003.
4.
Bill Cosby
Robert Abbott Sengstacke / Getty Images
Awarded by George W. Bush in 2002.
5.
John Paul II
New York Daily News Archive / NY Daily News via Getty Images
Awarded by George W. Bush in 2004.
6.
Rita Moreno
Luke Frazza / AFP via Getty Images
Awarded by George W. Bush in 2004.
7.
Estée Lauder
New York Daily News Archive / NY Daily News via Getty Images
Awarded by George W. Bush in 2004.
8.
Arnold Palmer
Eric Schweikardt / Sports Illustrated via Getty Images
Awarded by George W. Bush in 2004.
9.
Muhammad Ali
Bernard Loth / AFP via Getty Images
Awarded by George W. Bush in 2005.
10.
Carol Burnett
Cbs Photo Archive / CBS via Getty Images
Awarded by George W. Bush in 2005.
11.
Aretha Franklin
Roger Kisby / Getty Images
Awarded by George W. Bush in 2005.
12.
B.B. King
Douglas Elbinger / Getty Images
Awarded by George W. Bush in 2006.
13.
Ben Carson
Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Awarded by George W. Bush in 2008.
14.
Anthony Fauci
The Washington Post / The Washington Post via Getty Images
Awarded by George W. Bush in 2008.
15.
Tony Blair
Wpa Pool / Getty Images
Awarded by George W. Bush in 2009.
16.
Stephen Hawking
Jewel Samad / AFP via Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2009.
17.
Sidney Poitier
Graphic House / Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2009.
18.
Chita Rivera
Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2009.
19.
Warren Buffett
Yoshikazu Tsuno / AFP via Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2010.
20.
Angela Merkel
Picture Alliance / dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2011.
21.
Bob Dylan
Lester Cohen / Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2012.
22.
Loretta Lynn
Cbs Photo Archive / CBS via Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2013.
23.
Oprah
The Washington Post / The Washington Post via Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2013.
24.
Tom Brokaw
Imagecatcher News Service / Corbis via Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2014.
25.
Meryl Streep
Ken Cedeno / Corbis via Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2014.
26.
Stevie Wonder
Imagecatcher News Service / Corbis via Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2014.
27.
Stephen Spielberg
Alex Wong / Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2015.
28.
Emilio Estefan
Kris Connor / WireImage
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2015.
29.
Gloria Estefan
Alex Wong / Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2015.
30.
Barbra Streisand
Kris Connor / WireImage
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2015.
31.
James Taylor
Alex Wong / Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2015.
32.
Stephen Sondheim
Alex Wong / Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2015.
33.
Robert Redford
Nicholas Kamm / AFP via Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2016.
34.
Robert De Niro
Nurphoto / NurPhoto via Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2016.
35.
Tom Hanks
Nurphoto / NurPhoto via Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2016.
36.
Cicely Tyson
Alex Wong / Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2016.
37.
Diana Ross
Nurphoto / NurPhoto via Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2016.
38.
Bruce Springsteen
Alex Wong / Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2016.
39.
Ellen DeGeneres
Nicholas Kamm / AFP via Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2016.
40.
Lorne Michaels
Nurphoto / NurPhoto via Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2016.
41.
Bill Gates
Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2016.
42.
Melinda French Gates
Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2016.
43.
Michael Jordan
Jon Soohoo / NBAE via Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2016.
44.
Kareem Abdul-Jabar
Jon Soohoo / NBAE via Getty Images
Awarded by Barack Obama in 2016.
45.
Elvis
United Archives / United Archives via Getty Images
Awarded by Donald Trump in 2018.
46.
Babe Ruth
The Stanley Weston Archive / Getty Images
Awarded by Donald Trump in 2018.
47.
Antonin Scalia
Karen Bleier / AFP via Getty Images
Awarded by Donald Trump in 2018.
48.
Mariano Rivera
Mandel Ngan / AFP via Getty Images
Awarded by Donald Trump in 2019.
49.
Tiger Woods
The Washington Post / The Washington Post via Getty Images
Awarded by Donald Trump in 2019.
50.
Rush Limbaugh
Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Awarded by Donald Trump in 2020.
51.
Gary Player
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Awarded by Donald Trump in 2021.
52.
Annika Sörenstam
David Cannon / Getty Images
Awarded by Donald Trump in 2021.
53.
Simone Biles
Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images
Awarded by Joe Biden in 2022.
54.
Steve Jobs
Medianews Group / MediaNews Group via Getty Images
Awarded by Joe Biden in 2022.
55.
John McCain
Medianews Group / MediaNews Group via Getty Images
Awarded by Joe Biden in 2022.
56.
Denzel Washington
John T. Barr / Getty Images
Awarded by Joe Biden in 2022.
57.
And Megan Rapinoe
Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images
Awarded by Joe Biden in 2022.