Teyana Taylor went from being underrated to untouchable, and BET just confirmed that she is now an icon

The Harlem star has done many different things, including singing, acting, movies, fashion, and award shows. She will receive BET’s 2026 Icon of the Year Award.

Teyana Taylor has been building her run one lane at a time, and now BET is giving her a crown. It is real, the network said. Taylor will receive the Hyundai-sponsored Icon of the Year Award at the “BET Awards” 2026. The show will live stream from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 28, at 8 PM ET/PT. Druski will be the host. 

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The time of this hit is what makes it different. BET isn’t giving Taylor an award for remembering the old Taylor. The network based the Icon of the Year Award on the artist who best represents the present, and Taylor has quietly made it difficult to argue with that. As an R&B star, she quickly became a director, actress, producer, choreographer, and style icon. She didn’t wait for one business to catch up before moving on to the next. 

Connnie Orlando, EVP, Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy, BET, said, “Teyana Taylor is the personification of what it means to be an icon right now.” She doesn’t ask to sit at the table; she makes the table, decorates the rooms, and sets the mood for everyone who comes in. “Kultur has been changed by her, and it is an honor to honor all that she stands for on Culture’s Biggest Night.

The singer, actress, and performer from Harlem first made a name for herself with her debut album “VII,” which came out in 2014. She then went even further with “K.T.S.E.” and “The Album.” “Issues/Hold On,” “Gonna Love Me,” “The Album,” and “K.T.S.E.” have all been certified gold by BET. These songs also made it into the Top 10 of the charts. Billboard also said that “The Album” debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 and topped the R&B Albums chart, which was a big economic high point for her. 

Still, what’s more important is that Taylor refused to stay inside the lines. She won BET’s Video Director of the Year award twice, in 2020 and 2023, as “Spike Tey.” This indicated that she was serious about being a video director. That’s important because her case as an icon isn’t based on a single hit, look, or popular moment. The foundation of her success lies in her ability to take charge of the entire frame. 

The acting change that made Hollywood take notice then came along. There were awards for Taylor’s work in “A Thousand and One.” The National Board of Review gave her a Breakthrough Work Award, and the Critics Choice Association’s Celebration of Cinema & Television gave her one, too. She was also nominated for Best Lead Performance at the Film Independent Spirit Awards and Outstanding Lead Performance at the Gotham Awards for the part. 

By 2026, that trend had turned into a full run through award season. Taylor got the Golden Globe for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for “One Battle After Another.” For the same movie, she was also nominated for an Academy Award as a supporting actress. She was nominated for a Grammy for Best R&B Record for her visual record “Escape Room.” This award is another big accomplishment in the same time frame. 

The resume keeps getting longer outside of the award rooms, too. Taylor is cast in “The Rip” on Netflix with Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Steven Yeun, Kyle Chandler, and Catalina Sandino Moreno. On Hulu, she is cast in “All’s Fair” by Ryan Murphy with Kim Kardashian, Naomi Watts, Niecy Nash-Betts, Sarah Paulson, and Glenn Close. 

This year, Taylor has also become more well-known in pop culture. Billboard gave her the 2026 Women in Music Visionary Award, and TIME named her one of the 2026 Women of the Year. This was a fitting end to a career that has always been about sound, image, movement, and self-discovery.

Being named Icon of the Year by BET is, in fact, a prize announcement. That being said, it also sounds like a fix. People felt Taylor’s impact for years, but it wasn’t always taken into account. Now that the music catalog, directing awards, film honors, fashion presence, and industry hardware are all lined up at the same time, the conversation can finally meet the work.