Here are all the artists who have won the Video Vanguard Award at the MTV VMAs

The Beatles and director Richard Lester were the first people to win the Video Vanguard Award.

Lester directed two of their first music videos "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help!"

In the same year, David Bowie also won the award in honor of his contributions to music video history.

In the second year of the VMAs, David Byrne, lead singer and guitarist of the band Talking Heads, won the Video Vanguard Award.

Australian filmmaker Russell Mulcahy won in the same year for directing the first video ever played on MTV, "Video Killed the Radio Star."

Godley & Creme from Manchester, England, were a rock duo before they began directing music videos together.

They won their award for "an outstanding body of work," according to MTV. Godley and Creme notably directed videos for The Police and Duran Duran.

In 1986, Madonna became the first woman to win the Video Vanguard Award. She won the award the same year her third studio album, "True Blue," was released.

Polish director Zbigniew Rybczyński directed videos for Yoko Ono and Grandmaster Flash. The year after winning the award, he directed the music video for "Imagine" by John Lennon.

British director Julien Temple received one of two Vanguard Awards in 1987 for his work creating music videos for David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, and the Sex Pistols.

The same year, Peter Gabriel, the frontman of the English rock band Genesis, won both the Video Vanguard Award and video of the year for "Sledgehammer."

Michael Jackson was the sole winner of the Video Vanguard Award in 1988 after revolutionizing music videos with his 14-minute opus, "Thriller."

Jackson's video for "Billie Jean" is also regarded as the first video by a Black artist to be heavily played on MTV, according to Billboard.

In fact, a few years later, the award was renamed the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award — until 2019, when MTV quietly dropped his name from the title.

George Michael won the Video Vanguard Award in 1989, receiving his award from past winner, Madonna. Michael began his career as part of the duo Wham! before going solo in 1987.

Janet Jackson, 24 at the time, followed in her brother's footsteps by winning the Video Vanguard Award in 1990.

She was both the first Black woman and the youngest person ever to win the award. She still holds the title of youngest winner.

The 1991 winners were Bon Jovi and director Wayne Isham, who helped make videos for their hits "Livin' on a Prayer," "You Give Love a Bad Name," and many more. Isham directed videos for other major stars of the era, including Pink Floyd, Mötley Crüe, Whitney Houston, The Rolling Stones, and Janet Jackson.

Rock band Guns N' Roses won the 1992 Video Vanguard Award.

At the time, Queen's Brian May said the award was for "almost single-handedly [putting] back the passion, and the anger, and the reality into a virtually dormant rock and roll industry," per Billboard.

The 1994 VMAs had two Vanguard Award winners, one of whom was rock star Tom Petty, the leader of two rock bands: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch.

The Rolling Stones won the award that same year for their achievements in their career. 

Four years after winning video of the year for "Losing My Religion," R.E.M. received the Video Vanguard Award.

In 1997, there were two winners of the Video Vanguard Award. American director Mark Romanek was recognized for his contribution to music videos, including Michael and Janet Jackson's "Scream."

LL Cool J became the first hip-hop artist to win the Video Vanguard Award in 1997.

Following LL Cool J's footsteps, hip-hop group Beastie Boys won the Video Vanguard Award in 1998.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers, of "Californication" fame, won the Video Vanguard Award in 2000.

U2 won the Video Vanguard Award at the 2001 VMAs, marking back-to-back victories for rock bands.

During their acceptance speech, U2 invited members of The Ramones to join them onstage to honor Joey Ramone, who died earlier that year.

Duran Duran won the Video Vanguard Award in 2003, briefly retitled the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Video Vanguard Award was retired for three years, then returned in 2006 to honor Hype Williams' direction of several music videos, including Will Smith's "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It," TLC's "No Scrubs," and Kanye West's "Gold Digger."

No one won the Video Vanguard Award for four years. When the award returned in 2011, Britney Spears received the honor.

Justin Timberlake received two big awards at the 2013 VMAs — both the Video Vanguard Award and video of the year for "Mirrors." He also made headlines for reuniting *NSYNC during his medley performance.

In 2014, Beyoncé received the Video Vanguard Award from her husband, Jay-Z, and their daughter, Blue Ivy. At the time, she was only the second Black woman and the fourth woman ever to win the award since 1984.

In 2015, Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) was presented with the Video Vanguard Award by Taylor Swift — six years after he infamously interrupted Swift during her acceptance speech best female video. Just a few years later, their fickle friendship would fall apart once again.

Ye also used his VMAs acceptance speech to announce he would run for president in 2020, which he eventually did and lost.

Rihanna performed a medley of hits at the 2016 VMAs, including several songs from her latest album "Anti."

She was presented with the Video Vanguard Award by Drake, who used the opportunity to profess his love for the singer and leaned in for a kiss, which Rihanna politely dodged.

"The VMAs is such a fan-focused awards show, so having that energy around me, and knowing the people who had received the award in the past, made it feel like a big deal," Rihanna later said. "Waiting through that speech was probably the most uncomfortable part. I don't like too many compliments. I don't like to be put on blast."

Pink (sometimes stylized as P!nk) accepted the Video Vanguard Award at the 2017 VMAs, where she gave an emotional speech about her daughter.

Jennifer Lopez became the first Latin star to win the Video Vanguard Award in 2018.

In 2019, Missy Elliot received the Video Vanguard Award for her impact on the music industry, including iconic music videos like "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)," "Work It," and "We Run This."

After a two-year hiatus from the VMAs, Nicki Minaj continued the trend of women winning the Video Vanguard Award when the prize returned in 2022.

She received the award for her music videos that defined pop culture such as "Super Bass," "Starships," and "Anaconda."

Shakira, the 2023 recipient of the Video Vanguard Award, also performed at the VMAs for the first time in 17 years.

In a statement to Billboard, Bruce Gillmer, the president of music, music talent, programming, and events at Paramount, said: "Shakira is a true global force who continues to inspire and influence the masses with her unique, musical prowess."

Gillmer continued: "She's a trailblazer for women around the world and one of the first artists to lead the globalization of Latin music. Her massive impact across the musical landscape will be long-lasting as she continues to create and entertain at the highest level."

Katy Perry will accept this year's Video Vanguard Award just nine days before her new album, "143," is set to drop.

The album's two lead singles, "Woman's World" and "Lifetimes," have been criticized by fans and critics — leading many to question Perry's relevance in pop culture.

However, Perry will perform a medley of her biggest hits at the 2024 VMAs, which will surely include No. 1 songs from her dominance in the early 2010s, including "Teenage Dream," "Firework," and "Roar."