Actor Dustin Hoffman and the surviving members of British band Led Zeppelin are among seven people who will receive the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors, a prestigious U.S. award for contribution to the arts.

The Washington, D.C.-based performing arts centre announced its choices on Wednesday.

The honorees are:

• Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant.
• Hoffman, who made his directorial debut this year with Quartet.
• Late-night TV host and comedian David Letterman.
• Bluesman Buddy Guy.
• Russian-born ballerina Natalia Makarova.

They will be saluted by fellow artists Dec. 2 and enjoy a dinner with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and a reception hosted by President Barack Obama. The tribute show is to be broadcast Dec. 26 on CBS.

Kennedy Center chairman David Rubenstein called Hoffman, star of All the President’s Men and Barney’s Version, "one of the most versatile and iconoclastic actors of this or any other generation.”

'We owe a large debt to the vitality and variety of the music of the American people.'—John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant

With Quartet starring Maggie Smith now making its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival, Hoffman said there may be more directing in his future.

"God willing, I'm happy to do this from hereon out," he said.

Letterman was hailed as “one of the most influential personalities in the history of television, entertaining an entire generation of late-night viewers with his unconventional wit and charm.”

The late-night funnyman welcomed the honour, but issued a statement with his trademark humour.

"I believe recognition at this prestigious level confirms my belief that there has been a mix-up," he wrote. "I am still grateful to be included."

Letterman helped pay tribute to another late-night host — Johnny Carson, who died in 2005 — when he received his Kennedy Center Honor.

Makarova, 72, defected to the West in 1970 and danced with the American Ballet Theatre. She was the first exiled artist to return to the Soviet Union before its fall, dancing with the Kirov Ballet in 1989.

Bluesman Buddy Guy says he hopes his tribute will 'give the blues a lift.' (Kennedy Center/Associated Press)

Chicago bluesman Guy played with Muddy Waters and Otis Rush, and had 1960s hits with Let Me Love You Baby, Stone Crazy, Leave My Girl Alone and No Lie.

Born into a poor Louisiana family, he recalled being fascinated by the guitar player who would visit at Christmas.

"I just felt like if I could learn to play guitar, like a sore thumb, I would stand out," said Guy, who persuaded Obama to sing a few lines of Sweet Home Chicago on a visit to the White House earlier this year.

"I'm hoping this will give the blues a lift," Guy added. "That's what got me started. I just wanted to be something different."

Led Zeppelin, known for hits such as Stairway to Heaven and Good Times Bad Times, is being honoured for transforming “the sound of rock and roll with their lyricism and innovative song structures,” Rubenstein said.

Surviving members Jones, Page and Plant issued a statement saying America was the first place to embrace their music.

"We owe a large debt to the vitality and variety of the music of the American people," they wrote.

With files from The Associated Press