Diana Ross and Steve Martin at The 30th Annual Kennedy Center Honors State Department dinner. Washington DC, USA - 01.12.07

Beach Boys singer Brian Wilson and pianist Leon Fleisher were also among the celebrities to be presented with the honour - the highest accolade for an American performer or artist - by U.S. president George W. Bush at the White House this weekend.

Ross, 63, was praised for spreading "romance and joy throughout the world" with her voice; Wilson was hailed for his "era-defining transformation of the sound of music", and Fleisher was celebrated for a career that is a "moving testament to the life-affirming power of art".

Goodfellas filmmaker Scorsese was honoured for being a "fearless artist" and a "visionary", while funnyman Martin was branded a "renaissance comic whose talents wipe out the boundaries between artistic disciplines".

The presentations will be followed by a

gala at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. on Sunday evening.

Source: WENN