EGOT Award Winners: A Closer Look at Their Most Iconic Roles and Performances
There is a prestigious honor for performing artists, the EGOT. Let’s discuss EGOT award Winners: A closer look at their most iconic roles and performances. I hope it answers some questions you may have about this tremendous award and give you more information about the artists who have won it. They are awesome people.
Audra McDonald
If I were to ask you about a particular actor, I bet you would tell me about the actor’s performance of a certain character rather than just describe the actor. Let’s use Audra McDonald as an example. She has won more Tony awards than anyone else in the history of the Tony awards.
Interestingly enough, it doesn’t matter the number of plays or musicals Ms. McDonald she’s performed in to be remembered. It is her unique portrayal of the character. That’s what makes special these award winners–they bring a unique part of themselves to the performance which paints the character in an unusual way. Although Ms. McDonald sports an extensive resume, she is most celebrated for her portrayal of Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill.
A reviewer of the play stated, “The crucial assist in that feat, naturally, comes from McDonald, whose commitment to the characterization never falters. There’s a heart-stopping sense of the unpredictable in watching Billie repeatedly crumble and then grapple for composure before our eyes, often getting testy with anxious Jimmy. The actress infuses all this with a dignity that keeps it from lurching into the grotesque.”
What’s an EGOT?
EGOT, an acronym for the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards, is the designation given to people who have won all four of the major American art awards. Respectively, these awards honor outstanding achievements in television, recording, film, and Broadway theatre. Achieving the EGOT has been referred to as the “grand slam” of show business. As of 2023, 18 people have won a competitive EGOT, and five others have earned the distinction with honorary or special awards.
The EGOT acronym was coined by actor Philip Michael Thomas in late 1984, when his role on Miami Vice brought him instant fame, and he stated a desire to achieve the EGOT within five years. The acronym gained wider recognition following a 2009 episode of 30 Rock that introduced EGOT status as a recurring plotline. (Ironically, he has not achieve the status yet while others passed him by.)
There is no actual trophy or award given for becoming an EGOT. It’s a mark or acknowledgement of excellence in every facet of the performing arts world.
Black American EGOT Winners
There are several black American EGOT winners. It is not difficult to see why they have been awarded for their work, because it’s exemplary every time they step into the limelight. I find the artist’s journey to attain the EGOT standing very interesting–each is completely different.
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg won an Oscar for her role in “Ghost” in 1990.
It wasn’t for another 25 years until another person of color was crowned with EGOT status, when Whoopi Goldberg received both an Emmy and a Tony award in 2002. Recently, Goldberg won the Emmy for her role as a host in “Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel,” which profiled the “Gone with the Wind” actress who became the first Black Oscar winner.
Goldberg snagged her first EGOT award in 1990, when she received an Oscar for her role in “Ghost.” The actress, comedian, and TV personality won a Grammy for best comedy album in 1986, and won a second Emmy award in 2009 for outstanding talk show host in “The View.”
Goldberg continues to take on unusual projects recently producing the movie, Til.
EGOT Award Winners: A Closer Look at Their Most Iconic Roles and Performances
John Legend
John Legend is a 12 times Grammy award winner and became the 15th EGOT winner and first Black American man to achieve the status in 2018.
Legend won his first Grammy in 2006 for the Best New Artist category, and continued to win 11 more Grammys. The singer and songwriter also won an Oscar for his song Glory in the movie Selma,which chronicles the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in 2015.
Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Hudson won an Oscar for her role in Dreamgirls in 2007. In 2022, Jennifer Hudson became the second Black woman to achieve EGOT status. In addition, she has won two Grammy Awards (best R&B album for 2008’s Jennifer Hudson, and best musical theater album for 2016’s The Color Purple), and a Daytime Emmy Award for 2021’s Baba Yaga.
The singer and actress won an Oscar for best supporting actress in Dreamgirls, which also starred Beyoncé, in 2006. In 2022, she won a Tony for co-producing Broadway’s A Strange Loop, making her the youngest female EGOT winner in history.
And to think she didn’t win American Idol!
Here she is in Dreamgirls singing And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going.
EGOT Award Winners: A Closer Look at Their Most Iconic Roles and Performances
Viola Davis
Viola Davis won a Grammy award for her “Finding Me” audiobook in February 2023, joining an elite group of 17 other entertainers who have achieved EGOT status. Davis is the third Black woman to reach this coveted status.
The actress was one of the many Black performers celebrated at this year’s Grammys, alongside Beyoncé, Questlove, and Dr. Dre. In 2001 and 2010, Davis won Tony awards for her roles in the plays “King Hedley II” and “Fences,” and later won an Oscar for the movie adaptation of “Fences” in 2016. She also won an Emmy for her lead role in “How to Get Away with Murder” in 2015.
If you haven’t seen her recent performance in The Woman King, check it out here.
Ms. Davis’ journey to Broadway is a fascinating one. If you’d like to teach your students about Ms. Davis, check out my lesson here.
James Earl Jones
In 1971, Jones became the first African American to be the musical director and conductor of the Academy Awards. In 1995, he was the first African American to receive the academy’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. He is tied with sound designer Willie D. Burton as the second most Oscar-nominated African American, with seven nominations each. In 2013, Jones was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as the winner, alongside Lou Adler, of the Ahmet Ertegun Award.He was named one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century by Time.
Jones’s best-known work includes producing an all-time best-selling album, Michael Jackson’s Thriller (1982), organizing the all-star charity recording “We Are the World” (1985), and producing the film The Color Purple (1985) and the television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990–96). In 1993 he founded the magazine Vibe, which he sold in 2006.
Harry Belafonte
One of the most successful Jamaican American pop stars, Harry Belafonte popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style in the 1950s.
Belafonte won Grammys for best folk performance twice in 1961 and 1966, and received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 2000. He also became the first Black performer to win an Emmy award in 1960.
In 2014, Belafonte was honored with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for his activism work, including organizing the multi-artist “We Are the World” song to help raise funds for Africa, as well as for his political activism work to end apartheid in South Africa.
James Earl Jones
Higher than an EGOT
Is there any other award higher than an EGOT? Yes, there is. PEGOT winner is someone who has won all four EGOT awards as well as a Peabody Award or Pulitzer Prize.EGOT winners who have also won a Peabody Award: Barbra Streisand, Mike Nichols and Rita Moreno.
Recently, I heard that the television show Abbott Elementary just won a Peabody award. I’m not surprised at all.
Barbra Streisand
According to Brittanica.com, ” Barbra Streisand, original name Barbara Joan Streisand, (born April 24, 1942, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.), American singer, composer, actress, director, and producer who was considered by many to be the greatest popular singer of her generation. The first major female star to command roles as a Jewish actress, Streisand redefined female stardom in the 1960s and ’70s with her sensitive portrayal of ethnic urban characters.
Her immense popularity matched only by her outspokenness, she became one of the most powerful women in show business, noted for her liberal politics and her philanthropy.
Rita Moreno
Rita Moreno, in full Rosita Dolores Alverio, (born December 11, 1931, Humacao, Puerto Rico), Puerto Rican-born American actress, dancer, and singer who accomplished the rare feat of winning the four major North American entertainment awards (EGOT): Emmy (1977, 1978), Grammy (1972), Oscar (1962), and Tony (1975). She was also the first Hispanic woman to receive an Oscar (Academy Award).
Who is on the cusp of becoming an EGOT winner?
Stars like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hugh Jackman, Meryl Streep and Cynthia Nixon are among those who are on the cusp of joining the EGOT club with three out of four trophies so far. Looking for reasons for your students to study famous performing artists and their journey to Broadway? Read my blog post about the Should Students Read Biographies?
If you’d like a lesson for your students concerning the Tony Awards, check out my lesson here.
I’m looking forward to who becomes an EGOT winner next. Who do you think will reach it next? Lin Manuel Miranda? Hugh Jackman? Comment here with your vote!
Until next time.
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