Viola Davis Reaches EGOT Status With a Grammy Win

Viola Davis has become the latest person to reach EGOT status, after winning her first Grammy Award.

The actor received the rare honors during Sunday’s Grammy pre-show, becoming the 18th person to join the EGOT club, short for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony winners.

At Sunday’s ceremony, she took home the milestone of her first Grammy Award — for the audiobook of her memoir, Finding Me, in the Best Audiobook, Recording, Narrative and Story categories. It was also her first nomination.

In 2015, Davis won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama for her role on the ABC series How to Get Away with Murder. 

In 2017, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Fences, directed by Denzel Washington and written by August Wilson, based on Wilson’s 1985 play; She has won two Tony Awards for King Hedley II in 2001 and Fences in 2010.

The last star to win an EGOT Award was Jennifer Hudson in 2022 after winning a Tony Award for her co-production of the musical A Strange Loop.

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EGOT – a term coined by actor Philip Michael Thomas in 1984 – is used to refer to a person who has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award throughout their career, reflecting their work in television, music, film and theater reflects. 

It is not an official award given by any state entertainment agency, but is considered to be at the top of the entertainment industry and has only been won by 18 people.

Davis has won two Tony Awards for her stage work, most recently a Fences Award in 2010. She also won an Emmy Award for the TV drama How to Get Away with Murder in 2015 and an Oscar for the film version of Fences in 2017.