
Zach Galifianakis: ...Is that what he calls his penis?
In the United States, the four most important entertainment awards are the Emmy Awards for television,note the Grammy Awards for music, the Academy Awards or Oscars for film, and the Tony Awards for theater. People that have won at least one competitive (non-honorary) award at all four ceremonies are called EGOTs. The term was coined by actor Philip Michael Thomas in The '80s, at the height of his celebrity from Miami Vice. He was never nominated for any of these four awards. Lynn Redgrave is the only person in history to be nominated for all four awards and never win any of them.
As there are four distinct awards, completing the EGOT is also called a "grand slam". On a historiographical note: many older lists of EGOT winners will credit Helen Hayes as the first EGOT recipient, as her 1977 grand slam was recent and high-profile enough to be remembered in The '80s, when the term first became popular. It was subsequently discovered (long after his death) that Richard Rodgers was the first to complete an EGOT, long before anybody knew or cared what that was.
If a performer has won an Oscar, an Emmy, and a Tony, all in the field of acting, they are said to have won the Triple Crown of Acting. Since we have a category of near-misses (3 out of 4 category winners) below, we will also note all Triple Crown winners.
4 competitive awards (grand slam):
The year in parentheses is when the grand slam was completed; the first time each recipient won their fourth award.- Mel Brooksnote (2001)
- Viola Davis note (2023) (Triple Crown winner)
- John Gielgudnote (1991) (oldest EGOT winner at age 87, first LGBT winner, and first non-American)
- Whoopi Goldbergnote (2002) (first African-American EGOT; Daytime Emmy winner)
- Marvin Hamlischnote (1995) (Pulitzer Prize winner)
- Helen Hayesnote (1977) (longest timespan in winning all 4 awards—45 years; second-ever and first female EGOT; Triple Crown winner, all for lead roles)
- Audrey Hepburnnote (1994) (Emmy and Grammy awarded posthumously, making her the first posthumous EGOT; first EGOT to receive only one award at all four ceremonies)
- Jennifer Hudsonnote (2022)
- John Legendnote (2018) (first black man to earn EGOT status, first to achieve the awards in four consecutive years, and first winner to be primarily a musician)
- Andrew Lloyd Webbernote (2018)
- Robert Lopeznote (2014) (first Asian EGOT; Daytime and Primetime Emmy winner; shortest timespan in winning all 4 awards by a person—9 years, 8 months; youngest EGOT winner at age 39; first person to win multiples of each award and thus the first-ever double EGOT)
- Alan Menkennote (2020) (most prolific winner, at 22 total awards received as of 2020; Daytime Emmy Winner; also a Razzie "winner",note making him the only competitive "REGOT" winner as The New York Times' Dave Itzkoff and Wikipedia calls it)
- Rita Morenonote (1978) (first Hispanic EGOT; Triple Crown winner, all for supporting roles; Peabody Award winner)
- Mike Nicholsnote (2001) (Peabody Award winner)
- Tim Rice note (2018)
- Richard Rodgersnote (1962) (first-ever EGOT; Pulitzer Prize winner)
- Scott Rudinnote (2012) (winner of the most of any one award among the EGOT winners—15 Tonys)
- Jonathan Tunicknote (1997)
3 out of 4 competitive awards (near-misses):
For extra fun, * marks creators who have been nominated for the missing award.Alive
- Adele (missing a Tony)
- Kristen Anderson Lopez* (missing a Tony)
- Julie Andrews* (missing a Tony)
- Alan Bergman (missing a Tony)
- Jon Blair (missing a Tony)
- Ellen Burstyn* (missing a Grammy; Triple Crown winner)
- Cher (missing a Tony)
- Common (missing a Tony)
- André De Shields (missing an Oscar)
- Eminem (missing a Tony)
- Rob Epstein (missing a Tony)
- Cynthia Erivo* (missing an Oscar)
- Anne Garefino (missing an Oscar; Peabody Award winner)
- James Gay Rees (missing a Tony)
- Michael Giacchino (missing a Tony)
- Alex Gibney (missing a Tony)
- Alex Gibson (missing a Tony)
- Ludwig Göransson (missing a Tony)
- Brian Grazer* (missing a Tony)
- Hildur Guđnadóttir (missing a Tony)
- HER (missing a Tony)
- Ron Howard (missing a Tony)
- Jeremy Irons* (missing a Grammy; Triple Crown winner)
- Hugh Jackman* (missing an Oscar)
- Elton John (missing an Emmy)
- James Earl Jones* (received honorary Oscar)
- Quincy Jones* (received honorary Oscar)
- Rachel Bay Jones (missing an Oscar)
- John Kander* (missing an Oscar)
- Tom Kitt (missing an Oscar; Pulitzer Prize winner)
- Alex Lacamoire (missing an Oscar)
- Jessica Lange (missing a Grammy; Triple Crown winner)
- Stan Lathan (missing an Oscar; Peabody Award winner)
- Cyndi Lauper (missing an Oscar)
- Katrina Lenk (missing an Oscar)
- Audra McDonald (missing an Oscar)
- Frances McDormand (missing a Grammy; Triple Crown winner)
- Paul McCartney (missing a Tony)
- Bette Midler* (missing an Oscar)
- Liza Minnelli* (received honorary Grammy; Razzie "winner")
- Lin-Manuel Miranda* (missing an Oscar; Pulitzer Prize winner and MacArthur "genius grant" recipient)
- Helen Mirren (missing a Grammy; Triple Crown winner)note
- James Moll (missing a Tony; Peabody Award Winner)
- Morgan Neville (missing a Tony)
- Randy Newman (missing a Tony)
- Cynthia Nixon (missing an Oscar)
- Al Pacino* (missing a Grammy; Triple Crown winner)
- Trey Parker and Matt Stone* (missing an Oscar; Peabody Award winner)note
- Benj Pasek and Justin Paul* (missing an Emmy)
- Ben Platt (missing an Oscar)
- Billy Porter (missing an Oscar)
- Vanessa Redgrave (missing a Grammy; Triple Crown winner)
- Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (missing a Tony)
- Caitrin Rogers (missing a Tony)
- Geoffrey Rush (missing a Grammy; Triple Crown winner)
- Martin Scorsese (missing a Tony)
- Marc Shaiman* (missing an Oscar)
- Bill Sherman (missing an Oscar)
- Dame Maggie Smith (missing a Grammy; Triple Crown winner)
- Ari'el Stachel (missing an Oscar)
- Ringo Starr (missing a Tony)
- Barbra Streisand* (received honorary Tony; Peabody Award winner)
- Charles Strouse (missing an Oscar; Peabody Award winner)
- Lily Tomlin* (missing an Oscar; Peabody Award winner)
- Dick Van Dyke (missing an Oscar)
- John Williams (missing a Tony)
- Kate Winslet (missing a Tony)
- David Yazbek (missing an Oscar)
Deceased
- John Addison (missing a Tony)
- Jack Albertson (missing a Grammy; Triple Crown winner)
- Burt Bacharach* (missing a Tony)
- Anne Bancroft (missing a Grammy; Triple Crown winner)
- Harry Belafonte (received honorary Oscar)
- Ingrid Bergman (missing a Grammy; Triple Crown winner)
- Marilyn Bergman (missing a Tony)
- Leonard Bernstein* (missing an Oscar)
- Jerry Bock (missing an Oscar; Pulitzer Prize winner)
- Shirley Booth (missing a Grammy; Triple Crown winner)
- George Burns (missing a Tony)
- Ralph Burns (missing a Grammy)
- Martin Charnin (missing an Oscar; Peabody Award winner)
- Cy Coleman* (missing an Oscar)
- Melvyn Douglas (missing a Grammy; Triple Crown winner)
- Fred Ebb* (missing an Oscar)
- Henry Fonda* (missing an Emmy)
- Bob Fosse (missing a Grammy)note
- George Grizzard (missing an Oscar)
- Oscar Hammerstein II (missing an Emmy; Pulitzer Prize winner)
- Julie Harris* (missing an Oscar)
- Glenda Jackson (missing a Grammy; Triple Crown winner)
- Alan Jay Lerner (missing an Emmy)
- Frank Loesser (missing an Emmy; Pulitzer Prize winner)
- Thomas Mitchell (missing a Grammy; Triple Crown winner)
- Christopher Plummer* (missing a Grammy; Triple Crown winner)
- Sid Ramin (missing a Tony)
- Jason Robards (missing a Grammy; Triple Crown winner)
- Paul Scofield (missing a Grammy; Triple Crown winner)
- Stephen Sondheim (missing an Emmy; Pulitzer Prize winner)
- Maureen Stapleton (missing a Grammy; Triple Crown winner)
- Jule Styne (missing an Emmy)
- Jessica Tandy (missing a Grammy; Triple Crown winner)
- Peter Ustinov* (missing a Tony)
- Tony Walton (missing a Grammy)note
- James Whitmore* (missing an Oscar)
- Robin Williams (missing a Tony)
Appearances in Fiction
Films — Live Action
- When Zach interviews Chrissy Teigen on Between Two Ferns: The Movie, she mentions that her husband John Legend is probably "at home, polishing his EGOTs".
Zach: Is that what he calls his penis?
- Tár: Classical music luminary Lydia Tár is mentioned in the opening list of her accomplishments to be an EGOT.
Live-Action TV
- 30 Rock gives Tracy a storyline where he attempts to complete the EGOT and seeks out Whoopi Goldberg for advice (and attempts to steal one of her trophies). When Tracy tries to nitpick that Goldberg received a Daytime Emmy, she retorts that an Emmy is an Emmy, regardless of what typenote . He definitively wins an Oscar, with the fate of his quest ultimately left unknown.
- Sherman's Showcase has John Legend brag about his EGOT status and sees Common (who, in real life, is missing a Tony) try to be one by writing a Stylistic Suck musical.
Web Video
- Honest Trailers's trailer for Encanto features a parody of "Surface Pressure" from the film, which jokes that its songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda is feeling the pressure and just wants an EGOT.
Western Animation
- In one Breaking the Fourth Wall Cold Open of Harley Quinn (2019), Frank the Plant recaps the plot and campaigns for Harley to EGOT (using the real website, egotforharley.com
).