Audrey Hepburn, John Legend and Whoopi Goldberg all have this in common
The three elite entertainers have won all four of the prestigious film and theatre awards—namely the Emmy’s, Grammy’s, Oscars and Tony—making them a part of the elite EGOT club that currently includes only 15 acclaimed names
The grand slam of American show business or the ultimate honour for all-rounders in entertainment—call it what you may, there’s a reason there’s so much hype surrounding the term EGOT. In the 20 odd years since its inception, only fifteen accomplished entertainers have been bestowed with the title. Coined in 1984 by Miami Vice actor Philip Michael Thomas, (who insisted it stood for ‘Energy, Growth, Opportunity and Talent’), the term is more popularly spelled out as ‘Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony’, and describes an elite category of entertainers who have won all four of these awards honouring outstanding achievements in television, recording, film and theatre. Read on for a little insight into the members of this esteemed club.
Richard Rodgers
An American composer with over 900 songs and 43 Broadway musicals to his credit, Rodgers won a whopping 13 awards between 1945 and 1979.
Helen Hayes
Nicknamed ‘First Lady of American Theatre’, this American actor was one of the first few recipients of the EGOT honour. Her illustrious career spanned across 80 years.
Rita Moreno
A Puerto Rican actor, dancer and singer, Moreno is not only the first Hispanic actor to win an Academy Awards winner, but also one of 23 people who have achieved what is called the Triple Crown of Acting, with individual competitive Academy, Emmy and Tony awards for acting. Along with multiple lifetime achievement awards, she also has the honour of receiving USA’s highest civilian honour, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
John Gielgud
An English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades, Geilgud is one of the oldest winners of the EGOT title. He completed it when he won his Emmy at 87 years old!
Audrey Hepburn
Any amount of praise bestowed on this Funny Face falls short—the British actor, model, dancer, humanitarian and fashion icon was the fifth to receive the EGOT honour, and the first to do so posthumously.
Marvin Hamlisch
Hamlisch is an American composer and conductor who is a part of not one, but two elite club of entertainers. Apart from being one of the only 15 people in the EGOT category, he is also one of only two people (along with composer Richard Rodgers) to have won a Pulitizer Prize on top of the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards—making him a ‘PEGOT’.
Jonathan Tunick
The American orchestrator, musical director, and composer is perhaps best known for his work with Stephen Sondheim, with whom he continues to collaborate even today—but you might recognise him by his work in the acclaimed 1997 film, Titanic!
Mel Brooks
He began his career as a comic and a writer and garnered accolades for his broad film farces and comedic parodies, before venturing into film making and achieving great success there too. Millennials, you may recognise him from his guest starring roles in ’90s sitcom, Mad About You.
Mike Nichols
Remember the cult classic, coming-of-age romantic drama that thrust Dustin Hoffman in the spotlight? The Graduate’s director, actor and comedian Nichols won the Academy Award for best director for the film, along with the other three awards for an impressive body of work spanning across genres.
Whoopi Goldberg
The first-ever African American EGOT winner is an actor, comedian and talk show host, but naturally, Goldberg won the Academy Award for her scene-stealing role as a psychic in the Patrick Swayze-starrer Ghost.
Scott Rudin
American film and theatre producer and the man behind iconic films such as No Country for Old Men, The Social Network, Lady Bird, The Truman Show, Moonrise Kingdom and School of Rock, among others, Rudin received a total of 18 awards between 1984 and 2017—making him the record holder for most awards won among the elite 15.
Robert Lopez
Along with being the one responsible for the chart-topping musical numbers of animated films like Frozen and Coco, American songwriter Lopez is also, as of 2018, the only person to have won all four awards more than once—he has won each award in the EGOT twice!
John Legend
The musician and producer gave all of him to his craft and was rewarded with one of the most revered titles an American entertainer can dream of. Legend’s achievement led him to become the first African American man in history to reach EGOT status.
Andrew Lloyd Webber
The music theatre composer, songwriter and producer received his fourth distinct award in 2018—joining the elite club just a year ago. You may recognise him from his plays: Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert and Cats.
Tim Rice
From Aladdin’s ‘A Whole New World’ to The Lion King’s ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight’, lyricist and producer Rice is responsible for some of the biggest hits from the ’90s. However, it was his involvement in Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert that gave him his primetime Emmy, propelling him to EGOT status
*Six artists—Liza Minnelli, James Earl Jones, Barbra Streisand, Alan Menken, Harry Belafonte and Quincy Jones—have also received all four awards, but at least one of the awards was non-competitive, ie special or honorary in nature.
