What is an EGOT and how many people have won it? List explored amid Cynthia Erivo’s lost shot with Oscar loss

The 97th Academy Awards are over and Cynthia Erivo just lost to Mikey Madison, who bagged the Best Actress award for her role in Sean Baker’s award-winning Anora. Cynthia Erivo’s fans would be grieving over the actress and musical performer’s yet another lost chance to complete her EGOT status.

The EGOT is the American entertainment industry’s gold standard, which recognizes entertainers who have won an Emmy award, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony award. An Emmy award is presented for excellence in the television industry, while a Grammy is awarded to outstanding musical performers of a certain year. Oscars are awarded for accomplishments in film and Tony awards are presented to recognize achievements in Broadway theater. Certain gems of the entertainment industry manage to bag an EGOT over their long illustrious careers.

According to Business Insider, 21 entertainers have won the prestigious EGOT status.

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Who are some prominent EGOT winners?

The first person to complete the EGOT status was Richard Rodgers. According to Billboard, the composer won an Oscar in 1946 for his composition for the film, State Fair. Rodgers has multiple Tony awards to his name for his work in musicals. He also won two Grammys for The Sound of Music and No Strings, as well as an Emmy.

Whoopi Goldberg also has an EGOT status. According to the Cosmopolitan Magazine, the actress became the first black woman to win the EGOT status. Goldberg was recognized with a Grammy in 1986, winning the Best Comedy Recording award. She bagged the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1990, and an Emmy and a Tony in 2002 (for Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel and Thoroughly Modern Millie respectively).

Well-known actress Audrey Hepburn began her climb to the EGOT status with an Oscar win in 1953 for her role in Roman Holiday. She went on to grab a Tony the next year for her work in Ondine. Hepburn won an Emmy for her work in the television program Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn, and a Grammy for Audrey Hepburn's Enchanted Tales.

While R&B musician John Legend has won several Grammy awards, he won an Oscar in 2015 for his song in the film Selma. Legend also received a Tony for producing the play, Jitney, and an Emmy for his live special, Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert. He also made history for being one of the youngest recipients of the EGOT status at age 39, according to Entertainment Weekly.

The singer-songwriter Elton John was already the recipient of multiple Grammy awards when he won the Oscar for The Lion King. John went to receive another Oscar and a Tony. He completed his EGOT status in 2024, with an Emmy for his live variety special, Elton John: Farewell from Dodger Stadium.

Actress Viola Davis has also had a notable path to the EGOT status. Davis, known for her television series, How to Get Away With Murder, won the Emmy for her role on the show in 2015. She had previously won two Tonys, one of which was for the play Fences, the cinematic adaptation of which led to Davis’ Oscar win in 2017. Davis also won a Grammy for her work on the audiobook, Finding Me in 2023.

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How many awards does Cynthia Erivo have?

Fans of Cynthia Erivo were rooting for her to win an Oscar on March 2 and complete her EGOT status, but it was not to be. Erivo was up for an Oscar in the Best Actress category for her role as Elphaba in Jon M. Chu’s Wicked. This was Erivo’s third Oscar nomination, the actress had previously been nominated in 2019 in the Best Actress and Best Original Song categories for her work in Harriet.

Cynthia Erivo, who opened this year’s Oscars with a musical duet with her Wicked co-star Ariana Grande, is well-known for her theatrical and musical prowess as the British actress has been a regular face in New York’s Broadway. For her role as Celie in the Broadway revival of The Color Purple, she won a Tony in 2016 for Best Leading Actress in a Musical.

Cynthia Erivo’s Grammy win in 2017 was for the cast recording of The Color Purple. The cast recording included Jennifer Hudson, the leading cast member from the original production, who is an EGOT winner. The Color Purple also won Erivo an Emmy for best musical performance in a daytime program.

Had Cynthia Erivo completed her EGOT status this year, she would have become the youngest EGOT winner in history at 38 years of age. However, her whirlwind theatrical, musical and cinematic career promises to provide many opportunities to the actress to complete her EGOT status in the future. For now, Cynthia Erivo is returning to her Broadway roots as host of the Tony awards in June.