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Viola Davis just won her first Grammy, which earned her a spot among the coveted group of EGOT winners!
The exciting news came at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, where Viola won a Grammy for her audiobook reading of her memoir, Finding Me.
In her acceptance speech, Viola emotionally shared that the inspiration behind her memoir was honoring “the 6-year-old Viola.” She then reflected on how her career has “been such a journey” before proudly exclaiming, “I just EGOT!”
“I wrote this book to honor the 6-year-old Viola. To honor her, her life, her joy, her trauma, everything. It has just been such a journey. I just EGOT!”
For context, “EGOT” is an acronym for four major entertainment awards (an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony), and only eighteen people have accomplished the feat of winning at least one of each.
Her journey to this accomplishment kicked off after earning a Tony in 2001 for her role in King Hedley II. She then scored her Emmy and Oscar in 2015 and 2016, respectively, before finishing off with her Grammy in 2023.
We also have to point out that, among the eighteen EGOT winners, Viola is the fourth Black person to reach this highly-sought-after accomplishment.
Whoopi Goldberg was the first Black star to achieve EGOT status back in 2002. Sixteen years later, John Legend joined the club as well, and he’s currently the only Black man to win an EGOT. Jennifer Hudson is another EGOT winner, as she accomplished the feat after winning a Tony last year.
Now, thanks to her fresh Grammy win for her audiobook recording of Finding Me, Viola Davis has achieved EGOT status, too.
Shoutout to the talented Viola Davis for joining the EGOT club, and we’re excited to see more examples of Black excellence achieve this feat!
