A select group of entertainers can round out their trophy cases with a competitive win from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences
The EGOT — an acronym for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony — is the greatest honor in entertainment. These stars are (or were) close to achieving it.
Getty Images
Cynthia Nixon (1966 -) Emmys (2): Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, “Sex and the City” (2004); Guest Actress in a Drama Series, “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (2008)
Grammy: Spoken Word Album, “An Inconvenient Truth” (2008)
Tonys (2): Actress in a Play, “Rabbit Hole” (2006); Featured Actress in a Play, “Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes” (2017)
Getty Images
Lin-Manuel Miranda (1980 -) Emmy: Original Music and Lyrics, “67th Annual Tony Awards” (2014)
Grammys (2): Best Musical Theater Album, “In the Heights” (2008) and “Hamilton” (2017)
Tonys (3): Score, “In the Heights” (2008) and “Hamilton” (2016); Musical, “Hamilton” (2016)
Getty Images
Harry Belafonte (1927 -) Emmy: Performance in a Variety or Musical Program or Series, “The Revlon Revue” (1960)
Grammys (2): Folk Performance, “Swing Dat Hammer” (1960); Folk Recording, “An Evening With Belafonte/Makeba” (1965)
Tony: Supporting Actor in a Musical, “John Murray Anderson’s Almanac” (1954)
Getty Images
Bette Midler (1945 -) Emmys (3): Special – Comedy, Variety or Music, “Bette Midler Ol’ Red Hair Is Back” (1978); Performance in a Variety or Music Program, “Bette Midler: Diva Las Vegas” (1997) and “The Tonight Show” (1992)
Grammy (3): Best New Artist (1973); Best Female Pop Vocal Performance,”The Rose” (1980); Record of the Year, “Wind Beneath My Wings” (1989)
Tony: Actress in a Musical, “Hello, Dolly!” (2017)
Getty Images
Audra McDonald (1970 -) Emmy: Special Class Program, “Live From Lincoln Center” (2015)
Grammys (2): Classical Album and Opera Recording, “Weill: Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny” (2008)
Tonys (6): Featured Actress in a Musical, “Carousel” (1994); Featured Actress in a Play, “Master Class” (1996); Featured Actress in a Musical, “Ragtime” (1998); Featured Actress in a Play, “A Raisin in the Sun” (2004); Actress in a Musical, “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess” (2012); Actress in a Play, “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill” (2014)
Getty Images
Cyndi Lauper (1953 -) Emmy: Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, “Mad About You” (2005)
Grammys (2): Best New Artist (1984); Musical Theater Album, “Kinky Boots” (2013)
Tony: Score, “Kinky Boots” (2013)
Getty Images
Marc Shaiman (1959 -) Emmy: Writing in a Variety or Music Program, “The 64th Annual Academy Awards” (1992)
Grammy: Musical Show Album, “Hairspray” (2002)
Tony: Score, “Hairspray” (2003)
Getty Images
Lily Tomlin (1939 -) Emmys (6): Writing in a Comedy-Variety or Music Special, “Lily” (1974) and The Lily Tomlin Special (1976) and “The Paul Simon Special” (1978); Variety, Music or Comedy Program, “Lily” (1974) and “Lily: Sold Out” (1981); Voiceover Performance, “An Apology to Elephants” (2013)
Grammy: Comedy Recording, “This Is a Recording” (1971)
Tony: Actress in a Play, “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe” (1986)
Getty Images
Dick Van Dyke (1925 -) Emmys (4): Actor in a Comedy Series, “The Dick Van Dyke Show” (1964,1965 and 1966); Comedy-Variety or Music Series, “Van Dyke and Company” (1977)
Grammy: Recording for Children, “Mary Poppins” (1964)
Tony: Featured Actor in a Musical, “Bye, Bye Birdie” (1961)
Getty Images
James Earl Jones (1931 -) Emmys (2): Actor in a Drama Series, “Gabriel’s Fire” (1991); Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Special, “Heat Wave” (1991)
Grammy: Spoken Word Recording, “Great American Documents” (1976)
Tonys (2): Actor in a Play, “The Great White Hope” (1969) and “Fences” (1987)
Getty Images
Trey Parker (1969 -) Emmys (5): Animated Program, “South Park” (2005,2007,2008,2009 and 2013)
Grammy: Musical Theater Album, “The Book of Mormon” (2011)
Tonys (3): Score, Book and Director, “The Book of Mormon” (2011)
Getty Images
Matt Stone (1971 -) Emmys (5): Animated Program, “South Park” (2005,2007,2008,2009 and 2013)
Grammy: Musical Theater Album, “The Book of Mormon” (2011)
Tony (2): Score and Book, “The Book of Mormon” (2011)
Courtesy: Bill Doll and Company
Julie Harris (1925–2013) Emmys (3): Single Performance by an Actress, “Little Moon of Alban” (1959); Single Performance by an Actress, “Victoria Regina” (1962); Voiceover Performance, “Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony” (2000)
Grammy: Spoken Word Recording, “The Belle Of Amherst” (1977)
Tonys (5): Actress in a Play, “I Am a Camera” (1952), “The Lark” (1956), “Forty Carats” (1969), “The Last of Mrs. Lincoln” (1973) and “The Belle of Amherst” (1977)
Getty Images
Cynthia Erivo (1987 -) Daytime Emmy: On-Camera Musical Performance in a Daytime Program, “Today” (2017)
Grammy: Musical Theater Album, “The Color Purple” (2016)
Tony: Actress in a Musical, “The Color Purple” (2016)
Getty Images
Cy Coleman (1929-2004) Emmys (2): Writing in a Comedy-Variety or Music Special, “Shirley MacLaine: If They Could See Me Now” (1975); Comedy-Variety or Music Special, “Gypsy in My Soul” (1976)
Grammy: Musical Show Album, “The Will Rogers Follies” (1991)
Tonys (3): Score, “On the Twentieth Century” (1978), “City of Angels” (1990) and “The Will Rogers Follies” (1991)
Getty Images
Quincy Jones (1933 -) Emmy: Music Composition for a Series Original Dramatic Score, “Roots” (1977)
Grammy: 27 wins, including Record of the Year, “Beat It” (1983) and “We Are the World” (1985); Album of the Year, “Back on the Block” (1990)
Tony: Musical Revival (producing), “The Color Purple” (2016)
Getty Images
Fred Ebb (1928-2004) and John Kander (1927 -) Emmy: Original Music and Lyrics, “Liza With a Z” (1973) and “Liza Minnelli Live from Radio City Music Hall” (1993); Ebb also won for “Gypsy in My Soul” (1976) and producing “Liza With a Z”
Grammy: Best Score From an Original Cast Show Album, “Cabaret” (1967)
Tonys (4): Musical and Composer/Lyricist, “Cabaret” (1967); Score, “Woman of the Year” (1981); Score, “Kiss of the Spider Woman” (1993)
Getty Images
Bill Sherman (1981 -) Daytime Emmys (2): Original Song – Children’s and Animation, “Sesame Street” (2011); Original Song, “Sesame Street” (2015)
Grammys (2): Best Musical Theater Album, “In the Heights” (2008) and “Hamilton” (2017)
Tonys (2): Orchestrations, “In the Heights” (2008); Musical (producing), “Kinky Boots” (2013)
Getty Images
Martin Charnin (1934 -) Emmys (3): Variety or Musical Program, “Annie, the Women in the Life of a Man” (1970); Variety or Musical Program and Directorial Achievement in Comedy or Variety, “‘S Wonderful, ‘S Marvelous, ‘S Gershwin” (1972)
Grammy: Cast Show Album, “Annie” (1977)
Tony: Score, “Annie” (1977)
Getty Images
Jerry Bock (1928–2010) Daytime Emmy: Original Song – Children’s and Animation, “Wonder Pets!” (2010)
Grammy: Score From an Original Cast Show Album, “She Loves Me” (1963)
Tonys (4): Musical, “Fiorello!” (1960), “Hello, Dolly!” (1964) and “Fiddler on the Roof” (1965); plus Score, “Fiddler on the Roof” (1965)
Getty Images
James Whitmore (1921–2009) Emmy: Guest Actor in a Drama Series, “The Practice” (2000)
Grammy: Spoken Word Recording, “Give ‘Em Hell Harry” (1975)
Tony: Performance by Newcomers, “For Love or Money” (1948)
Getty Images
Anne Garefino (1959 -) Emmys (5): Animated Program (producing), “South Park” (2005,2007,2008,2009 and 2013)
Grammy: Musical Theater Album, “The Book of Mormon” (2011)
Tony: Musical (producing), “The Book of Mormon” (2011)
Getty Images
Charles Strouse (1928 -) Emmy: Music and Lyrics, “Bye, Bye Birdie” (1996)
Grammy: Cast Show Album, “Annie” (1977)
Tonys (3): Musical, “Bye, Bye Birdie” (1961), “Applause” (1970); Score, “Annie” (1977)
Courtesy: Allan Warren
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) Emmy: 7 individual wins, including for “Omnibus” (1957 and 1958); “Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic” (1961); “New York Philharmonic Young People’s Concerts” (1965); “Beethoven’s Birthday” (1972); and “Carnegie Hall: The Grand Reopening” (1987)
Grammy: 16 wins, most for best classical album
Tony: Best Musical, “Wonderful Town” (1953)
So who has made the cut? Here are all of the stars who have achieved EGOT status, from Audrey Hepburn to Whoopi Goldberg.
