Actress Viola Davis won a 2023 Grammy Award for Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording, for her memoir “Finding Me.” This win also nabbed her the coveted EGOT title, reserved only for performers who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award. While winning just 1 of these awards is rare, all 4 is a feat very few artists pull off.
The multihyphenated performer took home her first Tony in 2001 for her portrayal of Tonya in “King Hedley II.” Davis won another Tony in 2010 as Rose in August Wilson‘s play, “Fences.” A role that played double duty since she also got an Oscar in 2017 for reprising her character in the film adaptation.
Davis received her first Emmy in 2015 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for “How to Get Away with Murder,” an award she won again in 2016, 2017, and 2019. In 2018, she also took home an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for “Scandal.”
But this really shouldn’t be a shock considering Davis’ career has been studded with industry firsts. With her 2015 Emmy, she became the first Black woman to win for best actress in a drama. In 2017, she became the first Black woman to score 3 Academy Award nominations.
As for her EGOT only 17 other performers can say they have pulled it off. Some of these entertainers include Mel Brooks, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, and Rita Moreno. She even referenced the feat in her acceptance speech. “I wrote this book to honor the 6-year-old Viola,” she said. “To honor her life, her joy, her trauma, everything. And, it has just been such a journey – I just EGOT!”
We are certain Davis’ 6-year-old self is beaming back at all she has achieved. We’ll see her next in HBO Max’s Amanda Waller spinoff series, “Waller.”
