Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. No, those aren’t missing names from the chorus of ‘Mambo No. 5’; they’re the four major entertainment awards it takes to be crowned an EGOT. Fitting, then, that the latest recipient of the title is already The Woman King (Boom!). Yes, having scooped the award for ‘Best Audiobook, Narration, And Storytelling Recording’ for her memoir Finding Me at last night’s Grammys, Viola Davis has become only the 18th person – and the third Black woman (joining Whoopi Goldberg and Jennifer Hudson) – to achieve EGOT status.
Four-time Academy Award nominee Davis has previously won an Oscar for her role in 2016’s Fences, Tonys for both King Hedley II and Fences’ originating stage play, and an Emmy for How To Get Away With Murder. Accepting the Grammy completes the entertainment world’s grand slam, and places her in a very exclusive group alongside the likes of Alan Menken, Mel Brooks, and Rita Moreno. An emotional Davis paid tribute to her younger self – and to her epic achievement – on stage. “I wrote this book to honor the six-year-old Viola,” she said, “To honour her life, her joy, her trauma, everything. And it has just been such a journey – I just EGOT!”
So what’s next for the newly EGOT Viola Davis? Well, as we learned from James Gunn’s grand DCU unveiling last week, Davis will be back as the titular Task Force X leader in Peacemaker spin-off series Waller before long. And as if one mega-franchise wasn’t enough, she’ll also be playing Dr. Volumnia Gaul in the hotly anticipated Hunger Games prequel The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes, which hits cinemas on November 17, 2023. It’s safe to say wEGOT plenty to look forward to.