EGOT Watch: 5 Stars Who Only Need An Oscar
From Billy Porter to Cyndi Lauper, here are five superstars who only need an Oscar to complete their EGOT.
Of the four EGOT trophies, the most difficult to win is the Oscar.
With the other three prizes, there are many more categories, and sometimes it’s easy for someone with either fame or fortune to work their way into a production as some kind of producer or writer, without actually doing all the work.
It’s happened many times before, but rarely, if ever, with the Academy Awards.
For some time now, the ultimate goal for ambitious actors, singers, and producers in Hollywood has been not just a major award, but at least one of each of them.
Known simply as EGOT, the acronym stands for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony — the four most prestigious honors in the fields of TV, music, film, and Broadway. So far, fewer than 20 stars have accomplished the goal, but there are dozens who are just one prize away from joining that exclusive club.
Here are five superstars who only need an Oscar to complete their EGOT.
Audra McDonald
Audra McDonald is one of Broadway’s brightest stars — and one who is only a single award away from completing her EGOT.
With six Tony Awards to her name, she has more performance wins than any other actor and has also won in all four acting categories.
In addition, she has already won two Grammy Awards, for Best Opera Recording and Best Classical Album, and an Emmy for her performance in Sweeney Todd (Live from Lincoln Center) in 2015. However, the only award missing from her impressive collection is an Oscar, which may prove elusive given her limited involvement in movies.
Bette Midler
Bette Midler, the renowned singer, actress, and comedian, has been tantalizingly close to achieving EGOT status for some time now. Despite being nominated twice, she has yet to win an Academy Award, the only award missing from her collection.
Midler began her journey towards EGOT glory in 1974 when she won the Best New Artist Grammy. Since then, she has won two more Grammys, including Record of the Year for “Wind Beneath My Wings.”
In 2017, she won a competitive Tony Award for her performance in Hello, Dolly!, following a previous honorary award.
Along with her achievements in music and theater, Midler has also won three Emmy Awards across various categories.
Billy Porter
Billy Porter’s breakthrough came after he landed the lead role in the Broadway musical Kinky Boots, which earned him both a Tony Award and a Grammy Award (for Best Musical Theater Album).
Porter then went on to make history as the first openly gay Black man to win the Emmy Award for Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role in the groundbreaking TV show Pose.
Despite his success in theater and television, Porter has yet to be nominated for an Academy Award, which could make completing his EGOT a challenging feat.
Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper is one more talented performer who is only an Oscar away from completing her EGOT. Lauper’s first major entertainment award was the Best New Artist Grammy, an honor that she won very early in her career.
Despite being nominated 16 times, Lauper has only taken home two Grammys, including one for Best Musical Theater Album for Kinky Boots nearly 30 years after her first moment of triumph. Lauper’s contributions to the Broadway show also earned her a Tony Award for Best Original Score.
In addition to her achievements in music and theater, Lauper has also made a name for herself as an actress, earning two Emmy nominations for her role in Mad About You as Ira’s estranged wife Marianne, winning the award on her second attempt.
Despite her impressive collection of awards, Lauper has yet to be nominated for an Academy Award, and she doesn’t seem to be very active at the moment, so it’s tough to predict there’s one in her future.
Cynthia Erivo
Cynthia Erivo came very close to achieving her EGOT in 2019 when she was nominated for both Best Actress and Best Original Song at the Academy Awards for her work on Harriet, the Harriet Tubman biopic.
Unfortunately, she didn’t end up with either award.
Erivo has already won an Emmy, a Grammy, and a Tony, all of which were connected to her performance in the Broadway musical The Color Purple.
Despite the disappointment of her Oscar loss, Erivo is a rising star in Hollywood and is currently filming for the highly-anticipated Wicked films, which could give her another shot at Academy Award glory.
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