Jennifer Hudson achieves EGOT status, becoming 2nd Black woman to do so

Welcome to the club.

Jennifer Hudson has joined the short list of artists who have achieved EGOT status, meaning she has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award. She checked off the final box at Sunday's Tonys, taking home a trophy as a producer of A Strange Loop, which won Best Musical.

Prior to the Tonys, Hudson had already won an Emmy for the animated VR film Baba Yaga, two Grammys for her debut studio album and the soundtrack to The Color Purple, and a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Dreamgirls.

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Hudson is now the fifth woman to achieve EGOT status, and only the second Black woman to do so. The first was Whoopi Goldberg, whose wins included her 1991 Best Supporting Actress Oscar victory for Ghost. The other female EGOT winners are Helen Hayes, Rita Moreno, and Audrey Hepburn.

The most recent person to achieve EGOT status before Hudson was Disney composer Alan Menken, who joined the club in 2020. But including Hudson, only 17 artists have achieved EGOT status to date.

A few appear to be on their way there, though. Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, for example, only needs an Oscar win for an EGOT. Since he's already been nominated twice and likely will be again for the live-action The Little Mermaid, Miranda might not have to wait for it for long.