The greatest achievement for people from the world of film, music and theater is not only the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar or Tony awards. It is the sum of all four! And the celebrities who managed to receive all these awards - known by the acronym EGOT - could be counted on one hand. Well, almost. Only 12 people received all 4 awards.
Where does the expression come from THE EGO? It was apparently first used by an actor Philip Michael Thomas, an actor from the series Miami Vice who wore a gold locket that contained all 4 letters. He often publicly professed his desire to conquer all four awards (emmy, grammy, oscar, tony), but he was not nominated for a single one.
A 12 actors, producers, directors and composers managed to achieve just that. See who they are in the gallery extraordinary creators.
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Gallery – 12 recipients of the prestigious EGOT award
Mel Brooks won an EGOT for acting, writing for television and for a musical.
Whoopi Goldberg secured the EGOT award for her film role, producing, hosting and comedy album.
Mike Nichols directed film classics such as The Graduate (1967) and Broadway hits such as Monty Python's Spamalot. He finished the hunt for the EGOT award in 2001.
It took actress Helen Hayes 45 years to get her hands on the EGOT award.
English actor John Gielgud was known for his ability to act in the works of Shakespeare and earned an EGOT award in 1991.
Audrey Hepburn won her EGOT for her role in Roman Holiday.
Actress Rita Moreno started her EGOT hunt with an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in the musical West Side Story.
Scott Rudin won several Tonys as a theater producer, and the musical The Book of Mormon brought him a Grammy.
It only took composer Robert Lopez 10 years to win the EGOT. His biggest hit? The song Let It Go for the animated film Frozen (2013).
Composer Richard Rodgers was the first to win the EGOT (in 1962).
In 1995, Martin Hamlisch became the second composer to win an EGOT (he met the standards for 'O' with as many as three Oscars in one night).
Another composer who managed to win all 4 awards - Jonathan Tunick.
