Viola Davis Becomes Third Black Woman to EGOT With Grammy Win

Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Viola Davis joined an exclusive club with her win for Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards for her audiobook "Finding Me: A Memoir" on Sunday.

She became just the third black woman to reach coveted EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) status, and one of only 18 entertainers to win all four of the awards comprising entertainment's holy grail.

The 57-year-old actor credited her younger self with the inspiration for the project.

“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!”

The award was the latest in a long list of accolades for the talented thespian, singer and author.

Davis was the first Black woman to win an Emmy for best actress in a drama, as well as the first Black woman to receive four Academy Award nominations.

Her other EGOT wins include two Tony awards for her work on Broadway: Best Featured Actress in 2001 for her role in "King Hedley II", and Best Leading Actress in 2010 for "Fences," an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role in "How to Get Away with Murder" and an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in the celluloid version of "Fences."

Whoopi Goldberg and Jennifer Hudson are the two other Black women that have reached EGOT status. Singer John Legend is the only Black man to EGOT.