On Sunday, Jennifer Hudson won her first Tony Award. She was a producer on A Strange Loop, the smash Broadway show that won Best Musical at the highly esteemed awards ceremony. The win makes Hudson an EGOT winner, meaning she has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award, putting her in rarefied air in the entertainment industry.
At forty years old and nine months, Hudson is also the third-youngest entertainer to become an EGOT winner. Only John Legend and Robert Lopez were younger when they completed the prestigious awards circuit.
Hudson’s first win came in 2007 when she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in Dreamgirls. Two years later she hit Grammy paydirt, winning Best R&B Album for her self-titled debut. Eight years later the Grammys came calling again for her vocal work for The Color Purple.
In 2021, Hudson nabbed her Emmy as an executive producer on Baba Yaga, a virtual reality animated film that won Outstanding Interactive Media for a Daytime Program.
There are now 17 EGOT winners and 25 potential living entertainers who just need a Tony to finish the cycle. Some of the most notable names on that waiting list are Trent Reznor, Julie Andrews Cher, Common, Randy Newman, John Williams, and Martin Scorcese.
Of note, Jennifer Hudson is the first person to win an EGOT who rose to fame as an American Idol contestant. She came in sixth place during the third season of the singing competition show that, at that time, was judged by Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson.