Actress/singer Jennifer Hudson has received several honors throughout her career, but the one that has always eluded her is a Tony award. Now, the Respect star can officially call herself an EGOT. For the uninitiated, EGOT signifies a rare group of entertainers who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.
According to Variety, Hudson completed the feat on Sunday night with A Strange Loop’s Tony win for Best Musical. She’s a producer on the groundbreaking show. The Color Purple star began her EGOT journey with an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 2009 for Dreamgirls. She followed that up with a Grammy for Best R&B Album for her self-titled debut and another for the cast recording of The Color Purple in 2017. Just last year, she picked up a Daytime Emmy for executive producing the VR-animated film Baba Yaga, which won for Outstanding Interactive Media for a Daytime Program.
The former The Voice coach joins other notable EGOT winners Whoopi Goldberg, Rita Moreno and John Legend. Familiar names who are one win away from EGOT status include six-time Tony-winner Audra McDonald, who needs an Oscar; Hamilton composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, also waiting for that elusive Oscar; Common, who is looking for a Tony; and perhaps the longest shot of them all, Viola Davis, who needs a Grammy. We’ve learned never to count the Fences star out, but a Grammy seems unlikely.
Up next for Jennifer Hudson is daytime television, as she’s set to launch her own talk show, The Jennifer Hudson Show, this fall. Though not officially confirmed, it is expected to take some of the canceled Nick Cannon’s timeslots.
In a statement to Variety about the new show, Hudson said in part: “People from around the world have been a part of my journey from the beginning—twenty years ago—and I’m so ready to join their journey as we sit down and talk about the things that inspire and move us all. I have always loved people, and I cannot wait to connect on a deeper level and let audiences see the different sides of who I am, the human being, in return. And I couldn’t be more thrilled to do it alongside this incredible team. We’re about to have a lot of fun and shake things up a little bit!”
I guess Jennifer is already setting up her next Daytime Emmy win.