You might think that someone with as storied a career as Steven Spielberg has done it all, but he actually hit a new milestone on Sunday: becoming an EGOT! After multiple Emmy and Oscar wins plus one Tony, a Grammy was all that was left for membership to that exclusive club. Steven just picked up his first Grammy for producing Music by John Williams, the documentary that won Best Music Film (beating out the Diane Warren doc Relentless; Warren can’t win!). Steven didn’t attend the awards show on Sunday, but his Amblin Entertainment production company treated him to celebratory EGOT balloons on Monday, which they snapped a pic of — with Spielberg in the shot of course, this is a film studio! — and posted on Instagram.
The Jurassic Park filmmaker, 79, achieved the milestone when he won a Grammy Award on Sunday, Feb. 1 for Best Music Film for the 2024 documentary Music by John Williams, which he produced. The legendary director had already received two Academy Awards for his movies Schindler’s List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998); multiple Emmy Awards for producing series like Band of Brothers, The Pacific, Animaniacs, Tiny Toon Adventures, Pinky and the Brain and Freakazoid!; and a Tony Award for producing 2022’s Best Musical winner, A Strange Loop.
On Monday, Feb. 2, Spielberg’s production company Amblin Entertainment shared a photo of the filmmaker celebrating his EGOT status to Instagram. The photo shows Spielberg posing with four golden balloons that spell out “EGOT,” as he hid his smile behind another translucent balloon. “EGOT status ✅,” read a caption that the production company shared.
Spielberg received some love from friends and family in the comments of Amblin’s post, with West Side Story star Rachel Zegler writing, “DIVA!” in response to his celebratory photo. Julianne Moore, who starred in Spielberg’s 1997 Jurassic World sequel, The Lost World, left three “🔥🔥🔥” emojis in response to the post as well. “Woohoooo big bro! So proud of you!!” One of Spielberg’s three sisters, Sue, wrote in a comment as well. “What’s next? Love you!”
Spielberg did not attend the Grammy Awards in person to accept his latest award. “This acknowledgement is obviously deeply meaningful to me because it validates what I have known for over 50 years: John Williams’ influence on culture and music is immeasurable and his artistry and legacy is unrivaled,” he said in a statement on Feb. 1.
The Jaws filmmaker is now one of fewer than 30 people who have ever won all four of the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Awards. Others who can claim the title include Richard Rodgers (1962), Helen Hayes (1977), Rita Moreno (1977), John Gielgud (1991), Audrey Hepburn (1994), Marvin Hamlisch (1995), Jonathan Tunick (1997), Mel Brooks (2001), Mike Nichols (2001), Whoopi Goldberg (2002), Scott Rudin (2012), Robert Lopez (2014), Andrew Lloyd Webber (2018), Tim Rice (2018), John Legend (2018), Alan Menken (2020), Jennifer Hudson (2022), Viola Davis (2023), Elton John (2024), and Benji Pasek and Justin Paul (2024).
That really is special that he won for a project close to his heart, something that honors his longtime friend and creative partner. Music By John Williams has been on my list of films to watch (it’s on Disney+), now I really need to move it to the top! After all, I love film scores and good documentaries! As for EGOT status, Steven is now the 22nd artist to join the ranks. It’s wild that for nearly 15 years there were only three in the club — Richard Rodgers, Helen Hayes, and Rita Moreno — before so many more joined them starting in the 90s. I’ve been perusing a detailed list that breaks down not only who, but also which specific award (directing, acting, etc) and for which project. For anyone working on their own EGOT progress, here’s my advice: PRODUCE. That’s where most of these 22 really started piling on the wins. Also, I miss Mike Nichols. Just wanted to say that.
Photos credit: James Warren/Bang Showbiz/Avalon, Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon, Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon
Great link to the list. So many got their “G” by spoken word recordings
I know it’s not the point of the story, but sad to see Kate Capshaw has gone down the road of surgery/fillers. If I didn’t already know who she was I would have mistaken her for Meg Ryan.
Meg Ryan is exactly whom I thought of when I initially saw the header pic, wondering what kind of project that I hadn’t heard of brought Spielberg and MR together.
It’s all so sad.
Good to see Spielberg reach EGOT status though. Ever since starting the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, he has a special place in my heart.