Entertainment

Could Beyonce Be On The Road To An EGOT?

by Mary Grace Garis

All hail: it looks like the queen might be returning to the silver screen. According to a recent report from The Sun, Beyoncé will be writing and starring in a biopic about Saartjie Baartman, a South African woman paraded on the 19th century London freakshow circuit for her unconventional body shape. After Beyoncé's long hiatus from the acting world, the report is very exciting, and this kind of subject matter would be a major jump from her Austin Powers days. In fact, you could argue that the star's casting in the movie, if true, could be a very hard stab at her moving towards an EGOT.

"EGOT," to recap for those who don't want to Google it, stands for "Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony," the four awards held paramount in the entertainment world. Now, to date, our girl Beyoncé has no shortage of the "G" in EGOT: between her solo career and her work with Destiny's Child, Beyoncé has 20 Grammys. I can't imagine what she even does with them at this point. Does she have one for every room of the house? Does she just give her spare ones for Blue Ivy to play "Pop Superstar" with? As many Grammys as she has, though, the other categories are a bit murky, so what's the likelihood that she could reach EGOT status? Let's move forward in order.

As it would turn out, Beyoncé has won an Emmy before... kind of. In 2013, her Superbowl Halftime show was nominated for three Emmy awards, and the singer's crew took home an Emmy for "Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Special." That is... something, right? It's not quite the same as winning for an outspend short-format live-action entertainment program (which she was also nominated for), but, if you're looking for an EGOT by technicality, there you go. Beyoncé was nominated again in 2015 for HBO's Beyoncé And Jay-Z: On The Run Tour special, but no dice. I'm confident, though, that if she puts out one or two more televised concert spectacular she (not her lighting) could grab an Emmy. Now for the Oscar...

OK, don't come at me or anything, but I strongly maintain the belief that Beyoncé is a top-level performer and an aggressively fine actress. Nobody's going to doubt that she was a ton of fun as Foxxy Cleopatra in Goldmember. Nobody's also going to deny Beyoncé's last foray into acting with Obsession was... well, her performance was alright. But, even if her acting doesn't hit the mark, perhaps she could snag something for screenwriting (which would most certainly count). So, on the Oscar front, it's a very loud "not definite, but plausible."

Which brings us to the Tony, and honestly? I think Beyoncé has this one made, if she really wants it. It's always bizarre when mega-stars decide to do plays (theater is fantastic, but there definitely feels like an entertainment hierarchy, you know?), but Beyoncé has a voice that is Broadway ready. With a Tony, it's pretty much a matter of whether she wants to go that route. Maybe in her 40s, when she gets a week of free time, it'll be something she does for funzies. We'll see.

In short? It isn't crazy to think that Beyonce could get to elusive EGOT status, whether this potential movie grabs her an Oscar or not. But it's also crazy to think that Beyonce would be any less amazing without an EGOT... because even without the E, O and/or T, you don't get to 20 Gs without being entertainment royalty.

Images: Giphy (2)