Grammys 2023 Early Winners: Viola Davis Wins for Best Audiobook, Achieving EGOT Status

Viola Davis snatched a Grammys 2023 award for the audiobook recording of her own memoir, "Finding Me." The Grammy win makes her an EGOT, an acronym for those who received an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony award.

Davis is the 18th person to achieve the esteemed EGOT status. Other EGOT artists include Audrey Hepburn, Mel Brooks, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and John Gielgud, according to The Guardian.

During the ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday, Davis said she wrote "Finding Me" to honor the six-year-old Viola, including "her life, her joy, her trauma, everything."

She becomes the fourth Black artist to reach such prestige. Other Black artists to achieve EGOT status include Whoopi Goldberg, John Legend, and Jennifer Hudson.

Her memoir talks about the racist bullying she experienced while growing up in Rhode Island, including her journey from being an actor with small roles to landing roles in "How to Get Away With Murder," her first big break.

Davis' audiobook was up against Brooks, Lin-Manuel Miranda, who is an Oscar win away from reaching EGOT status, including actor Jamie Fox and Questlove, who both have Oscars and Grammys.

Grammys 2023

Viola Davis said on stage that "R&B is not a fad; it's the truth" before announcing the winner of the best R&B song award, Beyonce's "Cuff It." The recording artist is close to beating the record for most Grammy awards in the history of the awarding ceremony.

Beyonce won for her song "Cuff It," beating Muni Long, Mary J. Blige, Jazmine Sullivan, and PJ Morton, according to NBC News. However, host Trevor Noah noted that Beyonce is not yet at the ceremony, adding that "the upside of hosting the Grammys in L.A. is everyone can be here."

Noah went on to say that the disadvantage is the traffic, but "Beyonce is on her way." Jay-Z, the husband of Beyonce, was seen in the crowd during Stevie Wonder's performance.

Harry Styles beats Adele and Lizzo, winning the first Grammy of the night, the best pop vocal album for his "Harry's House." In his acceptance speech, Styles noted that the album has been the "greatest experience of my life."

Kim Petras made a breakthrough after she became the first transgender woman to win the Grammys for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

Viola Davis' 'Finding Me'

Viola Davis' memoir was released in April 2022 and detailed the racism she experienced in the third grade, with "eight or nine white boys" in her class, making it an end-of-school ritual to "chase me like dogs hunting prey," USA Today reported.

She also wrote that they would throw things at her, such as pine cones, rocks, and even bricks, while calling her names and racial slurs. The actress was also candid about how her childhood was marred with poverty and abuse.

She noted that they had a home infested with rats when they moved to Rhode Island. Viola Davis also revealed the abuse inside their home, with her father physically abusing their mother and their brother taking sexual advances on her and her three sisters.

The 56-year-old award-winning actress also wrote, "there is an emotional abandonment that comes with poverty and being Black."

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Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Viola Davis Is An EGOT After 2023 Grammy Win - From Access Hollywood