Triple Crown of Acting


The Triple Crown of Acting is a term used in the American entertainment industry to describe actors who have won a competitive Academy Award, Emmy Award, and Tony Award in the acting categories, the highest accolades recognised in American film, television and theatre respectively. As of June 2018, twenty-four people have achieved the triple crown of acting. Helen Hayes's Emmy Award win on February 5, 1953, made her the first person to achieve the triple crown. Thomas Mitchell became the first man to achieve the triple crown with his Tony Award win later the same year on March 29, 1953. Hayes and Rita Moreno are the only triple crown winners in competitive acting categories who have also won a Grammy Award to complete the EGOT. Dame Maggie Smith has the most triple crown wins, with 7.
In the British entertainment industry, the same name has been given to the equivalent accolades in that industry; the BAFTA Film Awards, the BAFTA Television Awards and the Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier awards. Seven actors have completed the British Triple crown. Of those, only Helen Mirren has completed both the American and British Triple Crowns.

Summary

ActorCompletedYears to
complete		OscarEmmyTonyTotal
wins
Helen Hayes1953211932195319475
Thomas Mitchell1953131940195319533
Ingrid Bergman1960151945196019476
Shirley Booth1962131953196219496
Melvyn Douglas196881964196819604
Paul Scofield196971967196919623
Jack Albertson1975101969197519654
Rita Moreno1977151962197719754
Maureen Stapleton1982311982196819514
Jason Robards1988291977198819594
Jessica Tandy1990421990198819485
Jeremy Irons1997131991199719844
Anne Bancroft1999411963199919584
Vanessa Redgrave2003251978198120034
Maggie Smith2003331970200319907
Al Pacino2004351993200419695
Geoffrey Rush2009121997200520093
Ellen Burstyn2009341975200919754
Christopher Plummer2012382012197719745
Helen Mirren2015192007199620156
Frances McDormand2015181997201520114
Jessica Lange2016331983200920166
Viola Davis2017162017201520014
Glenda Jackson2018471971197220185

Triple Crown winners

Years given are the years of the respective ceremonies. Performers are listed in order of completing the Triple Crown.

Helen Hayes

American actress Helen Hayes was the first performer to achieve the triple crown of acting, doing so in 1953. Hayes was a 9-time Emmy, 3-time Tony, and 2-time Oscar nominee, for a total of 14 TC nominations. She won two Oscars, two Tonys and an Emmy for a total of five competitive triple crown awards. She also won a Grammy in 1977 for Best Spoken Word Recording to complete the EGOT, for competitive Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony wins. Hayes is one of only two Triple Crown winners to have achieved the EGOT.
American actor Thomas Mitchell completed the triple crown in 1953, two months after Helen Hayes. He was a 3-time Emmy, 2-time Oscar, and 1-time Tony nominee, for a total of six TC nominations. Mitchell won three awards.
Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman completed the triple crown in 1960. She was a 7-time Oscar, 3-time Emmy, and 1-time Tony nominee, for a total of 11 TC nominations. Bergman is the only Triple Crown winner to win three Oscars.
American actress Shirley Booth completed the triple crown in 1962. She was a 4-time Emmy, 3-time Tony, and 1-time Oscar nominee, for a total of eight TC nominations. Booth won six awards.
American actor Melvyn Douglas completed the triple crown in 1968. He was a 3-time Oscar, 2-time Emmy, and 1-time Tony nominee, for a total of six TC nominations. Douglas won four awards.
British actor Paul Scofield completed the triple crown in 1969. He was a 2-time Oscar, 1-time Emmy, and 1-time Tony nominee, for a total of four TC nominations. Scofield won three awards.
American actor Jack Albertson completed the triple crown in 1975. He was a 5-time Emmy, 2-time Tony, and 1-time Oscar nominee, for a total of eight TC nominations. Albertson won four awards.
Puerto Rican actress Rita Moreno completed the triple crown in 1977. She is a 6-time Emmy, 1-time Oscar, and 1-time Tony nominee, for a total of eight TC nominations. Her Emmy win saw her complete the EGOT for competitive Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony wins. Her Grammy win was in 1972 in the Best Recording for Children category. Moreno is the first Hispanic actor to win the Triple Crown and is one of only two Triple Crown winners who have also achieved the EGOT.
American actress Maureen Stapleton completed the triple crown in 1982. She was a 7-time Emmy, 6-time Tony, and 4-time Oscar nominee, for a total of 17 nominations. Stapleton won four awards.
American actor Jason Robards completed the triple crown in 1988. He was an 8-time Tony, 5-time Emmy, and 3-time Oscar nominee, for a total of 16 TC nominations. Robards won four awards.
British-American actress Jessica Tandy completed the triple crown in 1990. She was a 5-time Tony, 3-time Emmy, and 2-time Oscar nominee, for a total of 10 TC nominations. Tandy won five awards.
British actor Jeremy Irons completed the triple crown in 1997. He is a 3-time acting Emmy, 1-time Oscar, and 1-time Tony nominee, for a total of five TC nominations. Irons has won four TC awards.
Note: Irons has an additional Emmy win in a non-acting category, winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Narrator in 2014 for Game of Lions.

Anne Bancroft

American actress Anne Bancroft completed the triple crown in 1999. She was a 6-time acting Emmy, 5-time Oscar, and 3-time Tony nominee, for a total of 14 TC nominations. Bancroft won four triple crown awards.
Note: Bancroft won an additional Emmy in 1970 in the variety program category, as the star of the special ''Annie, the Women in the Life of a Man.

Vanessa Redgrave

British actress Vanessa Redgrave completed the triple crown in 2003. She is a 6-time Oscar, 6-time Emmy, and 3-time Tony nominee, for a total of 15 TC nominations. Redgrave has won four awards.
British actress Maggie Smith completed the triple crown in 2003. She is a 9-time Emmy, 6-time Oscar, and 3-time Tony nominee, for a total of 18 TC nominations. Smith is the first and only Triple Crown winner to win seven awards.
American actor Al Pacino completed the triple crown in 2004. He is an 9-time Oscar, 3-time Emmy, and 3-time Tony nominee, for a total of 15 TC nominations. Pacino has won five awards.
Australian actor Geoffrey Rush completed the triple crown in 2009. He is a 4-time Oscar, 2-time Emmy, and 1-time Tony nominee, for a total of seven TC nominations. Rush has won three awards.
American actress Ellen Burstyn completed the triple crown in 2009. She is an 8-time Emmy, 6-time Oscar, and 1-time Tony nominee, for a total of 15 TC nominations. Burstyn has won four awards.
Canadian actor Christopher Plummer completed the triple crown in 2012. He is a 7-time Emmy, 7-time Tony, and 3-time Oscar nominee, for a total of 17 TC nominations. Plummer has won five awards.
British actress Helen Mirren completed the triple crown in 2015. She is an 11-time Emmy, 4-time Oscar, and 3-time Tony nominee, for a total of 18 TC nominations. Mirren has won six awards.
Helen Mirren is the only person to have also won the British Triple Crown of Acting by being awarded the three equivalent honours in the British entertainment industry, the BAFTA Film Award, the BAFTA Television Award and the Laurence Olivier Award. It took her twenty-one years to complete the British Triple Crown, beginning with a BAFTA Television Award for Best Actress for Prime Suspect in 1992 and finishing in 2013 with the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Play for The Audience. In the meantime, she also won two more Television BAFTAs for Prime Suspect in 1993 and 1994 and the Film BAFTA for Best Leading Actress for The Queen in 2007. She was the sixth of seven people to have won the British Triple Crown of Acting, with Peggy Ashcroft, Judi Dench, Nigel Hawthorne, Albert Finney and Julie Walters all preceding her to the honour and Mark Rylance succeeding her.

Frances McDormand

American actress Frances McDormand completed the triple crown in 2015. She is a 5-time Oscar, 2-time Tony, and 2-time acting Emmy nominee, for a total of nine TC nominations. McDormand has won four awards.
Note: McDormand has an additional Emmy win in a non-acting category, winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series for executive producing Olive Kitteridge.

Jessica Lange

American actress Jessica Lange completed the triple crown in 2016. She is an 10-time Emmy, 6-time Oscar, and 1-time Tony nominee, for a total of 17 TC nominations. Lange has won six awards.
American actress Viola Davis completed the triple crown in 2017. She is the first black actor to win the triple crown, and is also currently the youngest. She is a 3-time Oscar, 3-time Tony, and 5-time Emmy nominee, for a total of 11 TC nominations. Davis has won four awards.
British actress Glenda Jackson completed the triple crown in 2018. She is a 5-time Tony, 4-time Oscar, and 4-time Emmy nominee, for a total of 13 TC nominations. Jackson has won five awards.