Steven Spielberg Achieves EGOT With First Grammy Win

As a huge film fan, I was thrilled to hear that Steven Spielberg finally completed the EGOT! He’s one of the greatest directors of all time, and winning a Grammy now means he’s won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony – a pretty incredible achievement for anyone, let alone a cinematic legend.

Steven Spielberg received his first Grammy Award on Sunday, February 1st, at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards. He won Best Music Film for his work as a producer on the 2024 Disney+ documentary Music by John Williams, which celebrates the 70-year career of the renowned composer who frequently collaborated with Spielberg on iconic film scores, including those for Schindler’s List, Jaws, and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

Winning an EGOT – an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award – is a rare feat. The term refers to entertainers who have earned at least one of each of these major U.S. awards recognizing excellence in television, music, film, and theater.

Steven Spielberg has received numerous accolades throughout his career, including 11 Emmy Awards (4 Primetime and 7 Daytime), one Grammy, three Oscars, and one Tony Award for producing the Broadway musical A Strange Loop, as reported by Variety.

Only a handful of people have ever won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony Award – a feat known as the EGOT. Steven Spielberg recently joined this exclusive group, alongside stars like Mel Brooks, Audrey Hepburn, Whoopi Goldberg, Elton John, and Alan Menken.

A few stars, like Barbra Streisand and Liza Minnelli, have received an honorary EGOT award. However, Robert Lopez is the only person to have won an EGOT twice.

Steven Spielberg won a Grammy Award for Best Music Film, sharing the honor with director Laurent Bouzereau and producers Sara Bernstein, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Meredith Kaulfers, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, and Justin Wilkes.

This marked the first time Steven Spielberg had been nominated for a Grammy Award. His upcoming movie, Disclosure Day, is set to release in theaters on June 12, 2026.

The Best Steven Spielberg-Produced Movies

12. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

James Mangold directed the latest Indiana Jones film, which cost Lucasfilm around $300 million – a significant investment for a movie not directed by Steven Spielberg. While the financial risk seemed high, the story resonated thematically, featuring Harrison Ford as an aging hero on a quest to reverse time. The film looked visually impressive, as you’d expect for the price, and Ford delivered another strong performance as Indy, though the digitally de-aged version felt a bit strange. The ending was genuinely unexpected, and the movie surprisingly gave Shia LaBeouf’s character, Mutt Williams, a meaningful and touching role. Though it didn’t perform well in theaters, I believe viewers will eventually appreciate Dial of Destiny when they watch it at home.

11. Arachnophobia (1990)

Frank Marshall, a longtime producer for Steven Spielberg, made his directorial debut with Arachnophobia, a creature feature that clearly shows the influence of Spielberg’s work, particularly Jaws. Like Jaws, the film’s monster – a spider – is given human-like intelligence and a malicious personality. The spider actively seeks out victims, cleverly hiding in equipment and even a coffin to travel to the United States. Once there, it multiplies rapidly, terrorizing Jeff Daniels and his family. While the premise is admittedly outlandish, it’s no more so than the scenarios in films like Jaws or Jurassic Park. It’s a classic Spielbergian trick – and when done well, it’s genuinely entertaining. Arachnophobia definitely delivers on that fun!

10. Men in Black (1997)

Barry Sonnenfeld directed the Men in Black films, but Steven Spielberg was heavily involved as an executive producer and creative force. The movies blended elements of Ghostbusters – everyday people handling supernatural problems – with Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and E.T., exploring the idea of aliens living secretly among us. Spielberg even makes a cameo appearance, revealing that he’s one of the hidden aliens on Earth – a fitting role considering his box office success.

9. Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

As a big film buff, I’ve always found the story behind the Gremlins movies fascinating. The first one, directed by Joe Dante, was surprisingly dark for a kids’ film – it actually helped push the MPAA to create the PG-13 rating! It filled that space between family-friendly PG and more mature R-rated movies. But the sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, didn’t cause nearly the same stir. Producer Steven Spielberg and Dante intentionally went for something completely different this time, aiming for the manic energy of a Looney Tunes cartoon. They even brought in animation legend Chuck Jones to create new Looney Tunes shorts for the film! The Gremlins themselves became less scary and a lot more silly – there’s a whole scene where one Gremlin parodies Marathon Man – and the movie’s over-the-top humor went all the way, with fourth-wall breaks and cameos from people like Hulk Hogan and film critic Leonard Maltin. It was wonderfully chaotic!

8. Flags of our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima (2006)

Clint Eastwood directed a pair of films about the Battle of Iwo Jima shortly after Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan. These films offered a unique look at the battle, presenting it from two perspectives: one focused on the American soldiers raising the flag, and the impact of war and fame on their lives after returning home, and the other showing the experiences of Japanese soldiers making their last stand. Both films are well-made and especially powerful when viewed together, as they highlight universal themes of honor, duty, and sacrifice that transcend national borders.

7. Poltergeist (1982)

There’s a long-standing rumor in Hollywood that Steven Spielberg secretly directed Poltergeist, though Tobe Hooper is officially credited as the director. While Spielberg was definitely involved as a producer, no one has ever been able to prove he did more than that. I think the rumors exist because Poltergeist is so incredibly frightening – people assume a director of Spielberg’s talent must have been behind it. (It’s worth remembering that Tobe Hooper, who is credited as the director, was a very skilled filmmaker himself, having made The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.)

6. True Grit (2010)

As a movie fan, I’ve always been fascinated by collaborations between great directors. One that really stood out was the one between Steven Spielberg and Joel and Ethan Coen in the 2010s. They worked together on a couple of projects – the Coens helped write the script for Spielberg’s fantastic spy thriller, Bridge of Spies. Then, Spielberg produced the Coens’ remake of True Grit, with Jeff Bridges stepping into the role John Wayne made famous (and winning an Oscar for it!). Honestly, True Grit feels more like a Coen brothers film than a Spielberg one, but you know what? That just shows what a fantastic producer Spielberg is – letting a director really bring their vision to life.

5. Back to the Future Part II (1989)

Directed by Robert Zemeckis, Back to the Future Part II imagined the future. Now that we’ve surpassed the film’s 2015 setting, you might expect it to feel old-fashioned. Surprisingly, its vision of a bright, high-tech future feels strangely comforting and nostalgic. It’s a bit sad that our own 2025 seems more like the grim alternate reality from the original 1985 film than Zemeckis’ optimistic 2015. Still, it’s enjoyable to escape into this fun fantasy, especially considering the current state of the world.

4. First Man (2018)

Damien Chazelle directs First Man, a biopic that sets itself apart from typical biographical films. Rather than focusing on well-worn tropes, the movie immerses the audience in Neil Armstrong’s experience, letting us see the world through his eyes. The film’s powerful climax, presented in full-screen IMAX as Armstrong steps onto the moon, brilliantly illustrates his point that space travel alters one’s perspective—visually expanding the screen at that very moment. It’s a truly unforgettable cinematic achievement.

3. The Mask of Zorro (1998)

Directed by Martin Campbell, The Mask of Zorro features Anthony Hopkins as the aging hero, Don Diego de la Vega, who mentors a young thief seeking revenge (played by Antonio Banderas). This exciting film, from the director of the early Casino Royale and writers of the original Pirates of the Caribbean, is filled with thrilling sword fights, clever writing, and a fantastic connection between Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Like the original Zorro stories that influenced later superheroes, The Mask of Zorro quietly helped pave the way for today’s popular comic book movies. Released in 1998, just before Marvel’s Blade, it proved that superhero action could be a box office success, grabbing Hollywood’s attention and signaling a new trend.

2. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Robert Zemeckis directed this film. Steven Spielberg has a knack for making surprisingly dark movies for children. While many remember being scared by Jaws or Raiders of the Lost Ark at a young age, Spielberg also produced films specifically for kids that were surprisingly unsettling. Take Who Framed Roger Rabbit, for example – it features a scene of a cartoon character being brutally dissolved in acid and ends with the heroes celebrating on the villain’s melted remains. Childhood movies felt much more intense back then, largely thanks to Spielberg’s influence.

1. Back to the Future (1985)

Robert Zemeckis directed this now-classic time-travel movie, and it truly lives up to the hype. I’ve seen it with my own children, who view the 1980s with the same fascination I felt about the 1950s. They were completely captivated by the film’s incredible finale – it’s brilliantly put together. My youngest daughter even exclaimed during George and Lorraine’s kiss that it was the first time she’d ever wanted to see characters kiss in a movie! (I was relieved they didn’t ask me about the rather suggestive title of the movie playing at the Hill Valley theater.)

2026-02-02 06:27