Actors who have won the three main US competitive awards
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 awards recognized in American film, television, and theater, respectively.[1] The term is related to other competitive areas, such as the Triple Crown of horse racing.
Only 24 people, 15 women and nine men, have achieved the Triple Crown.
Helen Hayes became the first actor to do so with her Emmy Award on February 5, 1953. Less than two months later, Thomas Mitchell became the first man to do so when he received a Tony Award on March 29, 1953. Hayes, Rita Moreno, and Viola Davis are the only Triple Crown winners in competitive acting categories who have also won a Grammy Award to complete the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony).
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 (1900–1993) was the first performer to achieve the triple crown of acting, doing so in 1953. Hayes was a 9-time Emmy (1), 3-time Tony (2), and 2-time Oscar (2) 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 three Triple Crown winners (along with Rita Moreno and Viola Davis) to have achieved EGOT status.
American actor and writer Thomas Mitchell (1892–1962) completed the triple crown in 1953, two months after Helen Hayes. He was a 3-time Emmy (1), 2-time Oscar (1), and 1-time Tony (1) nominee, for a total of six TC nominations. Mitchell won three awards.
Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman (1915–1982) completed the triple crown in 1960. She was a 7-time Oscar (3), 3-time Emmy (2), and 1-time Tony (1) nominee, for a total of 11 TC nominations. Bergman won six awards.
American actress Shirley Booth (1898–1992) completed the triple crown in 1962. She was a 4-time Emmy (2), 3-time Tony (3), and 1-time Oscar (1) nominee, for a total of eight TC nominations. Booth won six awards.
American actor Melvyn Douglas (1901–1981) completed the triple crown in 1968. He was a 3-time Oscar (2), 2-time Emmy (1), and 1-time Tony (1) nominee, for a total of six TC nominations. Douglas won four awards.
English actor Paul Scofield (1922–2008) completed the triple crown in 1969. He was a 2-time Oscar (1), 1-time Emmy (1), and 1-time Tony (1) nominee, for a total of four TC nominations. Scofield won three awards. His seven-year completion is the fastest of any triple crown recipient.
American actor, comedian, dancer and singer Jack Albertson (1907–1981) completed the triple crown in 1975. He was a 5-time Emmy (2), 2-time Tony (1), and 1-time Oscar (1) nominee, for a total of eight TC nominations. Albertson won four awards.
Puerto Rican actress, dancer, and singer Rita Moreno (born 1931) completed the triple crown in 1977. She is a 6-time Emmy (2), 1-time Oscar (1), and 1-time Tony (1) nominee, for a total of eight TC nominations. Moreno has won 4 TC qualifying awards. Moreno is the first Hispanic actor to win the Triple Crown and is one of only three Triple Crown winners who have also achieved EGOT status.
American actress Maureen Stapleton (1925–2006) completed the triple crown in 1982. She was a 7-time Emmy (1), 6-time Tony (2), and 4-time Oscar (1) nominee, for a total of 17 nominations. Stapleton won four awards.
American actor Jason Robards (1922–2000) completed the triple crown in 1988. He was an 8-time Tony (1), 5-time Emmy (1), and 3-time Oscar (2) nominee, for a total of 16 TC nominations. Robards won four awards.
British-American actress Jessica Tandy (1909–1994) completed the triple crown in 1990. She was a 5-time Tony (3), 3-time Emmy (1), and 2-time Oscar nominee (1), for a total of 10 TC nominations. Tandy won five awards.
English actor and activist Jeremy Irons (born 1948) completed the triple crown in 1997. He is a 3-time acting Emmy (2), 1-time Oscar (1), and 1-time Tony (1) nominee, for a total of five TC nominations. Irons has won four TC qualifying awards.
American actress Anne Bancroft (1931–2005) completed the triple crown in 1999. She was a 6-time (1) acting Emmy, 5-time Oscar (1), and 3-time Tony (2) nominee, for a total of 14 TC nominations. Bancroft won four awards.
English actress and activist Vanessa Redgrave (born 1937) completed the triple crown in 2003. She is a 6-time Oscar (1), 6-time Emmy (2), and 3-time Tony (1) nominee, for a total of 15 TC nominations. Redgrave has won four TC qualifying awards.
English actress Maggie Smith (born 1934) completed the triple crown in 2003. She is a 9-time Emmy (4), 6-time Oscar (2), and 3-time Tony (1) nominee, for a total of 18 TC nominations. Smith is the first and only Triple Crown winner to win seven TC qualifying awards.
American actor Al Pacino (born 1940) completed the triple crown in 2004. He is a 9-time Oscar (1), 3-time Emmy (2), and 3-time Tony (2) nominee, for a total of 15 TC nominations. Pacino has won five TC qualifying awards.
Australian actor Geoffrey Rush (born 1951) completed the triple crown in 2009. He is a 4-time Oscar (1), 2-time Emmy (1), and 1-time Tony (1) nominee, for a total of seven TC nominations. Rush has won three TC qualifying awards.
American actress Ellen Burstyn (born 1932) completed the triple crown in 2009. She is an 8-time Emmy (2), 6-time Oscar (1), and 1-time Tony (1) nominee, for a total of 15 TC nominations. Burstyn has won four TC qualifying awards.
Canadian actor Christopher Plummer (1929–2021) completed the triple crown in 2012. He was a 7-time Emmy (2), 7-time Tony (2), and 3-time Oscar (1) nominee, for a total of 17 TC nominations. Plummer won five awards. With his Oscar win in 2012, Plummer became the oldest person to complete the Triple Crown at the age of 82.
English actor Helen Mirren (born 1945) completed the triple crown in 2015. She is an 11-time Emmy (4), 4-time Oscar (1), and 3-time Tony (1) nominee, for a total of 18 TC nominations. Mirren has won six TC qualifying awards.
American actress and producer Frances McDormand (born 1957) completed the triple crown in 2015. She is a 6-time acting Oscar (3), 2-time Tony (1), and 2-time acting Emmy (1) nominee, for a total of 10 TC nominations. McDormand has won five TC qualifying awards.
American actress Jessica Lange (born 1949) completed the triple crown in 2016. She is a 10-time Emmy (3), 6-time Oscar (2), and 2-time Tony (1) nominee, for a total of 18 TC nominations. Lange has won six TC qualifying awards.
American actress and producer Viola Davis (born 1965) completed the triple crown in 2017.[17] She is the youngest person and the first African American to achieve the triple crown.[17][18] She is a 4-time Oscar (1), 3-time Tony (2), and 5-time Emmy (1) nominee, for a total of 12 TC nominations. Davis has won four TC qualifying awards. Davis is also one of only three Triple Crown winners who have also achieved EGOT status.
English actress and former Member of Parliament (MP) Glenda Jackson (1936–2023) completed the triple crown in 2018. She was a 5-time Tony (1), 5-time Emmy (3), and 4-time Oscar (2) nominee, for a total of 14 TC nominations. Jackson won six awards. Her forty-eight-year completion is the longest of any triple crown recipient.
◊ – Person has been nominated at least once for a competitive acting category of the missing award, but has failed to win.
NCA – Person won a Non-Competitive Award in this category.
^1 Won an Emmy in a non-acting category. ^2 Nominated for an Emmy in a non-acting category. ^3 Won a Daytime Emmy. ^4 Won an International Emmy. ^5 Won a Tony in a non-acting category.
Three nominations
The following people have not won all three awards in competitive acting categories, but have received at least one nomination for each of them:
Other actors have won all of the awards, but not in competitive acting categories. Anthony Hopkins has BAFTAs in both categories but only an Olivier Award for "Outstanding Achievement" (he was nominated as Best Actor for the same show, but lost). Maggie Smith has several Film BAFTAs but only non-competitive awards for BAFTA Television and Olivier. There had been confusion about whether or not Ashcroft qualifies for the British Triple Crown in competitive categories because her winning the Actress of the Year in a New Play Olivier Award for Old World in the inaugural year of the Olivier Awards in 1976 had been overlooked.
Other winners include actors Alan Bennett and Kenneth Branagh, but some of their awards weren't in acting categories.
Summary
The year in the BAFTA Film, BAFTA TV, and Olivier columns indicates the year the actor first won the award
For the BAFTA TV and Olivier this is the year of the award ceremony, for the BAFTA Film the year when the film was released
The total wins column indicates the total number of competitive BAFTA and Olivier wins
English actress Judi Dench (born 1934) completed the triple crown in 1977, becoming the first person to complete the British triple crown. She completed her second triple crown in 1986, her third triple crown in 1988, and her fourth in 2001. She is a 12-time BAFTA TV (4), 15-time BAFTA Film (6), and 15-time Olivier (7) nominee, for a total of 42 TC nominations. Dench has won seventeen awards.
Note: Dench is the only actor to complete multiple triple crowns of acting, on either the American or British side, and has completed four. She is the only person to have won more than 7 triple crown awards, on either the British or American side. She also holds the records (though tied) for most BAFTA TV nominations, most BAFTA Film nominations, and most BAFTA Film awards; Dench has also won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1999 for Shakespeare in Love and a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Play in 1999 for Amy's View, but has yet to win an Emmy Award (after three nominations) to complete the American triple crown.
Virginia McKenna
British stage and screen actress, author, animal rights activist, and wildlife campaigner Virginia McKenna (born 1931) completed the triple crown in 1979. McKenna has won three awards.
English actress Peggy Ashcroft (1907–1991) completed the triple crown in 1986. She won one competitive Olivier Award, two BAFTA TV Awards and one BAFTA Film Award. Ashcroft won four awards over a period of ten years.
English actor Nigel Hawthorne (1929–2001) completed the triple crown in 1995. He is a 5-time BAFTA TV (5), 1-time BAFTA Film (1), and 2-time Olivier (1) nominee, for a total of 8 TC nominations. Hawthorne has won seven awards.
English actress Julie Walters (born 1950) completed the triple crown in 2002. She is a 7-time BAFTA TV (4), 6-time BAFTA Film (2), and 2-time Olivier (1) nominee, for a total of 11 TC nominations. Walters has won seven awards. It took her eighteen years to complete the British Triple Crown.
English actor Albert Finney (1936–2019) completed the triple crown in 2003. He is a 4-time BAFTA TV (1), 9-time BAFTA Film (1), and 2-time Olivier (1) nominee, for a total of 15 TC nominations. Finney has won three awards.
English actor Helen Mirren (born 1945) completed the triple crown in 2013. She is a 6-time BAFTA TV (3), 5-time BAFTA Film (1), and 4-time Olivier (1) nominee, for a total of 15 TC nominations. Mirren has won five awards. It took her twenty-one years to complete the British Triple Crown.
Note: Mirren is the only person to have also won the American Triple Crown of Acting by being awarded the three equivalent honors in the American entertainment industry: an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award.
Mark Rylance
British actor, playwright and theatre director Mark Rylance (born 1960) completed the triple crown in 2015. He is a 2-time BAFTA TV (2), 1-time BAFTA Film (1), and 8-time Olivier (2) nominee, for a total of 11 TC nominations. Rylance has won five awards.
Note: Rylance has also won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2016 for Bridge of Spies and won three Tony Awards, but has yet to win an Emmy Award (after one nomination) to complete the American triple crown.