Penn alum John Legend becomes first black man, youngest person to win EGOT
He beat out Ardmore's own Benj Pasek for the honor.
University of Pennsylvania alum John Legend took home an award from the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Sunday, making him both the first black man and the youngest person ever to become an EGOT — or Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award — winner.
Legend, 39, won his Emmy thanks to his work on NBC's Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert, which was named Outstanding Variety Special at Sunday's ceremony. The singer, who also portrays Christ in NBC's rendition of the popular Broadway show, was honored alongside fellow producers Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Weber.
The win puts Legend, who graduated from Penn in 1999, in an exclusive club. To date, just 15 people have become EGOT winners, with Weber and Rice also entering the EGOT club's ranks on Sunday. Past EGOT winners include actors like Audrey Hepburn, Helen Hayes, and Whoopi Goldberg, as well as producers and composers such as Mel Brooks, Scott Rudin, and Robert Lopez.
Ardmore native Benj Pasek, 33, narrowly missed becoming the youngest EGOT winner on Sunday, having been nominated for outstanding original music and lyrics for "In the Market for a Miracle" from Fox's A Christmas Story Live! He and writing partner Justin Paul lost to Chance the Rapper, who took home an Emmy for "Come Back Barack" from an appearance on Saturday Night Live.
Previously, Legend took home an Oscar in 2015 for best original song for "Glory" from civil rights drama Selma. A Tony followed in 2017, thanks to Legend's work as a co-producer on Jitney, which took home the award for best revival of a play that year. Those two awards joined Legend's 10 Grammy awards, which he began winning win best new artist and best R&B album in 2006.
In addition to his Creative Arts Emmy, Legend has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy for his lead role in Jesus Christ Superstar. Other Emmy nominees with local ties this year also include Tina Fey, whose Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is up for outstanding comedy series, as well as HBO's Paterno and The Tale, both up for outstanding TV movie.
The 70th annual Primetime Emmy Awards will air Sunday at 8 p.m. on NBC.