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20 Most Surprising Winners In The History Of Grammy Awards: From Barack Obama To Carrie Fisher
From Obama to the Muppets, these unexpected winners redefined the Grammy Awards over the years. Explore a diverse list featuring presidents, cartoon characters, and other iconic figures below!
The Recording Academy is all set to host the 66th Grammy Awards this Sunday. While we wait to celebrate the best musical talents of the past year, here's a list of certain wins that left the audiences astounded and intrigued. The list features former presidents, cartoon characters, and several personalities from different walks of life. Imagine finding Barack Obama and the Chipmunks on a shared list. Yet, here we are, delving into this surprising lineup. Read on for more
Barack Obama
The former US president is a recipient of not one but two Grammy awards. He won them before assuming the presidential chair though. Obama won the coveted gold gramophones in the Best Spoken Word Album category for the audiobook version of his books Dreams From My Father (2006) and The Audacity Of Hope (2008).
Michelle Obama
Like her husband, the former First Lady of the United States also has a Grammy award to her name. She won the award in 2020 in the Best Spoken Word Album category for the audiobook version of her memoir Becoming, in which she shares her journey from being a little girl from Chicago to becoming a lawyer and eventually the First Lady of the United States. 
Kate Winslet
The Titanic star took home a gold gramophone at the 42nd Grammy Awards in 2002. She won the prestigious music accolade in the Best Spoken Word Album For Children category for Listen To The Storyteller. Winslet, 48, is just one Tony Award away from achieving the EGOT status.
The Muppets
The cultural icons were awarded not one but several Grammys over the years. Their first Grammy win came in 1978 in the Best Recording For Children category. The following year, the soundtrack of The Muppet Movie won in the same category and three decades later, they again triumphed in the category for A Green and Red Christmas.
Alvin and the Chipmunks
The inaugural season of the Grammy Awards in 1959 saw the virtual animated band take home three awards. The Chipmunk Song won in the Best Recording for Children, Best Comedy Performance, and Best Engineered Record - Non-Classical categories. In the following years, it continued its winning streak at the Grammy Awards.
Carrie Fisher
A year after her death in 2016, Carrie Fisher was posthumously awarded a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for the audiobook of her memoir The Princess Diarist. Her only daughter Billie Lourd announced her mother’s win on her Instagram. “Princess Diarist was the last profesh(ish) thing my momby and I got to do together…We’ll celebrate in true Carrie style: in bed in front of the TV over cold Coca-Cola's and warm e-cigs.” Fisher was best known for her roles in the Star Wars franchise, Harry Met Sally, and more.
Martin Luther King Jr
Martin Luther King Jr's win came in the Best Spoken Word Recording category, courtesy of the recording of his speech, Why I Oppose The War In Vietnam. He received the award posthumously in 1971. The civil rights leader was nominated two other times, once in 1964 and the other time in 1969.
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton won the award in 1997 in the Best Spoken Word Album category for her audiobook It Takes a Village. She was nominated again in 2004 but lost.
Bill Clinton
This former US president clinched the Grammy award in 2004 in the Best Spoken Word Album For Children category for his narration of Peter and the Wolf / Wolf Tracks. The following year, he won in the Best Spoken Word Album category for his audiobook My Life.
Sophia Loren
Bill Clinton’s first Grammy award was a shared one. He shared his Best Spoken Word Album For Children win with Sophia Loren as she too had joined Clinton on the narration of Peter and the Wolf and Wolf Tracks.
Mikhail Gorbachev
The former Soviet Union president also contributed as a narrator on Peter and the Wolf/ Wolf Track, hence, he too joined Clinton and Loren in sharing the Grammy award in 2004.
Spike Jonze
Spike is best known for his films like Being John Malkovich, Her, and Where the Wild Things Are among others. The actor-filmmaker, however, has a Grammy award too under his belt. He won the much sought-after musical award for the music video for Fatboy Slim’s Weapon Of Choice in 2002.
Betty White
The late legendary actor won a Grammy in 2012 for the audiobook version of her memoir If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won't)
Steve Jobs
The late Apple co-founder received the Honorary Trustees Award in 2012 for Outstanding Contributions To The Industry In A Non-Performing Capacity. The Recording Academy bestowed him with the award posthumously for his contributions in advancing the way we consume and listen to music using products like iPods and iTunes.
Magic Johnson
The NBA star, who announced his HIV-positive status in 1991, won a Grammy award in 1993 in the Best Spoken Word Album category for the audiobook version of his book What You Can Do To Avoid Aids.
Speaking of why he decided to write a book about it, Johnson told The Baltimore Sun at that time, “I decided to do it because education, especially for young people, is our best weapon in the battle against AIDS.”
Audrey Hepburn
The Breakfast at Tiffany’s actress is a proud member of the EGOT club. Hepburn posthumously earned a Grammy Award in 1994 in the Best Spoken Word Album For Children Category for Audrey Hepburn’s Enchanted Tales.
Martin Scorsese
The brilliant filmmaker has a Grammy win to his name and we are not even surprised at this point. Scorsese has achieved many unthinkable things, including a Grammy award, during his five decades in Hollywood. A gold gramophone decorates the shelves at his home, courtesy of his documentary, No Direction Home. Scorsese’s Grammy win came in the Best Long Form Music Video category in 2006.
Stephen Colbert
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert host has won the Grammy award not once but twice. He won in the Best Comedy Album category in 2010 for A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All. His second Grammy win came in 2014 for his audiobook America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren’t.
Michael J. Fox
After being forced to leave acting post being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, the actor has done various things to keep himself busy, one of which made him a Grammy winner. In 2010, Fox won a Grammy in the Best Spoken Word Album category for the audio version of his book Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist.
Joaquin Phoenix
The Oscar winner is also a Grammy winner. Phoenix won a Grammy in 2007 for his renditions of multiple Johnny Cash classics in the movie Walk the Line.
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