17 people you didn't know had a Grammy
Andy Wenstrand/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images
- Steve Martin has five Grammys for comedy and bluegrass music.
- Former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have won Grammys for their audiobooks.
- Martin Luther King Jr. and Jimmy Carter were awarded posthumous spoken-word Grammys.
When you think of music's biggest night, you probably picture artists like Beyoncé and Paul McCartney, two of the top Grammy winners of all time.
But it's not just singers and musicians who are honored by the Recording Academy. Comedians, politicians, and activists have also taken home Grammy awards.
Here are 17 people you might be surprised to learn have won big at the Grammys.
Associated Press
Martin Luther King Jr.'s speeches made American history, but you might not know that the minister and activist was posthumously awarded a Grammy. In 1971, King was honored with a spoken word award for his anti-war speech "Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam."
Two of his more famous addresses, "I Have a Dream" and "We Shall Overcome," were also nominated for Grammys.
Ron Galella/WireImage/Getty Images
Actor and former stand-up comic Lily Tomlin took home a Grammy for best comedy recording in 1972 for her album "This Is A Recording." The album features her performance as telephone operator Ernestine, one of the most iconic characters she created.
Tomlin has been nominated a total of five times.
Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic/Getty Images
Since 1978, actor and comedian Steve Martin has won a total of five Grammys. In addition to two awards for best comedy album, Martin, who is also a bluegrass musician, has garnered a handful of music awards for his country and roots tunes.
Most recently, Martin's track "Love Has Come For You" won a Grammy for best American roots song at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in 2014. He was also nominated in 2015 and 2017.
Steve Grayson/WireImage for The Recording Academy/Getty Images
"Garden State," Zach Braff's 2004 directorial debut, attracted a cult following. Part of the film's appeal is its indie-driven soundtrack, which earned Braff, who starred in the movie with Natalie Portman, a Grammy at the 2005 awards.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Joaquin Phoenix starred in the 2005 musical biopic "Walk the Line" as Johnny Cash. Phoenix's portrayal of the country singer earned him a Grammy for best compilation soundtrack for visual media.
Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images
Former President Bill Clinton won his first Grammy in 2004 in the category of best spoken-word album for children for his narration of "Peter and the Wolf: Wolf Tracks." He won another Grammy for the audiobook narration of his memoir, "My Life," in 2005.
He was nominated twice more for narrating his subsequent books, "Giving: How Each Of Us Can Change The World" and "Back To Work: Why We Need Smart Government For A Strong Economy."
Dave Allocca/DMI/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Hillary Rodham Clinton won a spoken-word Grammy in 1997 for "It Takes a Village," her non-fiction book about the future of children in America.
She was nominated again in the same category in 2004 for her White House memoir, "Living History."
Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
Filmmaker Orson Welles won three spoken-word Grammys. The first was for "Great American Documents," for which he read the Declaration of Independence. He also won the award for his masterpiece "Citizen Kane" and for the sci-fi radio play "Donovan's Brain."
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images
For someone whose musical career is predicated on parody, "Weird Al" has made it big. The singer, known for hits like "Eat It" and "eBay," has five Grammy wins and 17 nominations.
Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images
Johnson won a spoken-word Grammy in 1993 for "What You Can Do to Avoid AIDS." The basketball legend, who announced in 1991 that he had been diagnosed with HIV, has been a vocal advocate for HIV/AIDS prevention and education.
Michael Tran/FilmMagic/Getty Images
Late-night host Stephen Colbert has won two Grammys out of his three nominations.
At the 52nd Grammy Awards in 2010, Colbert won best comedy album for "A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!" Then, at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in 2014, the recording of his book "America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't" won a spoken-word award.
Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
Former President Barack Obama won spoken-word Grammys for narrating the recordings of his books "Dreams From My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream." He was nominated again in 2022 for narrating the audiobook of his presidential memoir, "A Promised Land."
Jim Young/Reuters
The former first lady's audiobook for her memoir "Becoming" won a spoken-word Grammy award in 2020. She won again in 2024 for "The Light We Carry."
Mitchell Gerber/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images
In 1994, American poet Maya Angelou won her first spoken-word Grammy award for "On the Pulse of Morning," which she wrote for Clinton's inauguration. She also won the award for her poetry collection "Phenomenal Woman" and for the autobiography "A Song Flung Up to Heaven."
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
Betty White won a Grammy at the 54th Annual Awards in 2012. The "Golden Girls" actor received a spoken-word award for her autobiography, "If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won't)."
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
At the 60th Annual Awards in 2018, Carrie Fisher was posthumously awarded a spoken-word Grammy for her memoir, "The Princess Diarist."
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
The former president won Grammys for best spoken-word album for three of his books: "Faith — A Journey For All," "A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety," and "Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis."
Carter, who died at the age of 100 in 2024, won again at the 2025 Grammys for the audiobook "Last Sundays in Plains: A Centennial Celebration."