Cynthia Erivo could become the youngest EGOT winner after 'Wicked' Oscar nomination

After earning her second-ever best actress Oscar nomination Thursday for playing Elphaba in the blockbuster "Wicked" movie, Cynthia Erivo got a second chance at an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony (EGOT) sweep.

When she was previously up for an Oscar in two categories at the 2020 Academy Awards, Erivo was on the precipice of becoming the youngest person to join the ultra-exclusive EGOT club, which counts the likes of Elton John, Audrey Hepburn and Whoopi Goldberg among its members. However, she didn't win either best actress or original song for "Harriet" that year.

Now that she is again in contention for best actress (sharing the category with Karla Sofía Gascón, Mikey Madison, Demi Moore and Fernanda Torres), 38-year-old Erivo has a final chance to break a record with an EGOT win. Currently, the title of youngest EGOT winner is held by songwriter Robert Lopez ("Let It Go" from "Frozen," "Remember Me" from "Coco"), who had recently turned 39 when he completed his EGOT sweep in 2014.

What awards has Cynthia Erivo won?

So far, Erivo has collected trophies from three of the four major annual award shows.

In 2016, she won a Tony Award for best actress in a musical for playing Celie in the Broadway musical "The Color Purple."

In 2017, she and the cast of "The Color Purple" earned a win in the outstanding musical performance in a daytime program category at the Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. Also that year, she nabbed a Grammy Award for her performance in "The Color Purple," winning in the best musical theater album category.

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Cynthia Erivo cried on a plane when she learned of her Oscar nomination

In an emotional Tuesday morning Instagram post, Erivo reacted to the news of her third Oscar nomination with "a moment of gratitude." Among the images she shared was a video of herself wiping tears while "defying gravity" as a passenger on an airplane.

"Moments like this don't come along very often, and when they do, it is sacrilege to let them pass by without a moment of gratitude. I am grateful, grateful to @theacademy, grateful to be a part of something that makes people feel seen, grateful to be a cog in the wheel of a piece that makes us believe in magic, grateful to have experienced a dream come true, and deeply deeply grateful for this unbelievable recognition," she captioned the post.

"I often get asked what I would say to my younger self. Well today there's nothing to be said. She is smiling, beaming, glowing from ear to ear. That speaks volumes," the caption continued. "To my sister, @arianagrande, what a joy it is to be here with you watching as you ascend and amaze and become the actress you were meant to be. Congratulations first time nominee, I'm so so proud of you!! There is no one in the world I would have wanted to do this with more than you."

She concluded: "Thank you @jonmchu, our fearless leader whose kindness provided us with the room to play, you are deserving of all good things and I’m lucky to call you my brother. Marc, Winnie, Stephen, Universal fam, Wicked fam!!! LETS GO!!! 💚🧹"

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Oscar nominations: Cynthia Erivo could become youngest EGOT winner