Catherine Zeta-Jones could edge ever closer to becoming a member of the exclusive EGOT club with her guest role in Netflix’s hit comedy series “Wednesday.” So far, only 18 people have achieved the feat of winning an EGOT, which means winning the top prize in the four major entertainment fields of TV (Emmy), music (Grammy), film (Oscar), and theater (Tony).
Zeta-Jones is currently halfway there. She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for “Chicago” in 2003 and then won a Tony Award in 2010 for Best Actress in a Musical for “A Little Night Music.” She has never been up for a Grammy herself, although “Chicago” did win the Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. This award is given to the producers of the compilation soundtrack and not the specific performers of the songs themselves — performers are only credited as “various artists,” they aren’t listed individually. For example, the category’s most recent winner, “Encanto,” saw Mike Elizondo, Tom MacDougall, and Lin-Manuel Miranda listed as the winners for the award as compilation producers while performers of the songs weren’t listed. Tough break for Zeta-Jones, who has also never been up for an Emmy award.
However, that could change with Netflix’s “Wednesday,” which follows Jenna Ortega‘s titular Wednesday Addams enrolling into Nevermore Academy and finding herself involved in a local murder mystery. Naturally, it’s lead star Ortega (who took over the role of Wednesday from Christina Ricci, who also appears in this series) who is getting the majority of the plaudits. But Zeta-Jones deserves a lot of credit for her guest work on the series as Wednesday’s mother, Morticia Addams (Luis Guzmán features as on-screen husband Gomez Addams).
As Morticia, Zeta-Jones exudes the class, elegance, and poise she has always shown across her lengthy career. She is an understanding and caring mother trying to forge a better relationship with her daughter and it’s Morticia and Wednesday who are the true heart of the series. This is particularly impressive given the little screen time Zeta-Jones has — she only appears in two of the show’s eight episodes. First, she appears in the pilot when Morticia and Gomez send Wednesday off to Nevermore Academy, their old stomping ground. Then, she appears in episode five to visit Wednesday and shed some light on her and Gomez’s backstory as well as some key past events that happened at Nevermore. But, as usual with a performer of her caliber and fame, Zeta-Jones leaves a big impression despite limited screen time — and this is something critics have praised her for.
Kelly Lawler (USA Today) wrote that Zeta-Jones had a ball playing the gothic Moritica: “Wednesday’s parents, Morticia and Gomez (Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzmán, clearly enjoying their wigs in their few appearances over the eight-episode season) attended and loved Nevermore, so Wednesday is on a mission to hate it.”
Randy Myers (The Mercury News) declared that “Wednesday” was one TV show viewers shouldn’t miss, largely in part to Zeta-Jones’ performance as Morticia, a performance he called “delicious.”
Charlotta Billstrom (The Evening Standard) called the series “wonderfully wacky” and again attributed part of its success to Zeta-Jones’ involvement, who made the most of her limited screen time alongside on-screen husband Guzmán. Billstrom wrote: “Morticia and Gomez, here played with lip-smacking enjoyment by Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzmán.”
Zeta-Jones has the support of critics as well as fans, who appreciated her version of Morticia after Anjelica Huston‘s iconic portrayal in 1991’s “The Addams Family” and 1993’s “Addams Family Values.” However, Zeta-Jones may have to work a little harder to gain the support of Emmy voters — she is currently on 100/1 odds and is outside of our predicted six nominees. Our predicted six nominees for Best Comedy Guest Actress are: Sarah Niles (“Ted Lasso”), Cherry Jones and Judith Light (both “Poker Face”), Shirley MacLaine (“Only Murders in the Building”), Quinta Brunson (“Saturday Night Live”), and, in pole position, Taraji P. Henson (“Abbott Elementary”).
Those 100/1 odds don’t tell the whole story, however. In reality, Zeta-Jones is likely closer to a nomination than those odds would suggest. Firstly, she is a huge name — and that always helps. Voters will see such a big, well-respected star name attached to this show and immediately gravitate toward it — that’s the way it always goes in this category. Princess Leia herself, Carrie Fisher, reaped a (posthumous) nomination in this category in 2017 for “Catastrophe” (she lost to Melissa McCarthy for “Saturday Night Live”). That show earned no other Emmy nominations that year, which proves what a little star power can do for you.
Similarly, the legendary Cloris Leachman reaped a bid in 2011 (she lost to Gwyneth Paltrow for “Glee”) for “Raising Hope,” which only received one other nomination that year (for Best Comedy Actress for Martha Plimpton). And in 2003, the iconic Betty White landed a nomination for “Yes, Dear” — the show’s single nomination across its entire run (White lost to Christina Applegate for “Friends”). So, even if “Wednesday” otherwise doesn’t float voters’ boats, Zeta-Jones’ raw star power could propel her to a bid.
Zeta-Jones has proven awards potential. She won an Oscar on her first (and only) nomination and also won a BAFTA, Critics Choice Award, and SAG Award for the same role. And that 2010 Tony Award win? That was for her first-ever role on Broadway, which is quite an achievement. Others who have accomplished this feat include Scarlett Johansson (in 2010 for “A View from the Bridge”), Eddie Redmayne (in 2010 for “Red”), and Hugh Jackman (in 2003 for “The Boy from Oz”). All huge names, just like Zeta-Jones, who has shown that she can wield her A-list profile to earn big awards (to go with her excellent, acclaimed performances, of course).
Currently, however, she does have a little ground to make up. There are also multiple actresses outside of the top six who are ahead of Zeta-Jones odds-wise, too, including Ayo Edebiri and Lauren Weedman (both “Abbott Elementary”), Jane Lynch and Tina Fey (“Only Murders in the Building”), and Harriet Walter (“Ted Lasso”).
If Zeta-Jones manages to turn this potential nomination into a cold-hard win, she’ll be 75% of the way to EGOT status. The latest EGOT winner was Viola Davis, who completed the feat in 2023 when she won a Grammy for Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording for “Finding Me.” Richard Rodgers won the first ever EGOT while Robert Lopez is the youngest EGOT-winner ever (completing it at age 39) as well as the person to achieve the feat in the shortest time span (10 years).
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