From Beyoncé to Taylor Swift: 7 women who made history at the 2023 Grammys
By Morgan Smith
Music’s biggest night turned out to be a historic one for women.
Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and more female artists broke records and saw historic wins across several categories at the 2023 Grammy Awards.
The winners were announced on Sunday during two different ceremonies in Los Angeles, honoring the best music of the year across a wide range of genres.
Women won in more than 30 categories, sweeping some of the biggest awards of the evening including “Best New Artist,” which Samara Joy won, and “Record of the Year,” which Lizzo won for her song “About Damn Time.”
Here are seven women who made history with their wins at the 2023 Grammys:
Beyoncé
Beyoncé is now the winningest artist in Grammys history thanks to a quartet of awards for her album “Renaissance.”
Beyoncé’s four victories — for Best Dance/Electronic Recording, Best Traditional R&B Performance, Best R&B Song, and Best Dance/Electronic Music Album — brought her to a grand total of 32 Grammys in her career, officially taking her past conductor Georg Solti, who previously held the record with 31 wins.
During her acceptance speech, the singer, 41, paid tribute to her late uncle Johnny, who she said introduced her to the house music that inspired “Renaissance,” and gave a special shoutout to the queer community for their continued support and “inventing this genre.”
Kim Petras
German singer-songwriter Kim Petras won for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance alongside Sam Smith for their hit song “Unholy,” becoming the first transgender woman to win a Grammy in the category.
“I just want to thank all the incredible transgender legends before me who take these doors open for me so I couldn’t be here tonight,” the 30-year-old said before referencing the late Grammy-nominated producer Sophie, who was one of her friends and collaborators.
Petras also thanked Madonna for “fighting for LGBTQ rights” as well as her mother for her unwavering love and support.
“I grew up next to a highway in Germany,” Petras said. “And my mother believed me that I was a girl and I wouldn’t be here without her and her support and everyone who believed in me to this point.”
Viola Davis
The 57-year-old actress earned EGOT status at the 2023 Grammy Awards, making her the third Black woman in history to achieve the rare and coveted honor.
On Sunday, Davis won her first Grammy for the best audiobook, narration and storytelling recording for her memoir, “Finding Me.”
“I wrote this book to honor the 6-year-old Viola — to honor her life, her joy, her trauma, her everything,” Davis said in her acceptance speech. “And it has been such a journey. I just EGOT!”
Davis won an Emmy for “How to Get Away With Murder” in 2015, an Oscar for the historical drama “Fences” in 2017 and a Tony for both “King Hedley II” in 2001 and the original Broadway performance of “Fences” in 2010.
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift won the Grammy for Best Music Video for “All Too Well: The Short Film,” becoming the first artist to win the category with a sole directing credit for their own music video.
Though Swift, 33, wasn’t at the earlier ceremony to accept the award herself, she tweeted her excitement about winning the award after receiving the news.
“I can’t put into words what this means to me,” she wrote. “For the Recording Academy and my peers to acknowledge me as a director, and in doing so, acknowledge my work to try and reclaim my music … I’m blown away. Thank you to all the fans who willed this to happen.”
Germaine Franco
Germaine Franco won best score soundtrack for visual media for composing the Disney animated film “Encanto.”
She is the first woman of color to win the award, Variety reports.
In her speech, Franco thanked Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote songs for “Encanto,” and said she was pleased to be the first Latina to win.
Franco was the only woman to be nominated for the award, besting scores from “The Batman,” “No Time to Die,” “The Power of the Dog” and “Succession” in the category.
Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde
Country singers Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde won Best Country Duo/Group Performance for their chart-topping duet “Never Wanted To Be That Girl,” becoming the first pair of women to earn the honor since the category debuted in 2012.
It also marks the first Grammy for Pearce, 32, and McBryde, 39.
“To see this song do what it’s done over the last year and a half for us, and just continue to show the girls that are coming up behind us that you can write your truth and you can do everything that you want in this business, I feel very, very lucky, and to do it with somebody that I respect so much as an artist and as a person,” Pearce told reporters backstage after her win.
