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10 people you won't believe have won a Grammy


Ainhoa Barcelona
Content Managing Editor
February 12, 2016
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What do Barack Obama, Joaquin Phoenix, Hillary Clinton and Audrey Hepburn have in common? The stars have all walked home with a Grammy!The annual awards ceremony, which falls on Monday, is a night to celebrate the most outstanding achievements in the music industry, with accolades including Best New Artist, Song of the Year and Album of the Year presented.Typically the categories with the most popular interest, about ten to 12, are televised at the ceremony. But many other Grammy trophies, including Best Spoken World Album, are handed out in a pre-telecast premiere ceremony earlier in the afternoon. In 2014, a whopping total of 82 categories were presented.Flick through our gallery of the most surprising Grammy recipients over the years...

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Barack ObamaMr Obama is just one of three US presidents, alongside Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, who have secured a Grammy in the past.

In 2006 the politician won the Best Spoken World Album award for his abridged audiobook version of Dreams from My Father, which tells of Obama's upbringing in Hawaii and Kenya. He won a second time in 2008 for his audiobook The Audacity of Hope.

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Hillary ClintonIn 1997 the former First Lady of the US won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for her audiobook It Takes a Village. She was also nominated in 2004 for Living History but lost to fellow politician Al Franken.Hillary's husband Bill, a talented saxophonist, also has two Grammys to his name. The former President won his first accolade in 2005 – Best Spoken Word Album for Children for Wolf Tracks and Peter and the Wolf. His second was in 2008 – Best Spoken Word Album for his autobiography My Life.

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Audrey HepburnThe Roman Holiday actress is one of the few stars to have won a Grammy posthumously. She was the first ever recipient of the Best Spoken Word Album for Children award, which was created in 1994, one year after her death.Audrey, who died at the age of 63 from cancer, was posthumously awarded the Grammy for Audrey Hepburn's Enchanted Tales.Kate Winslet, Bill Clinton and Julie Andrews were just some of the other big names to win the award in future years.

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Christopher ReeveWhen Christopher Reeve's moving autobiography Still Me was published in 1998, it spent eleven weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list, with readers intrigued by the actor's Superman days and his tragic horse riding accident that left him quadriplegic.Everyone's favourite Superman won the Grammy for Best Spoken World Album the following year.

joaquin phoenix © Photo: Getty Images

Joaquin PhoenixMany fans will recognise Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash in Walk the Line. For his formidable performance, the Puerto Rico-born star was awarded a Grammy for the biopic's soundtrack, the Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media.Joaquin, who was approved by Mr Cash himself to play the role, also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.

baha men © Photo: Getty Images

Baha MenA chart-topper that everyone will remember bopping along to, Who Let the Dogs Out? was released by Baha Men in 2000.

The catchy track won the Grammy for Best Dance Recording, and went on to win two Billboard Music Awards for World Music Artist of the Year and World Music Album of the Year.

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Michael J. FoxHe received his first Grammy nomination in 2003 and again in 2011, but 2010 proved to be Michael J. Fox's lucky year.

The actor won the Best Spoken Word Album for Always Looking Up: Adventures of An Incurable Optimist – an account of Michael's surprising and warm-hearted optimism despite his battle with Parkinson's.

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Patrick StewartKnown for his strong and authoritative voice, Sir Patrick Stewart OBE has lent his voice for a number of audio projects. He was awarded the 1996 Best Spoken Word Album for Children Grammy for his recording of Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf, beating fellow nominees Winona Ryder, Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington among others.

Zach Braff © Photo: Getty Images

Zach BraffAs the writer, producer, director and star of Garden State, Zach Braff's efforts paid off when he was awarded the 2005 Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for the Garden State soundtrack.The romantic comedy, which also stars Natalie Portman and Peter Sarsgaard, was partly based on Zach's real life experiences.

betty white © Photo: Getty Images

Betty WhiteWith a career spanning more than 75 years, former Golden Girl Betty White has received dozens of awards including eight Emmys and three Screen Actors Guild awards. Her first and only Grammy was presented to her in 2012 – Best Spoken Word Album for her bestseller If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won't).Betty, who had just celebrated her 90th birthday, pipped Tina Fey and Val Kilmer among others to the post. Her book is a collection of amusing anecdotes from her life.

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