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Forget the Oscars. Renée Zellweger and Meryl Streep are nominated for Grammys

Portraits of Renée Zellweger and Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep, left, is nominated in the spoken-word category, and Renée Zellweger is nominated for her vocals as Judy Garland.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times; Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
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Who needs the Oscars? This year Hollywood actors — namely Meryl Streep and Renée Zellweger — have invaded the Grammys.

When the nominations for next year’s ceremony were announced Tuesday morning, Streep got a nod in the spoken-word category for her recording of “Charlotte’s Web,” written by E.B. White. She is up against the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea (yes, really), “Jeopardy!” champ Ken Jennings, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and journalist Ronan Farrow.

“Judy” star Zellweger, meanwhile, was nominated for traditional pop vocal album for her performance as Judy Garland in that 2019 biopic. The two-time Oscar winner is facing off against Burt Bacharach & Daniel Tashian, Harry Connick Jr., James Taylor and Rufus Wainwright.

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Zellweger, who won the Academy Award for best actress for “Judy” in February, would be the first person since Jennifer Hudson to win a Grammy for Oscar-caliber work.

Transforming Renée Zellweger into Judy Garland in “Judy” was a process of trial and error for hair and makeup designer Jeremy Woodhead.

Hudson took home the Oscar-Grammy combo in 2007 for her work in 2006’s “Dreamgirls.” She shared the honor — for compilation soundtrack album for movie, TV or other visual media — with fellow artists Beyoncé and Anika Noni Rose and producers Harvey Mason Jr., Randy Spendlove, Matthew Rush Sullivan and Damon Thomas.

Streep’s Grammy nomination Tuesday is her fifth. The other four have come in the children’s recording category, which was swallowed up by the spoken-word category last year. Those nods were for “The Velveteen Rabbit” (1986), “The Tailor of Gloucester’ (1989), “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” (1989) and “A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning” (2006).

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The soundtrack of her 2008 movie, “Mamma Mia!,” was nominated in the compilation soundtrack category at the 2009 Grammys, though Streep wasn’t called out by name. “Juno” took home the soundtrack trophy that year.

A Grammy win would be a first for either actress.

The 2021 Grammy nominations, in 83 categories

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