Aretha Franklin won 18 Grammy Awards. Her wins recognized achievements across R&B, soul, gospel, and popular music during a career that lasted more than five decades.
Franklin earned her first Grammy Awards in 1968, when “Respect” won Best Rhythm & Blues Recording and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. She then won the female R&B vocal category for eight consecutive years, from 1968 through 1975, a record-setting run that reflected her dominance during the height of her career.
Her Grammy honors continued long after her breakthrough period. She won for the gospel album Amazing Grace, received a Grammy Legend Award in 1991, and was given the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994. These special honors are often mentioned alongside her competitive wins, which can cause totals to be reported differently.
The canonical quiz answer is 18 because that is the Recording Academy’s listed number of Grammy wins. Franklin received 44 nominations in total. The number 18 refers to Grammy Awards won, not every major music honor she received, such as the Presidential Medal of Freedom or her Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.