| 100% | JKROWLING | 9 | Author who received an O.B.E. in 2001 |
| 45% | ELI | 3 | Wallach who received an honorary Oscar in 2010 |
| 44% | CHAN | 4 | Action star Jackie who received an honorary Oscar in 2016 |
| 44% | PELE | 4 | Brazilian soccer legend who received an honorary knighthood in 1997 |
| 44% | EARL | 4 | James ___ Jones (actor who received an honorary Oscar in 2011) |
| 44% | ANGELALANSBURY | 14 | "Gaslight" actress who received an honorary Oscar in 2013: 2 wds. |
| 43% | SAMUELLJACKSON | 14 | "Pulp Fiction" actor who received an honorary Oscar in 2021: 3 wds. |
| 42% | WONDER | 6 | Stevie who received an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Yale in 2017 |
| 42% | STUART | 6 | First name of an E. B. White character who says that “a misspelled word is an abomination in the sight of everyone” |
| 42% | OREO | 4 | ___ Collins, the cat who received an online high school diploma in Georgia in 2009 |
| 42% | JAMESEARLJONES | 14 | "The Great White Hope" actor who received an honorary Oscar in 2011: 3 wds. |
| 40% | TONIMORRISON | 12 | "Beloved" author who received the American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal in 2019: 2 wds. |
| 40% | ELDOCTOROW | 10 | "Ragtime" author who received the American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal in 2013: 3 wds. |
| 39% | JOHNUPDIKE | 10 | "Rabbit, Run" author who received the American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal in 2007: 2 wds. |
| 39% | EDDIEREDMAYNE | 13 | British actor who received an Academy Award nomination for playing Lili Elbe in "The Danish Girl": 2 wds. |
| 39% | TONIMORRISON | 12 | Author who received the Nobel Prize in Literature on the basis of her first six novels, all featured in this puzzle |
| 39% | WES | 3 | Actor Studi who received an Academy Honorary Award in 2019 |
| 39% | DAVIDLYNCH | 10 | Director who received an honorary Oscar in 2019 for such films as "Blue Velvet" and "Mulholland Drive": 2 wds. |
| 39% | LINAWERTMULLER | 14 | Director who received an honorary Oscar in 2019 for such films as "Seven Beauties" and "Swept Away": 2 wds. |
| 39% | GEENADAVIS | 10 | "Beetlejuice" actress who received an honorary Oscar in 2019 for her institute that focuses on gender parity: 2 wds. |
| 39% | ADELE | 5 | Singer who was awarded an M.B.E. in 2013 |
| 38% | LUIGI | 5 | Dramatist Pirandello who wrote "Six Characters in Search of an Author" |
| 38% | KAREEMABDUL | 11 | ___-Jabbar, the six-time NBA MVP who received an honorary degree from New York Institute of Technology in 2011: 2 wds. |
| 37% | QUINCYJONES | 11 | "We Are the World" producer who received the French Legion of Honor medal in 2001: 2 wds. |
| 37% | MAJ | 3 | One with an O-4 pay grade who carries an oak leaf around with them, in brief |
| 37% | STEVE | 5 | "Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life" author who was honored with an Academy Award in 2013 |
| 37% | ELI | 3 | Longtime actor Wallach who received an Honorary Academy Award in 2010 |
| 36% | JORDAN | 6 | Michael B. ___, "Creed" actor who participated in an episode of "Running Wild with Bear Grylls" |
| 35% | HONOREE | 7 | Someone who receives an award, for example |
| 35% | ELBA | 4 | Actor Idris with an O.B.E. |