Universal phase-only spatial light modulators (UP-SLMs) are proposed and demonstrated by simulation and experiment. UP-SLMs, which consist of unitarily coupled electrically controllable wave plates, convert the optically anisotropic properties of the paired two wave plates into an effective single isotropic phase plate and can be realized with electrically tunable birefringence materials such as uniaxial liquid crystals (LCs). The universal approaches are applicable to any uniaxial anisotropic materials based cells, any LC cell operation modes and any incident light polarization states. Further the UP-SLMs are experimentally demonstrated even with commercial LCD panels having low geometrical rotational symmetry. These UP-SLMs will play significant roles in wave optics, communications, information displays, digital holography, quantum optics and quantum information technology by harnessing their unique capacity of modulating the only phase of linearly, circularly, elliptically, azimuthally, radially and even randomly polarized light.