Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
The 2024 recipient: Sarah Snook
Presented by	Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
Country	United States
First awarded	1954
Currently held by	Sarah Snook, Succession (2024)

The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series is a special award given out every year in the U.S. by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It celebrates an actress who has done an amazing job playing a main character in a TV drama series during the primetime season.

This award was first given out on February 11, 1954, at the 6th Primetime Emmy Awards. Back then, the acting awards weren't split into different types of shows. Actresses from both drama and comedy shows could be nominated for the same award. Eve Arden was the very first woman to win an acting Emmy. But Loretta Young was the first actress to win specifically for a main role in a drama series. By 1966, the awards were finally separated into drama and comedy categories. The award's name changed a few times before it became what it is today.

Since it started, 157 actresses have won this award. Out of those, 31 have won for their roles in drama series. Tyne Daly and Michael Learned hold the record for winning the most times in this category, with four wins each! Angela Lansbury has been nominated the most, with twelve nominations, but she never won. In 2015, Viola Davis made history as the first African-American woman to win. She won for her role as Annalise Keating in How to Get Away with Murder. Then, in 2020, Zendaya became the youngest winner ever at just 24 years old, for her show Euphoria. She won again in 2022, becoming the first African-American actress to win this award twice. The most recent winner, as of 2024, is Sarah Snook for her work on Succession.

About the Winners
- Shows with Many Wins
- Actresses with Many Wins
See also

About the Winners

This award has been given to many talented actresses over the years. Here's a look at some of the shows and actresses who have won multiple times.

Shows with Many Wins

Some TV shows have had their lead actresses win this award many times.

6 wins:

* Cagney & Lacey (won six times in a row!)

3 wins:

* The Loretta Young Show * Mission: Impossible (won three times in a row!) * Picket Fences (won two times in a row, then again later) * The Sopranos * The Waltons (won two times in a row, then again later)

2 wins:

* China Beach * The Crown * Damages * Euphoria * Father Knows Best * The Good Wife * Hazel * Homeland (won two times in a row!) * Thirtysomething * The West Wing

Actresses with Many Wins

Some actresses have won this award more than once, showing their amazing talent!

4 wins:

* Tyne Daly (won three times in a row!) * Michael Learned (won two times in a row, then again later)

3 wins:

* Barbara Bain (won three times in a row!) * Kathy Baker (won two times in a row, then again later) * Edie Falco * Loretta Young

2 wins:

* Glenn Close (won two times in a row!) * Claire Danes (won two times in a row!) * Dana Delany * Sharon Gless (won two times in a row!) * Susan Hampshire (won two times in a row!) * Allison Janney * Julianna Margulies * Barbara Stanwyck * Sela Ward * Patricia Wettig (won two times in a row!) * Jane Wyatt * Zendaya

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series facts for kids

Contents

About the Winners

Shows with Many Wins

Actresses with Many Wins

See also