Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series information
Award for lead actress in a television drama series
For the Daytime Emmy Awards, see Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
The 2024 recipient: Sarah Snook
Awarded for
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Country
United States
Presented by
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
First awarded
1954
Currently held by
Sarah Snook, Succession (2024)
Website
emmys.com
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series is an award presented annually in the U.S. by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role on a television drama series for the primetime network season.
The award was first presented at the 6th Primetime Emmy Awards on February 11, 1954. The acting awards presented during the inaugural years were not genre-specific, with actresses in either drama or comedy series receiving nominations and awards. While Eve Arden was the first winner in the female acting category, Loretta Young was the first actress to win for a lead performance in a drama series. By 1966, the acting awards were split into drama and comedy categories, undergoing several name changes until settling with the current title.
Since its inception, the award has been given to 157 actresses, with 31 winning for performances in a drama series. Tyne Daly and Michael Learned hold the record for most wins in the category, with four each. Angela Lansbury is the most nominated actress in the category, with twelve nominations, though she never won. In 2015, Viola Davis became the first African-American woman to win, for her performance as Annalise Keating on How to Get Away with Murder. In 2020, Zendaya became the youngest winner, at age 24, for Euphoria. She won again in 2022, becoming the first African-American to win twice. As of 2024, Sarah Snook is the most recent winner, receiving the award for her work on Succession.
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