Ayo Edebiri and Quinta Brunson make Emmys history, Niecy Nash-Betts wins for ‘Dahmer’
The actresses earned recognition for their respective work in "The Bear," "Abbott Elementary" and "Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story."
Ayo Edebiri, Niecy Nash-Betts and Quinta Brunson are Emmy Award winners! The Black women took home awards last night for their respective acting work in “The Bear,” “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” and “Abbott Elementary” in a star-studded ceremony celebrating all things television.
After months of postponement due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in Hollywood over the summer, the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards finally aired on Monday, honoring the best work in television from the 2022-2023 season. TV shows like “Succession,” “The Bear,” “Beef,” “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and more were honored with awards, while some of the best performances from the year were also recognized.
Edebiri, who has earned multiple awards this season for her work in “The Bear,” won an Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series. Taking to the stage, the actress thanked her family, saying that she made them sit far away from her in the ceremony because she is “a bad kid.” She continued: ” Thank you so much for loving me and letting me feel beautiful and Black and proud of all of that. I just love you so much.”
“Probably not a dream to immigrate to this country and to have your kid be like, ‘I want to do improv … but you’re real ones!” she quipped.
As Variety pointed out, Edebiri is the third Black woman to take home an Emmy Award for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series after Jackée Harry (“227”) won in 1987 and Sheryl Lee Ralph (“Abbott Elementary”) won in 2022.
Nash-Betts earned her Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in an anthology series for her work in “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” winning rave reviews for the role of Glenda Cleveland, the next-door neighbor to the titular killer.
“I’m a winner, baby,” she declared at the top of her speech.
“Thank you to the Most High for this divine moment,” Nash-Betts said before thanking series creator Ryan Murphy, co-star Evan Peters, Netflix and “every single person” who voted for her. “And my better half,” she added, “who picked me up when I was gutted from this work.”
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Nash-Betts then thanked herself in the speech, for believing in her and “doing what they said I could not.”
“And I want to say to myself, in front of all you beautiful people, ‘Go on, girl, with your bad self. You did that!'” she gushed.
“I accept this award on behalf of every Black and Brown woman who have gone unheard, yet overpoliced,” she concluded, “like Glenda Cleveland, like Sandra Bland, like Breonna Taylor! As an artist, my job is to speak truth to power, and baby, I’m going to do it until the day I die.”
Brunson, the creator, writer and star of “Abbott Elementary,” made history at the Emmys, winning outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for her work as Janine Teagues. With her win, Brunson is the second Black actress in Emmys history — and first in 40 years — to win in the category. The only Black winner previously was Isabel Sanford for her work in “The Jeffersons,” per The Hollywood Reporter.
“I love making ‘Abbott Elementary’ so much, and I am so happy to be able to live my dream and act out comedy,” Brunson said emotionally in her acceptance speech.
“I love my mom, my dad, my sisters, my brothers — my entire family — so much,” she shared. “I love my husband. I’m so happy. I love my cast. Oh, I love ‘Abbott Elementary.’ Thank you so much.”
While Brunson won the Emmy for outstanding writing for a comedy series at the 74th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, this marks the multi-hyphenate’s first Emmy for acting. Ralph, her co-star, earned an Emmy for the series at last year’s show, making this the second acting win for the acclaimed ABC sitcom.
Brunson and Edebiri made history together as well at the Emmys, as last night’s ceremony marked the first time two Black women won in lead and supporting comedic acting categories in the same year, per Collider.
Read the full list of Emmy Award winners from the 75th annual ceremony here.
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