Quinta Brunson Wins Best Lead Actress at the 2023 Emmys: ‘I’m So Happy’
Quinta Brunson took home the trophy for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series at the 2023 Emmy Awards.
Brunson, 34, immediately started tearing up after Carol Burnett announced her as the winner. “Thank you so much. I don’t even know why I’m so emotional,” she told the crowd at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Monday, January 15. “I think the Carol Burnett of it all. Thank you so much. I love making Abbott Elementary so much and I am so happy to be able to live my dream and act out comedy. I say it every time, but I just love comedy so much that I am so happy to be able to get this.”
She went on to say that she hadn’t prepped a speech because she wasn’t sure what to expect. “I love my mom, my dad, my sisters, my brothers, my entire family so much,” Brunson added. “I love my husband. I’m so happy. I love my cast. I love Abbott Elementary. Thank you so much.”
Brunson prevailed over four other nominees in the competitive category: Christina Applegate for Dead to Me, Rachel Brosnahan for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Natasha Lyonne for Poker Face and Jenna Ortega for Wednesday.
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Applegate, 52, Brosnahan, 33, and Brunson were all up against each other at last year’s ceremony, however, they were beaten by Jean Smart for Hacks.
Brosnahan previously won the Emmy for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy in 2018 for her role as Miriam “Midge” Maisel in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She has received six total nominations.
“I’ll never recover from having my name spoken in the same sentence as the other legendary actresses in this category who I’ve admired,” Brosnahan shared in a Variety interview following her Emmys win.
Applegate, for her part, received one prior Emmy in 2003 for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Amy Green on Friends. She has received eight total nominations, four of them being for Dead to Me, where she plays lead character Jen Harding.
While Brunson may not have taken home the Best Lead Actress award in 2022, she did take home the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, which she is nominated for once again this year. (She was also nominated this year for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for hosting Saturday Night Live but lost to Judith Light for Poker Face.)
Brunson made TV history last year after she became the first Black woman to be nominated for Emmys in acting, writing and outstanding comedy for Abbott Elementary.
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“What an honored to be nominated by the Television Academy,” Brunson shared in a statement in 2022 following her Emmy nominations. “Creating this show has been the greatest gift and to have it recognized in this way is the dream. It’s a joy we get to share with the amazing people who watched our first season.”
Lyonne — who was up for an Emmy for her role as Charlie in Peacock’s Poker Face — has previously been nominated in this category for Netflix’s Russian Doll. She has received five nominations overall.
Monday’s ceremony marked Ortega’s first Emmy nomination for her role as Wednesday Addams in Netflix’s Wednesday. The series is nominated for 12 Emmys, including Outstanding Comedy Series.