No joke: Hacks star Jean Smart is taking home yet another Emmy, placing her alongside a Hollywood legend in the awards history books.
Smart, who plays a stand-up comedian on the acclaimed HBO Max comedy Hacks, won the Emmy on Sunday for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. She received a standing ovation from the in-person Emmys audience upon taking the stage, and she paid tribute to her late husband, who died earlier this year.
"I would not be here without him," she said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This was the fourth Emmy of Smart's career. The first two were back-to-back wins for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on Frasier, and she won a third for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Samantha Who?. Now Smart, Gold Derby reports, has joined Betty White as the only actresses who have won Emmys for guest actress in a comedy, supporting actress in a comedy, and lead actress in a comedy. Smart joked to Entertainment Weekly before the Emmys that if she pulled off this feat, it would be like having a "tiara to go with the earrings and the broach."
Outside of her comedy work, Smart was also nominated at the 2020 Emmys for her supporting role on Watchmen, as well as in 2016 for her supporting performance in Fargo. And the lead comedy actress category wasn't even her only nomination this year, as Smart was also up for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for HBO's Mare of Easttown.
-
5 Post Office-approved cartoons about mail-in votingCartoons Artists take on reverse logic, Putin's election advice, and more
-
The battle of the weight-loss drugsTalking Point Can Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly regain their former stock market glory? A lot is riding on next year's pills
-
Codeword: August 24, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
