Phoebe Waller-Bridge beats Julia Louis-Dreyfus for comedy actress Emmy in major upset


We have our first stunning 2019 Emmys upset.
Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge just won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in a massive upset over Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Louis-Dreyfus was widely considered to be the race's front-runner, as she had never before lost the award for playing Selina Meyer on HBO's Veep, which concluded its final season earlier this year.
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Had Louis-Dreyfus won for Veep's final season, she would have set the new record for most acting Emmys by a performer in history. She is still tied with Cloris Leachman for most wins. In her acceptance speech, Waller-Bridge, who previously won for writing, expressed as much surprise as prognosticators.
This could indicate that Fleabag itself, which also won a directing Emmy Sunday, could score an upset win over Veep in the night's top comedy category later in the evening. Veep won that prize for its past three seasons.
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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