The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series is an award that is presented annually by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a guest starring role on a television drama series for the primetime network season.
| Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | |
|---|---|
The 2023 recipient: Storm Reid
| |
| Awarded for | Outstanding Performance by a Guest Actress in a Drama Series |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Academy of Television Arts & Sciences |
| First awarded | 1975 |
| Currently held by | Storm Reid, The Last of Us (2023) |
| Website | http://www.emmys.com |
The award was first presented at the 27th Primetime Emmy Awards on May 19, 1975, to Zohra Lampert, for her performance on Kojak, and to Cloris Leachman, for her role on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. It has undergone several name changes, originally honoring single leading and supporting appearances in drama and comedy series through 1978. The award was re-introduced at the 38th Primetime Emmy Awards under the name Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series, honoring actors and actresses in guest starring roles on television drama series. In 1989, the category was split into categories for each gender, resulting in the name change to its current title.
Since its inception, the award has been given to 35 actresses. Patricia Clarkson, Cherry Jones, Shirley Knight, Margo Martindale, Amanda Plummer, and Alfre Woodard have won the most awards in this category, with two each. Cicely Tyson has been nominated for the award on five occasions, the most in the category. Meanwhile, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit holds the most awardees, with 5 winners coming from the show.
Listed below are the winners of the award for each year, as well as the other nominees.
| Year | Actress | Program | Role | Submitted episode(s) | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 (27th) [1] | |||||
| Zohra Lampert | Kojak | Marina Sheldon | "Queen of the Gypsies" | CBS | |
| Cloris Leachman | The Mary Tyler Moore Show | Phyllis Lindstrom | "Phyllis Whips Inflation" | ||
| Shelley Winters | McCloud | Thelma | "The Barefoot Girls of Bleaker Street" | NBC | |
| 1976 (28th) | |||||
| Outstanding Lead Actress for a Single Appearance in a Comedy or Drama Series[2] | |||||
| Kathryn Walker | The Adams Chronicles | Abigail Adams | "John Adams, Lawyer" | PBS | |
| Helen Hayes | Hawaii Five-O | Aunt Clara | "Retire In Sunny Hawaii... Forever" | CBS | |
| Sheree North | Marcus Welby, M.D. | June Monica | "How Do You Know What Hurts Me?" | ABC | |
| Pamela Payton-Wright | The Adams Chronicles | Louisa Catherine Adams | "John Quincy Adams, Diplomat" | PBS | |
| Martha Raye | McMillan & Wife | Agatha | "Greed" | NBC | |
| Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Drama Series[3] | |||||
| Fionnula Flanagan | Rich Man, Poor Man | Clothilde | "Part II" | ABC | |
| Kim Darby | Rich Man, Poor Man | Virginia Calderwood | "Part II" | ABC | |
| Ruth Gordon | Rhoda | Carlton's Mother | "Kiss Your Epaulets Goodbye" | CBS | |
| Eileen Heckart | The Mary Tyler Moore Show | Flo Meredith | "Mary's Aunt" | ||
| Kay Lenz | Rich Man, Poor Man | Kate Jordache | "Part VIII" | ABC | |
| 1977 (29th) | |||||
| Outstanding Lead Actress for a Single Appearance in a Comedy or Drama Series[4] | |||||
| Beulah Bondi | The Waltons | Aunt Martha Corinne Walton | "The Pony Cart" | CBS | |
| Susan Blakely | Rich Man, Poor Man Book II | Julie Prescott | "Chapter 1" | ABC | |
| Madge Sinclair | Roots | Bell Reynolds | "Part IV" | ||
| Leslie Uggams | Kizzy Reynolds | "Part VI" | |||
| Jessica Walter | The Streets of San Francisco | Maggie Jarris / Mrs. Reston / Mrs. McCluskey | "Till Death Do Us Part" | ||
| Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Drama Series[5] | |||||
| Olivia Cole | Roots | Mathilda | "Part VIII" | ABC | |
| Sandy Duncan | Roots | Missy Anne Reynolds | "Part V" | ABC | |
| Eileen Heckart | The Mary Tyler Moore Show | Flo Meredith | "Lou Proposes" | CBS | |
| Cicely Tyson | Roots | Binta | "Part I" | ABC | |
| Nancy Walker | Rhoda | Ida Morgenstern | "The Separation" | CBS | |
| 1978 (30th) | |||||
| Outstanding Lead Actress for a Single Appearance in a Comedy or Drama Series[6] | |||||
| Rita Moreno | The Rockford Files | Rita Capkovic | "The Paper Palace" | NBC | |
| Patty Duke | Having Babies III | Leslee Wexler | — | ABC | |
| Kate Jackson | Jamie at 16 | Robin | "Pilot" | NBC | |
| Jayne Meadows | Meeting of Minds | Florence Nightingale | "Luther, Voltaire, Plato, Nightingale" | PBS | |
| Irene Tedrow | Jamie at 16 | Miss Jordan | "Ducks" | NBC | |
| Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Drama Series[7] | |||||
| Blanche Baker | Holocaust | Anna Weiss | "Part I" | NBC | |
| Ellen Corby | The Waltons | Esther Walton | "Grandma Comes Home" | CBS | |
| Jeanette Nolan | The Awakening Land | Granny McWhirter | "Part I" | NBC | |
| Beulah Quo | Meeting of Minds | Empress Tz'u-hsi | "Douglass, Tz'u-Hsi, Beccaria, De Sade" | PBS | |
| Beatrice Straight | The Dain Curse | Alice Dain Leggett | "Part 1" | CBS | |
| Year | Actress | Program | Role | Submitted episode(s) | Network | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series | ||||||
| 1986 (38th) [8] | ||||||
| John Lithgow | Amazing Stories | John Walters | "The Doll" | NBC | ||
| Whoopi Goldberg | Moonlighting | Camille | "Camille" | ABC | ||
| Edward Herrmann | St. Elsewhere | Father Joseph McCabe | "Time Heals" | NBC | ||
| Peggy McCay | Cagney & Lacey | Mrs. Carruthers | "Mothers and Sons" | CBS | ||
| James Stacy | Ted Peters | "The Gimp" | ||||
| 1987 (39th) [9] | ||||||
| Alfre Woodard | L.A. Law | Adrianne Moore | "Pilot" | NBC | ||
| Steve Allen | St. Elsewhere | Lech Osoranski | "Visiting Daze" | NBC | ||
| Jeanne Cooper | L.A. Law | Gladys Becker | "Fry Me to the Moon" | |||
| Edward Herrmann | St. Elsewhere | Father Joseph McCabe | "Where There's Hope, There's Crosby" | |||
| Jayne Meadows | Olga Osoranski | "Visiting Daze" | ||||
| 1988 (40th) [10] | ||||||
| Shirley Knight | Thirtysomething | Ruth Murdock | "The Parents Are Coming" | ABC | ||
| Imogene Coca | Moonlighting | Clara DiPesto | "Los Dos DiPietos" | ABC | ||
| Lainie Kazan | St. Elsewhere | Frieda Fiscus | "The Abby Singer Show" | NBC | ||
| Gwen Verdon | Magnum, P.I. | Catherine Peters | "Infinity And Jelly Doughnuts" | CBS | ||
| Alfre Woodard | St. Elsewhere | Dr. Roxanne Turner | "The Abby Singer Show" | NBC | ||
| Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | ||||||
| 1989 (41st) [11] | ||||||
| Kay Lenz | Midnight Caller | Tina Cassidy | "After It Happened" | NBC | ||
| Shirley Knight | The Equalizer | Kay | "Time Present, Time Past" | CBS | ||
| Jean Simmons | Murder, She Wrote | Eudora McVeigh | "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Part 1" | |||
| Maureen Stapleton | B.L. Stryker | Auntie Sue | "Auntie Sue" | ABC | ||
| Chloe Webb | China Beach | Laurette Barber | "Chao Ong" | |||
| Teresa Wright | Dolphin Cove | Nina Rothman | "The Elders" | CBS | ||
| Year | Actress | Program | Role | Submitted episode(s) | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 (42nd) [12] | |||||
| Viveca Lindfors | Life Goes On | Mrs. Doubcha | "Save the Last Dance for Me" | ABC | |
| Ruby Dee | China Beach | Ruby | "Skylark" | ABC | |
| Colleen Dewhurst | Road to Avonlea | Marilla Cuthbert | "The Quarantine at Alexander Abraham's" | Disney | |
| Shirley Knight | Thirtysomething | Ruth Murdoch | "Arizona" | ABC | |
| Kay Lenz | Midnight Caller | Tina Cassidy | "Someone to Love" | NBC | |
| 1991 (43rd) [13] | |||||
| Peggy McCay | The Trials of Rosie O'Neill | Irene Hayes | "State of Mind" | CBS | |
| Eileen Brennan | Thirtysomething | Margaret Weston | "Sifting The Ashes" | ABC | |
| Colleen Dewhurst | Road to Avonlea | Marilla Cuthbert | "The Materializing of Duncan McTavish" | Disney | |
| Penny Fuller | China Beach | Margaret Mary McMurphy | "Fever" | ABC | |
| 1992 (44th) |
Valerie Mahaffey[a] | Northern Exposure | Eve | "The Bumpy Road to Love" | CBS |
| Barbara Barrie[b] | Law & Order | Mrs. Bream | "Vengeance" | NBC | |
| Shirley Knight[c] | Melanie Currants | "The Wages of Love" | |||
| Kate Nelligan[d] | Road to Avonlea | Sydney Carver | "After the Honeymoon" | Disney Channel | |
| 1993 (45th) [14] | |||||
| Elaine Stritch | Law & Order | Lanie Stieglitz | "Point of View" | NBC | |
| Bibi Besch | Northern Exposure | Jane O'Connell | "Grosse Pointe 48230" | CBS | |
| Rosanna Carter | I'll Fly Away | Eulalia Jefferson | "What's in a Name" | NBC | |
| Diane Ladd | Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman | Charlotte Cooper | "Pilot" | CBS | |
| Gwen Verdon | Homicide: Life on the Street | Jessie Doohen | "A Ghost of a Chance" | NBC | |
| 1994 (46th) [15] | |||||
| Faye Dunaway | Columbo: It's All in the Game | Lauren Staton | "It's All in the Game" | ABC | |
| Bonnie Bedelia | Fallen Angels | Sally Creighton | "The Quiet Room" | Showtime | |
| Stockard Channing | Road to Avonlea | Viola Elliott | "The Minister's Wife" | Disney | |
| Laura Dern | Fallen Angels | Annie Ainsley | "Murder, Obliquely" | Showtime | |
| Penny Fuller | NYPD Blue | Roberta Taub | "Serge the Consierge" | ABC | |
| Marlee Matlin | Picket Fences | Laurie Bey | "Dancing Bandit" | CBS | |
| 1995 (47th) [16] | |||||
| Shirley Knight | NYPD Blue | Agnes Cantwell | "Large Mouth Bass" | ABC | |
| Amy Brenneman | NYPD Blue | Janice Licalsi | "For Whom the Skell Tolls" | ABC | |
| Rosemary Clooney | ER | Madame X / Mary Cavanaugh | "Going Home" | NBC | |
| Colleen Flynn | Jodi O'Brien | "Love's Labor Lost" | |||
| CCH Pounder | The X-Files | Agent Lucy Kazdin | "Duane Barry" | Fox | |
| 1996 (48th) [17] | |||||
| Amanda Plummer | The Outer Limits | Dr. Theresa Givens | "A Stitch in Time" | Showtime | |
| Louise Fletcher | Picket Fences | Christine Bey | "Bye Bye, Bey Bey" | CBS | |
| Penny Fuller | ER | Mrs. Constantine | "Welcome Back Carter" | NBC | |
| Carol Kane | Chicago Hope | Marguerite Birch | "Stand" | CBS | |
| Maureen Stapleton | Road to Avonlea | Maggie MacPhee | "What a Tangled Web We Weave" | Disney | |
| Lily Tomlin | Homicide: Life on the Street | Rose Halligan | "The Hat" | NBC | |
| 1997 (49th) [18] | |||||
| Dianne Wiest | Road to Avonlea | Lillian Hepworth | "Woman of Importance" | Disney | |
| Veronica Cartwright | ER | Norma Houston | "Who's Appy Now? Faith" | NBC | |
| Diane Ladd | Touched by an Angel | Carolyn Sellers | "An Angel By Any Other Name" | CBS | |
| Anne Meara | Homicide: Life on the Street | Donna DiGrazi | "Hostage, Part 2" | NBC | |
| Isabella Rossellini | Chicago Hope | Prof. Marina Giannini | "Mother, May I" | CBS | |
| 1998 (50th) [19] | |||||
| Cloris Leachman | Promised Land | Aunt Mooster | "Mooster's Revenge" | CBS | |
| Veronica Cartwright | The X-Files | Cassandra Spender | "Patient X" | Fox | |
| Swoosie Kurtz | ER | Tina Marie Chambliss | "Suffer the Little Children" | NBC | |
| Lili Taylor | The X-Files | Marty Glenn | "Mind's Eye" | Fox | |
| Alfre Woodard | Homicide: Life on the Street | Dr. Roxanne Turner | "Mercy" | NBC | |
| 1999 (51st) [20] | |||||
| Debra Monk | NYPD Blue | Katie Sipowicz | "Hearts and Souls" | ABC | |
| Veronica Cartwright | The X-Files | Cassandra Spender | "Two Fathers" | Fox | |
| Patty Duke | Touched by an Angel | Nancy Williams | "I Do" | CBS | |
| Julia Roberts | Law & Order | Katrina Ludlow | "Empire" | NBC | |
| Marion Ross | Touched by an Angel | Emma | "The Wind Beneath My Wings" | CBS |
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