Jean Smart came out on top of the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series race at the 2025 Emmy Awards.
The actress earned the award for Hacks during the Sunday, September 14, ceremony at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
“One of the best things about winning something like this is you publicly get to thank the crew of people that you work with,” Smart, 74, said, going on to give shout-outs to the Hacks production team and her family.
The Residence’s Uzo Aduba, Nobody Wants This’ Kristen Bell, Abbott Elementary’s Quinta Brunson, and The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri were also nominated in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series category.
Of the highly decorated nominees, Smart went into the 2025 awards show with the most Emmys on her shelf, racking up six previous wins out of 14 career nods. She earned Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Hacks in 2021, 2022 and 2024 — every time she was up for the role in the category. She also received Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for Frasier in 2000 and 2001 and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Samantha Who? in 2008.
Aduba, 44, followed Smart with three Emmys from her total of six nominations over the years. She won Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for Orange Is the New Black in 2014, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Orange Is the New Black in 2015 and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for Mrs. America in 2020.
Brunson, 35, trailed with two Emmy wins out of 12 nods throughout her career, previously taking home Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for Abbott Elementary in 2022 and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the sitcom in 2023. This year, she racked up two additional nominations for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series and Outstanding Comedy Series for executive producing the ABC series. Brunson was also nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2022 and 2024.
Meanwhile, Edebiri, 29, earned one prior Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for The Bear in 2023. She has a total of four career nods, including for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for The Bear in 2025. Edebiri previously competed for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2024.
As for Bell, 45, she landed her first-ever Emmy nominations this year, including for Outstanding Comedy Series for serving as an executive producer on Nobody Wants This.
