Before Emmy Gold: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series 2024

The Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the 76th Emmy Awards features a variety of young faces and returning veterans. All six nominees have previous Emmy nominations, but not all within this specific category. The last three years’ winners are represented with Quinta Brunson for Abbott Elementary as the 2023 winner and Jean Smart for Hacks as the 2022 and 2021 winner. They are joined by fresh faces Ayo Edibiri who is a previous winner as a Supporting Actress for her role on The Bear, and Selena Gomez who has been nominated as an executive producer for Only Murders in the Building, but receives her first nomination as an actress. Veterans Maya Rudolph (Loot), and Kristen Wiig (Palm Royale) round out the lineup. 

Quinta Brunson

Nominated For: Abbott Elementary

Previous Nominations: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (2022 & 2023, win), Outstanding Comedy Series (2022, 2023), Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (2022, win), Outstanding Guest Actress on a Comedy Series (2023)

Hidden Gem: A Black Lady Sketch Show (2019-2023)

Quinta Brunson’s career began to gain notoriety for her self-produced YouTube series Girl Who Has Never Been on a Nice Date. With stints at Buzzfeed in multiple capacities, a handful of film and TV roles, and a major role on the significant HBO sketch comedy, A Black Lady Sketch Show, she eventually struck gold as the creator, writer, and star of Philadelphia-set comedy Abbott Elementary when it first aired in 2021. Since then, the ABC sitcom has exploded, garnering 20+ collective nominations in its three seasons. 

Brunson herself has made history at the Emmy’s becoming the first Black woman to be nominated three times in the comedy category, for her efforts in writing, executive producing, and acting at the 74th Emmy Awards. With the continued success of the series, Brunson is a likely mainstay of the Emmy’s landscape for a long time to come.

Ayo Edebiri

Nominated For: The Bear

Previous Nominations: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (2023, win)

Hidden Gem: Theater Camp (2023)

After previously winning her first Emmy for her first nomination last year as a Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for The Bear, Ayo Edebiri is cooking once again, this time as a Lead Actress. With a meteoric rise to mainstream visibility, we’ve seen her navigate through a series of independent film roles such as Theater Camp, Bottoms, and The Sweet East before offering her voice to the biggest film release of the year as Envy in Inside Out 2. 

Edebiri is a social media sensation with writing and voice cast credits amongst her most notable work. She has served as a writer and voice actor on Big Mouth since 2020, written for What We Do in the Shadows, and voiced roles for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Outside of the role of chef Sydney Adamu, however, she may be best known for her comedic presence of the film-centric social media app Letterboxd. 

Selena Gomez

Nominated For: Only Murders in the Building

Previous Nominations: Outstanding Comedy Series (2022, 2023)

Hidden Gem: The Fundamentals of Caring (2016)

The longtime music sensation turned dramatic actress has found success with Only Murders in the Building twice before as a producer for Outstanding Comedy Series, but Gomez now grabs her first nomination as a Lead Actress for the same series. 

Gomez’s career in acting most notably began as a child actor with Disney channel before she signed a record deal with her band Selena Gomez & the Scene. Her continued success in the music industry led to a career as a solo artist while she simultaneously pursued many acting roles. She is also poised to make a run at a Oscar nomination this year with Emilia Pérez (2024), for which the female cast collectively won Best Actress at the Cannes International Film Festival earlier in 2024.

Maya Rudolph

Nominated For: Loot

Previous Nominations: Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series (2012, 2018, 2019, 2020, win, 2020, 2021, win) Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance (2020, win, 2021, win, 2022, 2023, win), Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program (2023)

Hidden Gem: Away We Go (2009)

Tied for the most decorated Emmy contender in this category, Maya Rudolph has had a significant presence on the TV landscape for two decades, but her start came as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2000-2007. After her SNL tenure, Rudolph moved more prominently to film both in live action (Grown Ups, Bridesmaids, Sisters) and voice acting (Shrek the Third, Big Hero 6, Luca) amongst many other notable titles.

Her work as a guest actress on SNL and The Good Place in addition to her voice work on Big Mouth have garnered her the most attention with five collective Emmy wins since 2020. Interestingly enough, one of her two SNL wins came in 2020 playing Senator Kamala Harris, a role she is set to reprise as the current VP is now in the midst of staging a presidential campaign for 2024.

Jean Smart

Nominated For: Hacks

Previous Nominations: 12 Nominations, 5 Wins-Frasier (2000, 2001), Samantho Who? (2008), Hacks (2021, 2022)

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series (2000, win, 2001, win), Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (2001, 2012), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (2006, 2007), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (2008, win), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie (2016, 2020), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie (2021), Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (2021, win, 2022, win)

Hidden Gem: Designing Women (1986-1993)

The veteran of the nominees in this category is Jean Smart who shares the lead with five Emmy wins alongside Maya Rudolph. Smart’s career has spanned multiple decades and traversed comedy and drama, crossing between mediums including TV, film, and theater. CBS sitcom Designing Women was her first starring role, before going on to win five Emmy’s for Frasier, Samantha Who?, and Hacks. Her tow most recent wins in 2021 and 2022 have been for the role of Deborah Vance in Hacks which she is nominated for once again.

With too many credits to list, Smart is an unquantifiable legend in the industry, but recent television work including Mare of Easttown and Hacks have allowed her to truly shine in complex and nuanced roles that match the expertise of her performance capabilities. She also has credits in a number of films since the 90’s, and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for The Man Who Came to Dinner.

Kristen Wiig

Nominated For: Palm Royale

Previous Nominations: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013), Outstanding Voice-Over Performance (2012), Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie (2014), Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series (2017, 2021)

Hidden Gem: Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar (2021)

The sole 2024 nominee for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series without an Emmy to her name is Kristen Wiig, despite her nine total nominations to date. The multi-talented actress had a star tenure on SNL for seven seasons from 2005 to 2012 which led to seven of her nine nominations. 

Wiig also co-wrote and starred in Bridesmaids (2011), her most critically and commercially successful silver screen endeavor as the film has become a widespread cult favorite in addition to earning nominations for a Golden Globe for Best Actress and Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.