Jean Smart makes history with her eighth Emmy award win for “Hacks”
In addition to her ever-growing Emmy collection, Smart was inducted in the Television Hall of Fame last month.
Jean Smart made Emmy history on Sept. 14, becoming the first woman to win for every season of a series.
Poor Jean Smart, ’74, never gets any rest. Her legendary acting career continues full speed ahead, and she keeps getting invited to award ceremonies to be honored. The latest: She won her fifth consecutive Emmy and eighth award overall, tying the record set by Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus for the most wins by an actress.
She is the first woman to win an Emmy for every season of a show.
“Hacks,” which concluded its five-season run this year, starred Smart as ambitious comedian Deborah Vance. Spotlighting an older woman with big plans and endless energy, the show is about Vance’s workaholic and lavish lifestyle, as well as her growing relationship with her writing partner, Ava Daniels (played by Hannah Einbinder).
Smart, who turned 75 on Sunday, Sept. 13, reached another career pinnacle when she was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame on Aug. 13.
The 28th honoree in the hall of fame, Smart broke down in tears at the podium before saying, “Wow. It is a dream come true. … Growing up in what was called the golden age of television was really magical. I know I’m dating myself but the Dinah Shore Show, the Loretta Young Show, The Twilight Zone, Bonanza … and then all the specials that came, like Carol Burnett, Dean Martin, but what made the biggest impression in me growing up were the TV shows that came on once a year.
“Peter Pan starring Mary Martin, and the Wizard of Oz. And if you missed it, you waited another year for it to come back. Today, children can watch whatever they want, whenever they want, as many times as they want. And I often wonder what that’s doing to us, not having to ever wait for things, having to wait for what we want. Who cares, that’s a discussion for another day.
“I want to express how unbelievably grateful I am to be up here.” Her fellow “Hacks” actors who introduced her remarked at her ability to be “sweet as pie and lethal when necessary” during her work on TV, in the movies and on Broadway.
Over her long career, Smart has starred (or guest-starred) in such TV shows as “Designing Women,” “Frasier,” “Fargo,” and now “Hacks.” Her record-breaking Emmy award cements her as one of the greatest actors of our or any generation.