LOS ANGELES (AP) — Quinta Brunson of ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” received a historic win at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards Monday night.
The Philadelphia native won best actress in a comedy for the show she created, becoming the first Black woman to win the award in more than 40 years and the first from a network show to win it in more than a decade.
“I am so happy to be able to live my dream and act out comedy,” Brunson said during her acceptance, fighting back tears.
Brunson had previously won a writing Emmy for “Abbott Elementary,” her mockumentary about a predominantly Black and chronically underfunded grade school in Philadelphia, but this was her first for acting. Isabel Sanford of “The Jeffersons” was the only previous Black woman to win the category in 1981.
The show was held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, four months later than intended due to a turbulent year of strikes in Hollywood. Notably, three Black women won major awards: Brunson, Ayo Edebiri and Niecy Nash-Betts.
Edebiri, a first-time nominee, won best supporting actress in a comedy series for “The Bear,” the FX dramedy about a contentious family and a struggling restaurant at the center of the life of a talented chef, played by Jeremy Allen White.
Nash-Betts won best supporting actress in a limited series for “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.”
The third season of “Abbott Elementary” premieres Feb. 7.