Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series is an award presented annually by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. 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. The award was first presented at the 27th Primetime Emmy Awards on May 19, 1975 to Zohra Lampert for her performance on Kojak and 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 reintroduced 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 34 actresses. Cherry Jones is the current recipient of the award for her portrayal of Holly Maddox on The Handmaid's Tale. Margo Martindale, Patricia Clarkson, Shirley Knight, Amanda Plummer, and Alfre Woodard have won the most awards in this category with two each. Diana Rigg, Martindale and Woodard have been nominated for the award on four occasions, the most within the category. Meanwhile, holds the most awardees with 5 winners coming from the show.
Winners and nominations
Listed below are the winners of the award for each year, as well as the other nominees. was the first recipient in the category, winning for her performance in Kojak. won in 1977 for her lead guest-starring role in The Waltons. won for her portrayal of Mathilda in Roots. won the award for her leading guest appearance in The Rockford Files. won in this category for her role in the miniseries Holocaust. won the award twice for her guest appearances in thirtysomething and NYPD Blue. won for her appearance in the Midnight Caller episode "After It Happened". won for her guest role as Irene Hayes in The Trials of Rosie O'Neill. won the award for her guest appearance in Law & Order. won in 1994 for her role in Columbo: It's All in the Game. won the award for her performance in the Road to Avonlea episode "Woman of Importance". received three consecutive nominations in this category for her appearances on ER and The X-Files. won the award in 1999 for her guest performance on NYPD Blue as Katie Sipowicz. won an award from two nominations for her performance in ER. won two awards for her guest-starring roles in L.A. Law and The Practice. won in 2004 for her role as Sheila Carlisle in The Practice. received two awards for her portrayal of Sarah O'Connor in Six Feet Under. won for her guest appearance on the ' episode "Recall". won in 2009 for her guest role on '. received two nominations in the category for her appearances in and Damages. won the 2011 award for her role as Adele Webber in Grey's Anatomy. won for her guest performance on The Good Wife. won the award for her role as Margaret Scully on Masters of Sex. received two consecutive awards in the category for her performance in The Americans.
