On September 14, comedic actress Jean Smart made history at the 2026 Emmys. The “Hacks” actress won her fifth consecutive Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Emmy Award. She’s taken home the trophy every season the show has aired. Before Jean, Bill Cosby was the only other actor to go undefeated for all three seasons of “I Spy” in the late 1960s.
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As Jean Smart hit the stage to accept her award, she joked, “You’re in your Spanx, and your corset, and your tape, and your shoes that are cutting your toes off, and you’re going, ‘Oh my God, she’s not that good. We just stood up because she’s old,’” she said.
Jean Smart Dedicated Her Award to the Show’s Creators
“Hacks,” which airs on HBO Max, is about a veteran Las Vegas stand-up comedian, Deborah Vance, played by Jean, and her relationship with an up-and-coming comedic writer Ava, played by Hannah Einbinder. The show takes on the side of comedy that isn’t always so funny and how show business continually punishes women for aging.
Jean Smart thanked the team of writers and producers for making an incredible role for her to play.
“This one I’m dedicating to Lucia Aniello, Jen Statsky, and Paul W. Downs,” Smart said in her speech, thanking the Hacks creators and showrunners. “It all begins and ends with them. Thank you, thank you, thank you all so much. What a ride this has been,” she said.
Fans loved seeing Jean Smart take home another well-deserved win.
“LET’S GO!!! History has been made tonight! Jean Smart with an outstanding standing ovation and Emmy win for Hacks!” A fan cheered.
“Sydney Sweeney lowkey set women back to the beginning of time, so Jean Smart had to become the first woman to win an Emmy for every
season of a show, I don’t make the rules,” some shared on X.
In addition to her historic win, Jean Smart took home her eighth total win, tying for most Emmy wins ever with Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
This story’s featured image is by Amy Sussman/Getty Images
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