Alex Borstein won best supporting actress in a comedy for her role as Susie Myerson on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel during the 71st annual Emmy Awards on Sunday.
She began her acceptance speech by joking about her win in the same category during the 2018 ceremony. She notably didn’t wear a bra during last year’s acceptance speech. “I know a lot of people were upset last year because I wasn’t wearing a bra, so I want to apologize because tonight I’m not wearing any underwear,” she said. “Just throw that chair out or clean it pretty good. It looks pretty on TV, but it’s like a hot bikram yoga class in here. A lot of nervous women.”
She then dedicated the award to the women behind the Amazon show. “I want to dedicate this to the strength of a woman. To Amy Sherman-Palladino. To every woman on the Maisel cast and crew,” she said.
Borstein concluded the speech by dedicating the award to her mother and grandmother. “They are immigrants. They are holocaust survivors,” the actress said. “My grandmother turned to a guard. She was in line to be shot into a pit and she said, ‘What happens if I step out of line?’ And he said, ‘I don’t have the heart to shoot you, but somebody will.’ And she stepped out of line. And for that I am here and for that my children are here, so step out of line, ladies.”
The actress was up against Sarah Goldberg, Olivia Colman, Kate McKinnon, Sian Clifford, Betty Gilpin, Marin Hinkle and Anna Chlumsky for the award.
Borstein continued to talk about her grandmother backstage after she accepted the award. “My grandmother is the strongest woman I knew. She was an amazing person and an amazing story,” she said. “These women have always run the roost and I come from a long line of bulldozers and I’m proud.”
“My grandmother used to say why don’t you make your own show,” she continued. “My mother and my grandmother always said be an actress and my grandfather said go to college and have something to fall back on, so I took all their advice.”
The 2019 Emmy Awards took place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The hostless show aired on Fox.
