Laura Dern won the Emmy for best supporting actress in a limited series or a television movie on Sunday night for Big Little Lies.
The actress beat out Judy Davis from Feud, Jackie Hoffman from Feud, Regina King from American Crime, Michelle Pfeiffer from The Wizard of Lies and co-star Shailene Woodley from Big Little Lies.
“I’ve been acting since I was 11 years old and I think I’ve worked with maybe 12 women,” Dern said as she accepted her award, “so thank you to the Academy for honoring our show.”
The actress thanked her fellow co-stars Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon and Woodley, saying, “I share this with my tribe of four ladies. I feel very proud to be a part of reflecting fierce women and mothers.”
Dern reflected on her first-ever Emmy win backstage, thanking Big Little Lies author Liane Moriarty for creating a number of complicated female characters.
“Thank God we’re seeing more and more women [on-screen and behind the scenes]. When I started at 11, even the makeup artist was a man. It’s changed dramatically. Revolution creates voice and voice is very exciting. It’s a beautiful time, more than ever to be female,” she said of how TV’s landscape continues to evolve.
The actress also noted she’s working with HBO on a number of shows that, too, feature complicated women — and more women behind the scenes.
As for season two of the HBO limited series, Dern said that was up to the author to determine if she feels there’s a story beyond the first season. “Season two, if we were to do it again — and that was not the intention — all the actors feel ecstatic because we love these characters, but that’s up to Liane to come up with another story.”
The Primetime Emmy Awards are being handed out at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Stephen Colbert is hosting the ceremony, airing live on CBS.
For a complete list of winners, click here. For a complete list of winners at last week’s Creative Arts Emmy Awards, click here. And for all the latest Emmy news, click here.
