The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series is an award presented annually by the

National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, edu ...

(NATAS) and

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...

(ATAS). It is given to honor an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a

leading In typography, leading ( ) is the space between adjacent lines of type; the exact definition varies. In hand typesetting, leading is the thin strips of lead (or aluminium) that were inserted between lines of type in the composing stick to incre ...

role while working within the

daytime drama A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored b ...

industry. The 1st

Daytime Emmy Awards The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

ceremony was held in 1974, with

Elizabeth Hubbard Elizabeth Hubbard is an American actress perhaps best known for her role as Dr. Althea Davis on '' The Doctors'' (1964–69, 1970–77, 1981–82), and as powerful businesswoman Lucinda Walsh on ''As the World Turns'' (1984-2010). She also pla ...

receiving the award for her role as Althea Davis on '' The Doctors''. The award has undergone several name changes, originally honoring actresses in leading and supporting roles. Following the introduction of a new category in 1979,

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. In early Primetime Emmy Award ceremonies, the supporting categories were not always genre-, or even gender-, specific. Begin ...

, the award's name was altered to Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series, before changing once again, to its current title, years later. The awards ceremony was not aired on television in 1983 and 1984, having been criticized for voting integrity. In 1985, another category was introduced: Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series; one criterion for this category was altered, requiring all actresses to be aged 26 or above. Since its inception, the award has been given to 28 actresses. ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

'' is the show with the most awarded actresses, with a total of eleven. In 1995,

Erika Slezak Erika Alma Hermina Slezak (; born August 5, 1946) is an American actress, best known for her role as Victoria "Viki" Lord on the American daytime soap opera ''One Life to Live'' from 1971 through the television finale in 2012 and again in the ...

became the actress with the most wins in the category, when she won a fourth time, surpassing

Helen Gallagher Helen Gallagher (born July 19, 1926) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. She is the recipient of three Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and a Drama Desk Award. Early years Born in Brooklyn, she was raised in Scarsdale, New York, and the ...

's previous record of three. Slezak went on to win in two additional years, ultimately receiving six wins. Susan Flannery and

Kim Zimmer Kimberly Jo Zimmer (born February 2, 1955) is an American actress, best known for her role as Reva Shayne on the CBS soap opera ''Guiding Light''. For this portrayal, she has won four Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama ...

have since received four wins each.

Susan Lucci Susan Victoria Lucci (born December 23, 1946) is an American actress, television host, author and entrepreneur, best known for portraying Erica Kane on the ABC daytime drama ''All My Children'' during that show's entire network run from 1970 ...

has been nominated on 21 occasions, more than any other actress. As of the 2022 ceremony,

Mishael Morgan Marie-Charms Mishael Morgan (born July 15, 1986) known professionally as Mishael Morgan, is a Trinidadian-Canadian actress known for the roles of Hilary Curtis and Amanda Sinclair on CBS Daytime soap opera, ''The Young and the Restless'', the lat ...

is the most recent winner in this category, for her portrayal of Amanda Sinclair on ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wi ...

''. She made Daytime Emmy history with the win, becoming the first-ever black actress to have garnered the award and the second black woman to have been nominated in this category, after

Debbi Morgan Deborah Ann Morgan (born September 20, 1956) is an American film and television actress. She played the role of Angie Baxter–Hubbard on the ABC soap opera ''All My Children'' for which she was the first African-American to win the Daytime Emm ...

became the first with her nomination in 2009.

Winners and nominees

Crystal Chappell 2010 Daytime Emmy Awards

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Multiple wins and nominations

The following individuals received two or more wins in this category: Susan Lucci Heart Truth 2009

The following individuals received two or more nominations in this category:

Series with most awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Daytime Emmy Award For Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series Awards established in 1974 1974 establishments in the United States Daytime Emmy Awards

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...