The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Performer 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 the

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 was first awarded at the 7th

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 (N ...

in 1980, and is given to honor an actor/actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a guest 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. Originally referred to as the Outstanding Cameo Appearance in a Drama Series category, it was changed to Outstanding Guest Star in a Drama Series in 1987, when the category was re-introduced. It was re-introduced in 2015, when the category was called Outstanding Special Guest Performer in a Drama Series and marked its return after 28 years. It included a criterion that "the performer's character must have premiered in the current eligibility (calendar) year, and have made a limited number of appearances in a significant role". The category then began using its current title in 2018. The eligibility criteria also was modified, permitting actors who "are playing characters they either played before, or are newly cast" as able to submit in the category. The Emmy was named after an "Immy", an affectionate term used to refer to the image orthicon camera tube. The statuette was designed by

Louis McManus Louis Manuel McManus (May 31, 1898 – April 17, 1968) was an American television engineer, film editor, and designer of the 1930s and 1940s. He is best known as the designer for the appearance of the Emmy award The Emmy Awards, or Emmy ...

, who modeled the award after his wife, Dorothy. The Emmy statuette is fifteen inches tall from base to tip, weighing five pounds and is composed of iron, pewter, zinc and gold. The award was first presented to Hugh McPhillips, for his role as Hugh Pearson on ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

''. Since its inception, the award has been given to twelve actors. ''

The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''The Yo ...

'' is the show with the most awarded actors, with a total of four. In 2015, Donna Mills,

Fred Willard Frederic Charles Willard (September 18, 1933 May 15, 2020) was an American actor, comedian, and writer. He was best known for his roles in the Rob Reiner mockumentary film ''This Is Spinal Tap'' (1984); the Christopher Guest mockumentaries ''Wa ...

, and

Ray Wise Raymond Herbert Wise (born August 20, 1947) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Leland Palmer in ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, 2017) and its prequel film '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992), Vice President Hal Gardner i ...

made Daytime Emmy Award history when they tied in the category. As of the 2022 ceremony, Ted King is the most recent winner in this category for his role as Jack Finnegan on ''The Bold and the Beautiful''.

Winners and nominees

Listed below are the winners of the award for each year, as well as the other nominees. John Wesley Shipp 2016

1980s

2010s

2020s

Series with most awards

Network with most awards

References

External links

Daytime Emmy Awards
at the

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Special Guest Performer Daytime Emmy Awards