Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series

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 (NATAS) and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It was first awarded at the 7thDaytime Emmy Awards 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 industry.

Originally introduced as the Outstanding Cameo Appearance in a Drama Series category, it was later renamed Outstanding Guest Star in a Drama Series in 1987, when the award was re-introduced after a brief absence. After being retired again for several decades, the category returned in 2015 under the new title of Outstanding Special Guest Performer in a Drama Series. This reintroduction, which came 28 years after its last presentation, established a stricter eligibility requirement: "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".

In 2018, the award adopted its current title, Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series. At the same time, the eligibility criteria were broadened, permitting submissions from actors "playing characters they either played before, or are newly cast," thus opening the category to both returning veterans and fresh additions to the cast. Beginning in 2026, a new eligibility criterion applies to the category: performers may not appear in more than 19% of a series' episodes released for the first time within the eligibility period.

The award was first presented to Hugh McPhillips for his role as Hugh Pearson on Days of Our Lives. Since its inception, the award has been given to twelve actors. General Hospital is the program with the most awarded actors, with five. In 2015, Donna Mills, Fred Willard, and Ray Wise made Daytime Emmy Award history by tying in the category, marking the first three-way tie in its history. In 2024, Dick Van Dyke became the oldest performer to win a Daytime Emmy Award when he won for his role as Mystery Man/Timothy Robicheaux on Days of Our Lives at 98 years old. As of the 2025 ceremony, Alley Mills is the most recent winner in this category for her role as Heather Webber on General Hospital, becoming the first performer to win the award twice.