Jean Smart Makes Emmy History with Fifth Win for 'Hacks'

Jean Smart has become the first female performer to win an Emmy for every season of a television show, taking home the Best Actress in a Comedy Series award for her role as Deborah Vance in the fifth season of Hacks.

The win, presented by Zendaya, was Smart's fifth lead comedy actress Emmy for the HBO Max series. She received a standing ovation as her name was announced.

In her acceptance speech, Smart joked about the ceremony's tradition of nominees standing for the winner. "Just the men stay standing. The girls get to sit down," she said, adding that the moment often catches female nominees off guard as they adjust their Spanx, corsets, tape and tight shoes.

She dedicated the award to Hacks creators Lucia Aniello, Jen Statsky and Paul W. Downs, saying, "It all begins and ends with them. I love you guys so much. What a ride this has been."

Before Smart, the only actor to sweep Emmys across every season of a show was Bill Cosby, who won for all three seasons of I Spy between 1966 and 1968.

Smart, now an eight-time Emmy winner, has tied Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Cloris Leachman for the most Emmy wins by an actor of any gender. Allison Janney matched that record on the same night, earning her eighth career Emmy for The Diplomat. Ed Asner follows with seven wins.

Her previous Emmys include two for guest starring in Frasier in 2000 and 2001, and one for her supporting role in Samantha Who? in 2008. She has also been nominated for The District, two seasons of 24, Harry's Law, Fargo, Watchmen and Mare of Easttown. She is widely known for playing Charlene Frazier Stillfield in CBS's Designing Women from 1986 to 1991.

Other nominees in this year's lead comedy actress category were Lisa Kudrow (The Comeback), Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary), Elle Fanning (Margo's Got Money Troubles) and Ayo Edebiri (The Bear).

Hacks concluded this year after five seasons and is among the leading contenders for Best Comedy Series.