Jean Smart won the Emmy Award for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series Sunday for her work on HBO Max’s “Hacks.” The victory put her in rarified air as one of two people who have won Emmys for lead actress, supporting actress and guest actress in the comedy categories.
The other? Television legend Betty White.
In 2008, Smart, 70, won the supporting actress trophy for “Samantha Who?” She also earned the Emmy for guest actress for “Frasier” in 2000 and 2001, giving her a total of four Emmys in her career.
Smart, who was also nominated for Sunday's ceremony for outstanding supporting actress in a limited or anthology series or movie, for “Mare of Easttown,” notched a sweep of the categories matched only by White.
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She took home supporting actress honors for “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” in 1975 and 1976, won lead actress for “The Golden Girls” in 1986 and snagged the guest actress title in 1996 for “The John Larroquette Show” and in 2010 for “Saturday Night Live.”
Interestingly, and perhaps appropriately, White and Smart have worked together. The two starred in the 2003 film "Bringing Down the House," which featured some other Emmy winners you may have heard of, including Steve Martin, Eugene Levy and Queen Latifah.
Smart got a standing ovation Sunday night and moved viewers and those in attendance when she thanked her late husband of 34 years, actor Richard Gilliland, who died in March at the age of 71.
“Before I say anything else, I have to acknowledge my late husband, Richard Gilliland, who passed away six months yesterday,” she said.
“I would not be here without him, without his kind of putting his career on the back burner so that I could take advantage of all the wonderful opportunities that I’ve had.”