Jean Smart (Hacks, Designing Women, Mare of Easttown) and Allison Janney (The West Wing, Mom, I, Tonya) made Emmy history at the 78th Emmy Awards, with both actresses earning their eighth career acting Emmy. According to People, Smart and Janney now join Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld, Veep, Enough Said) and Cloris Leachman (The Last Picture Show, Young Frankenstein, The Mary Tyler Moore Show) in jointly holding the record for the most acting Emmy wins. 

Smart won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the fifth season for her role as Deborah Vance in HBO Max’s Hacks at the 78th Emmy Awards. According to Variety, Smart became the first woman to win an Emmy for every season of a television series. The actress received a standing ovation after Zendaya (Euphoria, Challengers, Spider-Man: No Way Home) announced her as the winner.

During her acceptance speech, Smart thanked Hacks creators Lucia Aniello (Broad City, Rough Night, The Baby-Sitters Club), Jen Statsky (The Good Place, Parks and Recreation, Broad City) and Paul W. Downs (Broad City, The Other Two, Rough Night), crediting the trio for the show’s success.

Smart has now won the lead comedy actress Emmy for each of the five seasons of Hacks. She is the first female performer to accomplish the feat. Bill Cosby (The Cosby Show, Leonard Part 6, The Bill Cosby Show) previously won an Emmy for each of the three seasons of I Spy between 1966 and 1968.

Janney earned her eighth Emmy for her performance as U.S. President Grace Hagen Penn in Netflix’s The Diplomat, winning Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. The victory also made Janney one of a select group of performers to win acting Emmys for four different television series. Her previous Emmy-winning roles were in The West Wing, Mom and Masters of Sex.

In addition to her five wins for Hacks, Smart previously received two Emmys for guest starring on Frasier in 2000 and 2001 and another for her supporting role in Samantha Who? in 2008. She has also received Emmy nominations for projects including The District, 24, Harry’s Law, Fargo, Watchmen and Mare of Easttown.

Smart was nominated in this year’s Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series category alongside Lisa Kudrow (Friends, The Comeback, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion), Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary, A Black Lady Sketch Show, Miracle Workers), Elle Fanning (The Great, Super 8, A Complete Unknown) and Ayo Edebiri (The Bear, Bottoms, Inside Out 2).