Rebecca Schriesheim September 21st, 2020 - 11:42 AM
The Actress Zendaya (Spider-Man: Homecoming) made history last night. At the 2020 Emmy Awards on Sunday, she won Best Actress in a Drama Series for her performance as Rue in Euphoria, making her the youngest recipient in the category of the prestigious award at 24-years-old via Deadline.
The Emmy Awards ceremony is television’s biggest night, celebrating everyone from makeup artists to directors to actors. Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel (Jimmy Kimmel Live!), the show aired in a virtual format due to the coronavirus pandemic. Nominees face-timed in when their categories were being announced, with the majority of winners giving speeches from their living room couches.
Zendaya was surrounded by family and friends when her win for Best Actress was announced. The room erupted into applause as she gave a quick and heartfelt speech accepting the award, tearing up at points. She was up against several renowned actresses, and her win came as a surprise. Her fellow nominees were Laura Linney, (Ozark), Sandra Oh (Killing Eve), Jennifer Aniston (The Morning Show), Olivia Coleman (The Crown) and last year’s winner, Jodie Comer (Killing Eve).
Zendaya portrays Rue in HBO’s teen drama series Euphoria. A drug addict recently out of rehab, Rue spirals in and out of control as she struggles to balance school, young love, and staying sober. Rue is based on Sam Levinson (Assassination Nation), the creator of Euphoria who had a hectic and drug fueled life as a teenager. Zendaya was praised for her nuanced portrayal of the 16 year old high schooler, functioning as the narrator of the show while also going on a journey of self discovery.
After accepting the award, she gave a virtual post win interview about what the achievement meant to her. In a quote picked up by Deadline, Zendaya described the moment she gave her speech, “I don’t usually cry..I got through it without letting it take over completely. It was obviously a very emotional moment and I still can’t believe it myself — it’s pretty crazy.”
In another statement picked up by Deadline, Zendaya said, “For me, I’ve always been very grateful for all the people who connect to Rue or feel that, through the show, they are able to attach words or find themselves within a scene or a moment where they otherwise felt alone… To have that feeling that there are people that feel what [Rue] feels is huge and very important…she’s very important to me.”
Euphoria took home a total of three Emmys, the other two being Outstanding Contemporary Makeup, and Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for “All for Us”, a song Zendaya sang in the season one finale.
Taking to Instagram Monday, Zendaya shared a photo of her posing with her golden Emmy Award. See the post below:
View this post on Instagram
Still don’t really have any words….feeling so much love right now, thank you.
