Zendaya makes history at the 2020 Emmys as she scoops award for Best Actress

The actor beat acting heavyweights Olivia Colman, Jennifer Aniston and Laura Linney to win the award for Best Actress in a Drama Series
Kimberley Bond21 September 2020
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Zendaya has become the youngest person to ever win an Emmy for Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

The 24-year-old won the award for her portrayal of recovering teenage drug addict Rue Bennett in American drama series Euphoria.

It was a surprising win for the star, who beat A-List favourites Jennifer Aniston and Olivia Colman to the gong.

Zendaya could not hide her delight at the win, fighting back tears while clutching the Emmy surrounded by her jubilant family.

Emmy Awards 2020: Best Moments - In pictures

1/27

She paid tribute to the other actresses in her category, before issuing a statement of support to those who may be dejected in the current climate.

“There is hope in the young people out there,” Zendaya said, before addressing protesters who are still marching through the streets across America.

She said: “I see you, I admire you, I thank you.”

Production on season two of Euphoria is under way.

Elsewhere, Succession was the big winner at the 72nd annual Emmy Awards, which saw stars accept their awards via video link, as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic meant that celebrities could not attend the awards show as normal.

Zendaya has won huge critical praise for her role in Euphoria 

After winning Best Drama Series, Succession creator Jesse Armstrong said “it was such a nice moment and it’s very sad not to be with the cast and some of the crew”.

Armstrong’s speech was interrupted by a phone ringing. He then listed a number of “un-thank yous” and targeted Donald Trump and Boris Johnson for their respective responses to the coronavirus pandemic.

Elsewhere, Schitt’s Creek became the first comedy series to win every single acting award in one sweep, while Watchmen, which received 26 nominations in total, won Best Limited Series.

See the full list of winners here.

Additional reporting from PA

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in