From 2007 to 2010, the Best Drama Guest Actress Emmy category was dominated by women who made single-episode appearances on the same series: “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” The four-year streak set a record between both female guest categories that still stands a decade later. While three of these actresses were over the age of 68, one – Cynthia Nixon – was just 42.
Nixon earned her prize for her performance in the show’s ninth season premiere episode, “Alternate.” She portrayed a woman with Dissociative Identity Disorder whose apprehension on suspicion of child endangerment leads to the uncovering of a complex web of family trauma. At the time of her victory in 2008, Nixon was the seventh youngest winner in her category, and she now ranks 10th.
Since 1963, a total of 35 actresses have won for their roles as guest performers on continuing drama programs, beginning with Glenda Farrell and Kim Stanley, who both won for their appearances on “Ben Casey.” Six of these winners have pulled off more than one victory. The honor has been bestowed on an annual basis since 1993 and was awarded occasionally before then.
Scroll through our photo gallery to find out who ranks ahead of Nixon on the list of 10 youngest Best Drama Guest Actress Emmy winners.
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10. Cynthia Nixon (‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,’ 2008)
Image Credit: NBC Age: 42
Role: Janis Donovan
This was Nixon’s second Emmy victory after her work on “Sex and the City” brought her a supporting trophy in 2004.
Other nominees:
Ellen Burstyn (“Big Love”)
Diahann Carroll (“Grey’s Anatomy”)
Sharon Gless (“Nip/Tuck”)
Anjelica Huston (“Medium”) -
9. Martha Plimpton (‘The Good Wife,’ 2012)
Image Credit: David M. Russell/CBS Age: 41
Role: Patti Nyholm
Plimpton won this award after being recognized a decade earlier for an appearance on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”
Other nominees:
Joan Cusack (“Shameless”)
Loretta Devine (“Grey’s Anatomy”)
Julia Ormond (“Mad Men”)
Jean Smart (“Harry’s Law”)
Uma Thurman (“Smash”) -
8. Amanda Plummer (‘The Outer Limits,’ 1996)
Image Credit: Fred Cray Age: 39
Role: Dr. Theresa Givens
This was Plummer’s second of three Emmy wins and first of two in this category. Her bookend prize came in 2005 for her work on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”
Other nominees:
Louise Fletcher (“Picket Fences”)
Penny Fuller (“ER”)
Carol Kane (“Chicago Hope”)
Maureen Stapleton (“Road to Avonlea”)
Lily Tomlin (“Homicide: Life on the Street”) -
7. Mariette Hartley (‘The Incredible Hulk,’ 1979)
Image Credit: CBS Age: 39
Role: Caroline Fields
Prior to 1993, several Emmys ceremonies saw guest performers and series leads competing directly against each other, as was the case here. Hartley was involved in a similar situation one year later when she was recognized for a one-episode appearance on “The Rockford Files.”
Other nominees:
Barbara Bel Geddes (“Dallas”)
Rita Moreno (“The Rockford Files”)
Sada Thompson (“Family”) -
6. Kim Stanley (‘Ben Casey,’ 1963)
Image Credit: Columbia Pictures Age: 38
Role: Faith Parsons
Stanley and her 58-year-old castmate, Glenda Farrell, jointly made history as the first actresses to win Emmys for single appearances on continuing series.
Other nominees:
Diahann Carroll (“Naked City”)
Diana Hyland (“The Voice of Charlie Pont”)
Eleanor Parker (“The Eleventh Hour”)
Sylvia Sidney (“The Defenders”) -
5. Claire Foy (‘The Crown,’ 2021)
Image Credit: Netflix Age: 37
Role: Queen Elizabeth II
Foy starred on the first two seasons of this drama series focused on the Queen of England’s life and won the lead prize in 2018. This victory came for a fourth season appearance that consisted of a single flashback scene.
Other nominees:
Alexis Bledel (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Mckenna Grace (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Sophie Okonedo (“Ratched”)
Phylicia Rashad (“This Is Us”) -
4. Kay Lenz (‘Midnight Caller,’ 1989)
Image Credit: MGM Studios Age: 36
Role: Tina Cassidy
This was Lenz’s first of two consecutive nominations for this series which featured her in a three-episode role.
Other nominees:
Shirley Knight (“The Equalizer”)
Jean Simmons (“Murder, She Wrote”)
Maureen Stapleton (“B.L. Stryker”)
Chloe Webb (“China Beach”)
Teresa Wright (“Dolphin Cove”) -
3. Alexis Bledel (‘The Handmaid’s Tale,’ 2017)
Image Credit: Hulu Age: 36
Role: Emily Malek
Bledel followed this win with a supporting nomination in 2018 and two more guest bids in 2020 and 2021.
Other nominees:
Laverne Cox (“Orange is the New Black”)
Ann Dowd (“The Leftovers”)
Shannon Purser (“Stranger Things”)
Cicely Tyson (“How to Get Away with Murder”)
Alison Wright (“The Americans”) -
2. Alfre Woodard (‘L. A. Law,’ 1987)
Image Credit: Universal Pictures Age: 34
Role: Adrianne Moore
Woodard won this award again in 2003 for an appearance on “The Practice.” She has also earned trophies for her supporting turn on “Hill Street Blues” (1984) and her lead performance in the telefilm “Miss Evers’ Boys” (1997).
Other nominees:
Steve Allen (“St. Elsewhere”)
Jeanne Cooper (“L. A. Law”)
Edward Herrmann (“St. Elsewhere”)
Jayne Meadows (“St. Elsewhere”) -
1. Samira Wiley (‘The Handmaid’s Tale,’ 2018)
Image Credit: Hulu Age: 31
Role: Moira Strand
This was Wiley’s second of four nominations for this role. She earned the other three as a supporting cast member.
Other nominees:
Viola Davis (“Scandal”)
Kelly Jenrette (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Cherry Jones (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Diana Rigg (“Game of Thrones”)
Cicely Tyson (“How to Get Away with Murder”)
