Over the course of its 11-year run, NBC’s “Frasier” amassed a total of 37 Primetime Emmys from 107 nominations. In 2004, it received six awards for its final season, including acting trophies for leading man Kelsey Grammer, supporting player David Hyde Pierce, and guest performer Laura Linney. Linney, who appeared in five of the series’ final six episodes, was honored for playing Charlotte Novak, the last of the title character’s many love interests.
At 40, Linney triumphed over the previous year’s Best Comedy Guest Actress champion, 32-year-old Christina Applegate (“Friends”). The rest of her competitors ranged in age from 56 to 78. Today, she stands as the category’s 10th youngest winner after initially entering the ranking at sixth place.
Since 1975, a total of 30 actresses have won Emmys for their roles as guest performers on continuing comedy programs, beginning with Cloris Leachman, who bagged two awards in the same year for turns on “Cher” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” Including Leachman, eight of the winners have triumphed more than once. The honor has been bestowed on an annual basis since 1993 and was occasionally awarded before then.
Check out our photo gallery to find out who ranks ahead of Linney on the list of 10 youngest Best Comedy Guest Actress Emmy winners. This list also factors in winners of the now-retired variety performance awards, since guests on continuing variety series now compete here.
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10. Laura Linney (‘Frasier,’ 2004)
Image Credit: NBC Age: 40
Role: Charlotte Novak
This was Linney’s second of four Emmy victories. Her other three wins came in the Best Movie/Limited Actress category for her work in “Wild Iris” (2002), “John Adams” (2008), and “The Big C: Hereafter” (2013).
Other nominees:
Christina Applegate (“Friends”)
Eileen Brennan (“Will & Grace”)
Georgia Engel (“Everybody Loves Raymond”)
Cloris Leachman (“Malcolm in the Middle”) -
9. Emma Thompson (‘Ellen,’ 1998)
Image Credit: NBC Age: 39
Role: Herself
Thompson earned her first Emmy nomination for appearing on this series’ final season. 21 years later, she was recognized here a second time for hosting “Saturday Night Live.”
Other nominees:
Carol Burnett (“Mad About You”)
Jan Hooks (“3rd Rock from the Sun”)
Patti LuPone (“Frasier”)
Bette Midler (“Murphy Brown”) -
8. Tina Fey (‘Saturday Night Live,’ 2009)
Image Credit: NBC Age: 39
Role: Sarah Palin
Fey has earned seven nominations for appearing on “Saturday Night Live” since ending her six-year tenure as regular cast member in 2006. She won again in 2016 alongside Amy Poehler, with whom she cohosted a Season 41 episode.
Other nominees:
Jennifer Aniston (“30 Rock”)
Christine Baranski (“The Big Bang Theory”)
Gena Rowlands (“Monk”)
Elaine Stritch (“30 Rock”)
Betty White (“My Name Is Earl”) -
7. Gwyneth Paltrow (‘Glee,’ 2011)
Image Credit: Fox Age: 38
Role: Holly Holliday
Paltrow was honored for her three-episode appearance on this show’s second season and returned for a two-episode arc three years later.
Other nominees:
Elizabeth Banks (“30 Rock”)
Kristin Chenoweth (“Glee”)
Tina Fey (“Saturday Night Live”)
Dot-Marie Jones (“Glee”)
Cloris Leachman (“Raising Hope”) -
6. Tiffany Haddish (‘Saturday Night Live,’ 2018)
Image Credit: Warner Media Age: 38
Role: Various
This was Haddish’s first Emmy nomination. She was also recognized two years later for producing her own stand-up special, “Black Mitzvah.”
Other nominees:
Tina Fey (“Saturday Night Live”)
Jane Lynch (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Maya Rudolph (“The Good Place”)
Molly Shannon (“Will & Grace”)
Wanda Sykes (“Black-ish”) -
5. Tracey Ullman (‘Love & War,’ 1993)
Image Credit: Lantern Entertainment Age: 33
Role: Dava Levine
Ullman has won twice in this category from as many nominations. Her second victory came in 1999 for “Ally McBeal.”
Other nominees:
Carol Burnett (“The Larry Sanders Show”)
Ruby Dee (“Evening Shade”)
Shelley Long (“Cheers”)
Gwen Verdon (“Dream On”) -
4. Uzo Aduba (‘Orange is the New Black,’ 2014)
Image Credit: Jill Greenberg/Netflix Age: 33
Role: Suzanne Warren
One year after this win, Aduba took home a Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series award for the same series, and then earned a second nomination in that category in 2017.
Other nominees:
Laverne Cox (“Orange is the New Black”)
Joan Cusack (“Shameless”)
Tina Fey (“Saturday Night Live”)
Natasha Lyonne (“Orange is the New Black”)
Melissa McCarthy (“Saturday Night Live”) -
3. Sally Struthers (‘All in the Family,’ 1979)
Image Credit: CBS Age: 32
Role: Gloria Stivic
Struthers won her second Emmy for playing this role one year after she stepped down as a series regular. In 1972, she tied for the supporting honor with Valerie Harper (“The Mary Tyler Moore Show”).
Other nominees:
Polly Holliday (“Alice”)
Marion Ross (“Happy Days”)
Loretta Swit (“M*A*S*H”) -
2. Christina Applegate (‘Friends,’ 2003)
Image Credit: NBC Age: 31
Role: Amy Green
Applegate’s first two Emmy nominations came for playing one of the two younger sisters of regular character Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston).
Other nominees:
Georgia Engel (“Everybody Loves Raymond”)
Betty Garrett (“Becker”)
Cloris Leachman (“Malcolm in the Middle”)
Betty White (“Yes, Dear”) -
1. Carol Kane (‘Taxi,’ 1982)
Image Credit: Columbia Pictures Age: 30
Role: Simka Dahblitz
Kane bagged two consecutive trophies for this series, the second of which she earned after she was reclassified as a supporting player. This was a year when guest and lead performers competed against each other directly.
Other nominees:
Nell Carter (“Gimme a Break!”)
Bonnie Franklin (“One Day at a Time”)
Swoosie Kurtz (“Love, Sidney”)
Charlotte Rae (“The Facts of Life”)
Isabel Sanford (“The Jeffersons”)
