When Halle Berry won the 2002 Best Actress Oscar for “Monster’s Ball” and made history as the category’s first Black honoree, she dedicated it to several actresses of color who came before her. Appropriately, she began by mentioning Dorothy Dandridge, whose nomination for “Carmen Jones” in 1955 made her the first Black woman to compete for the lead prize. Although Dandridge’s life ended before Berry’s began, the two performers have always shared a special connection. Indeed, less than two years before she won her Oscar, Berry took home an Emmy for stepping into Dandridge’s shoes in the TV movie “Introducing Dorothy Dandridge.”
The HBO movie was nominated for a total of nine Primetime Emmys and scored four craft awards in addition to Berry’s Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actress win. Having triumphed at 34, the actress currently ranks as the 10th youngest champion in her category after initially placing one spot higher. Of the eight younger women in the group, three bagged their trophies before they turned 30. Like Berry, four others also took home at least one Oscar at some point in their careers.
Since 1955, a total of 55 actresses have won Emmys for their lead roles on non-continuing programs, beginning with Judith Anderson (“Macbeth”). Including Anderson, 14 of the winners have prevailed on more than one occasion.
Scroll through our photo gallery to find out who ranks ahead of Berry on the list of 10 youngest Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actress Emmy winners.
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10. Halle Berry (‘Introducing Dorothy Dandridge,’ 2000)
Image Credit: HBO Age: 34
Role: Dorothy Dandridge
This was Berry’s first of two nominations in this category. Her second came five years later for her work in “Their Eyes Were Watching God.”
Other nominees:
Judy Davis (“A Cooler Climate”)
Sally Field (“A Cooler Climate”)
Holly Hunter (“Harlan County War”)
Gena Rowlands (“The Color of Love: Jacey’s Story”) -
9. Julie Harris (‘Little Moon of Alban,’ 1959)
Image Credit: MGM Studios Age: 33
Role: Bridgid Mary
Harris was nominated for her lead roles in five TV movies between 1956 and 1977. She bagged a bookend trophy in 1962 for playing Queen Victoria in “Victoria Regina.”
Other nominees:
Judith Anderson (“The Bridge of San Luis Rey”)
Helen Hayes (“One Red Rose for Christmas”)
Piper Laurie (“Days of Wine and Roses”)
Geraldine Page (“The Old Man”)
Maureen Stapleton (“All the King’s Men”) -
8. Kathryn Walker (‘The Adams Chronicles,’ 1976)
Image Credit: PBS Age: 33
Role: Abigail Adams
Walker’s only Emmy nomination and win came for her portrayal of First Lady Adams on the first five of this limited series’ thirteen episodes.
Other nominees:
Helen Hayes (“Hawaii Five-O”)
Sheree North (“Marcus Welby, M.D.”)
Pamela Payton-Wright (“The Adams Chronicles”)
Martha Raye (“McMillan & Wife”) -
7. Susan Clark (‘Babe,’ 1976)
Image Credit: ABC Age: 33
Role: Babe Zaharias
One year after she won for playing this Olympic athlete, Clark was nominated again for her portrayal of legendary aviator Amelia Earhart.
Other nominees:
Jane Alexander (“Eleanor and Franklin”)
Colleen Dewhurst (“A Moon for the Misbegotten”)
Sada Thompson (“The Entertainer”) -
6. Holly Hunter (‘Roe vs. Wade,’ 1989)
Image Credit: PolyGram Age: 31
Role: Ellen Russell
This was Hunter’s first of four bids in this category. She achieved a second win in 1993 for “The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom.”
Other nominees:
Anjelica Huston (“Lonesome Dove”)
Diane Lane (“Lonesome Dove”)
Amy Madigan (“Roe vs. Wade”)
Jane Seymour (“War and Remembrance”) -
5. Claire Danes (‘Temple Grandin,’ 2010)
Image Credit: HBO Age: 31
Role: Temple Grandin
After Danes experienced her first Emmy victory, she went on to nab back-to-back trophies for her work on the drama series “Homeland.”
Other nominees:
Joan Allen (“Georgia O’Keeffe”)
Hope Davis (“The Special Relationship”)
Judi Dench (“Return to Cranford”)
Maggie Smith (“Capturing Mary”) -
4. Sally Field (‘Sybil,’ 1977)
Image Credit: NBC Age: 30
Role: Sybil Dorsett
This was Field’s first Emmy nomination and win. She later garnered two more bids in this category for “A Woman of Independent Means” (1995) and “A Cooler Climate” (2000).
Other nominees:
Jane Alexander (“Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years”)
Susan Clark (“Amelia Earhart”)
Julie Harris (“The Last of Mrs. Lincoln”)
Joanne Woodward (“Sybil”) -
3. Meryl Streep (‘Holocaust,’ 1978)
Image Credit: NBC Age: 29
Role: Inga Helms Weiss
26 years after her first Emmy victory, Streep took home another award in this category for the limited series “Angels in America.” She also received a nomination for the TV movie “First Do No Harm” in 1997.
Other nominees:
Rosemary Harris (“Holocaust”)
Elizabeth Montgomery (“The Awakening Land”)
Lee Remick (“Wheels”)
Cicely Tyson (“King”) -
2. Polly Bergen (‘The Helen Morgan Story,’ 1958)
Image Credit: Universal Pictures Age: 27
Role: Helen Morgan
This was Bergen’s only nomination in this category. She was later recognized for her supporting performances in the limited series “The Winds of War” (1983) and its sequel, “War and Remembrance” (1989).
Other nominees:
Julie Andrews (“Cinderella”)
Helen Hayes (“Mrs. Gilling and the Skyscraper”)
Piper Laurie (“The Deaf Heart”)
Teresa Wright (“The Miracle Worker”) -
1. Patty Duke (‘My Sweet Charlie,’ 1970)
Image Credit: 20th Century Fox Age: 23
Role: Marlene Chambers
Duke’s four nominations in this category resulted in three wins. Her other two victories came in 1977 for “Captains and the Kings” and in 1980 for “The Miracle Worker.”
Other nominees:
Edith Evans (“David Copperfield”)
Shirley Jones (“Silent Night, Lonely Night”)
