
Jess Walton, “The Young and the Restless” X - Gina Tognoni, “The Young and the Restless” Tognoni earned two Emmys in the Supporting Actress category for “Guiding Light,” but this was her first Emmy for her role as Phyllis Summers on “The Young and the Restless.” Image Credit: Nina Prommer/EPA/Shutterstock

Tom won for the third time in this category for her role as Katie Logan at a ceremony held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic. Heather Tom, ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ (2020).X - Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, “The Bold and the Beautiful” Melissa Claire Egan, “The Young and the Restless” Wood earned her second Emmy for her role as Steffy Forrester thanks to a powerful storyline involving her addiction to opioids. Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ (2021).Who’s your favorite winner ever? Who do you think should have won who didn’t? Smith and Susan Haskell won once apiece.Īnd even though soap operas are famous for trading actors back and forth - especially as the number of shows diminished over time - only three women won this category for different series: Susan Flannery (“Days of Our Lives” and “The Bold and the Beautiful”), Maura West (“As the World Turns” and “General Hospital”) and Eileen Davidson (“Days” and “The Young and the Restless”).

In addition to Slezak’s six wins, Judith Light won twice, and Robin Strasser, Hillary B. “OLTL” holds the record as the most awarded soap in this category with 11. One beloved star wasn’t nominated quite so many times, but she holds the record for the most Best Actress victories: Erika Slezak won six times between 19 for her role as Victoria Lord on “One Life to Live.” She became especially famous for playing Viki’s various alternate personalities. In one of the most notorious losing streaks in awards history, she was nominated 19 times before finally prevailing in 1999, and with 21 bids she’s the most nominated performer in the history of this category. Scroll down to see every winner and who they were nominated against when they prevailed.Īrguably the most famous leading lady in soap opera history, Susan Lucci, only actually won this award once for her signature role as Erica Kane on “All My Children,” though it wasn’t for a lack of trying. And those winners represent some of the most legendary women and performances of all time. Dozens of women have won the Daytime Emmy Award for Best Actress since the award was first handed out by the television academy in 1974.
