In 2023 – 16 years after earning her first Best Comedy Guest Actress Emmy nomination for “Ugly Betty” – Judith Light achieved that honor for her work in an episode of “Poker Face.” Among her challengers was Becky Ann Baker (“Ted Lasso”), who, as a former nominee for “Girls,” joined her in entering the category’s club of contenders for multiple series. Scroll through our photo gallery to find out who else belongs to this special group.
Including Light, 12 of the 26 actresses on this roster triumphed on at least one of their outings. The three who won for two shows each are Tracey Ullman (“Love & War”; “Ally McBeal”), Cloris Leachman (“The Mary Tyler Moore Show”; “Malcolm in the Middle”), and Betty White (“The John Larroquette Show”; “Saturday Night Live”).
Although the Best Comedy Guest Actress award has only been bestowed on an annual basis since 1993, qualifying contenders from previous years (as early as 1975) are factored in here. The specific program represented by each performer’s photo is indicated in italics.
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Nancy Walker
Image Credit: CBS “Rhoda” (1977)
“The Golden Girls” (1987)Results:
1977 – lost to Olivia Cole, “Roots”
1987 – lost to John Cleese, “Cheers” -
Eileen Heckart
Image Credit: CBS “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (1976-1977)
“The Cosby Show” (1988)
“Love & War” (1994)Results:
1976 – lost to Fionnula Flanagan, “Rich Man, Poor Man”
1977 – lost to Olivia Cole, “Roots”
1988 – lost to Beah Richards, “Frank’s Place”
1994 – won -
Shelley Long
Image Credit: NBC “Cheers” (1993)
“Frasier” (1996)Results:
1993 – lost to Tracey Ullman, “Love & War”
1996 – lost to Betty White, “The John Larroquette Show” -
Carol Burnett
Image Credit: HBO “The Larry Sanders Show” (1993)
“Mad About You” (1997-1998)Results:
1993 – lost to Tracey Ullman, “Love & War”
1997 – won
1998 – lost to Emma Thompson, “Ellen” -
Betty White
Image Credit: NBC “The John Larroquette Show” (1996)
“Suddenly Susan” (1997)
“Yes, Dear” (2003)
“My Name Is Earl” (2009)
“Saturday Night Live” (2010)Results:
1996; 2010 – won
1997 – lost to Carol Burnett, “Mad About You”
2003 – lost to Christina Applegate, “Friends”
2009 – lost to Tina Fey, “Saturday Night Live” -
Tracey Ullman
Image Credit: CBS “Love & War” (1993)
“Ally McBeal” (1999)Results:
1993; 1999 – won -
Cloris Leachman
Image Credit: Fox “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (1975)
“Malcolm in the Middle” (2001-2006)
“Raising Hope” (2011)Results:
1975; 2002; 2006 – won
2001 – lost to Jean Smart, “Frasier”
2003 – lost to Christina Applegate, “Friends”
2004 – lost to Laura Linney, “Frasier”
2005 – lost to Kathryn Joosten, “Desperate Housewives”
2011 – lost to Gwyneth Paltrow, “Glee” -
Susan Sarandon
Image Credit: NBC “Friends” (2001)
“Malcolm in the Middle” (2002)Results:
2001 – lost to Jean Smart, “Frasier”
2002 – lost to Cloris Leachman, “Malcolm in the Middle” -
Frances Sternhagen
Image Credit: HBO “Cheers” (1991)
“Sex and the City” (2002)Results:
1991 – lost to Colleen Dewhurst, “Murphy Brown”
2002 – lost to Cloris Leachman, “Malcolm in the Middle” -
Eileen Brennan
Image Credit: NBC “Newhart” (1989)
“Will & Grace” (2004)Results:
1989 – lost to Colleen Dewhurst, “Murphy Brown”
2004 – lost to Laura Linney, “Frasier” -
Laurie Metcalf
Image Credit: CBS “3rd Rock from the Sun” (1999)
“Monk” (2006)
“Desperate Housewives” (2007)
“The Big Bang Theory” (2016)
“Hacks” (2022)Results:
1999 – lost to Tracey Ullman, “Ally McBeal”
2006 – lost to Cloris Leachman, “Malcolm in the Middle”
2007 – lost to Elaine Stritch, “30 Rock”
2016 – lost to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, “Saturday Night Live”
2022 – won -
Christine Baranski
Image Credit: CBS “Frasier” (1999)
“The Big Bang Theory” (2009-2010; 2015-2016)Results:
1999 – lost to Tracey Ullman, “Ally McBeal”
2009 – lost to Tina Fey, “Saturday Night Live”
2010 – lost to Betty White, “Saturday Night Live”
2015 – lost to Joan Cusack, “Shameless”
2016 – lost to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, “Saturday Night Live” -
Kathy Bates
Image Credit: CBS “3rd Rock from the Sun” (1999)
“Two and a Half Men” (2012)Results:
1999 – lost to Tracey Ullman, “Ally McBeal”
2012 – won -
Elizabeth Banks
Image Credit: Ali Goldstein/NBC “30 Rock” (2011-2012)
“Modern Family” (2015)Results:
2011 – lost to Gwyneth Paltrow, “Glee”
2012 – lost to Kathy Bates, “Two and a Half Men”
2015 – lost to Joan Cusack, “Shameless” -
Tina Fey
Image Credit: NBC “Saturday Night Live” (2009-2011; 2014; 2016; 2018)
“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” (2015)Results:
2009; 2016 – won
2010 – lost to Betty White, “Saturday Night Live”
2011 – lost to Gwyneth Paltrow, “Glee”
2014 – lost to Uzo Aduba, “Orange is the New Black”
2015 – lost to Joan Cusack, “Shameless”
2018 – lost to Tiffany Haddish, “Saturday Night Live” -
Carrie Fisher
Image Credit: Channel 4 “30 Rock” (2008)
“Catastrophe” (2017)Results:
2008 – lost to Kathryn Joosten, “Desperate Housewives”
2017 – lost to Melissa McCarthy, “Saturday Night Live” -
Jane Lynch
Image Credit: Prime Video “Two and a Half Men” (2010)
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (2018-2019)
“Only Murders in the Building” (2022)Results:
2010 – lost to Betty White, “Saturday Night Live”
2018 – lost to Tiffany Haddish, “Saturday Night Live”
2019 – won
2022 – lost to Laurie Metcalf, “Hacks” -
Maya Rudolph
Image Credit: NBC “Saturday Night Live” (2012; 2020-2021)
“The Good Place” (2018-2020)Results:
2012 – lost to Kathy Bates, “Two and a Half Men”
2018 – lost to Tiffany Haddish, “Saturday Night Live”
2019 – lost to Jane Lynch, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
2020 – won for “Saturday Night Live”
2021 – won -
Molly Shannon
Image Credit: Lacey Terrell/HBO “Enlightened” (2013)
“Will & Grace” (2018)Results:
2013 – lost to Melissa Leo, “Louie”
2018 – lost to Tiffany Haddish, “Saturday Night Live” -
Emma Thompson
Image Credit: NBC “Ellen” (1998)
“Saturday Night Live” (2019)Results:
1998 – won
2019 – lost to Jane Lynch, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” -
Angela Bassett
Image Credit: HBO “Master of None” (2017)
“A Black Lady Sketch Show” (2020)Results:
2017 – lost to Melissa McCarthy, “Saturday Night Live”
2020 – lost to Maya Rudolph, “Saturday Night Live” -
Bette Midler
Image Credit: Nicole Rivelli/Netflix “Murphy Brown” (1998)
“The Politician” (2020)Results:
1998 – lost to Emma Thompson, “Ellen”
2020 – lost to Maya Rudolph, “Saturday Night Live” -
Wanda Sykes
Image Credit: Prime Video “Black-ish” (2017-2018)
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (2020)Results:
2017 – lost to Melissa McCarthy, “Saturday Night Live”
2018 – lost to Tiffany Haddish, “Saturday Night Live”
2020 – lost to Maya Rudolph, “Saturday Night Live” -
Bernadette Peters
Image Credit: Fox “Ally McBeal” (2001)
“Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” (2021)Results:
2001 – lost to Jean Smart, “Frasier”
2021 – lost to Maya Rudolph, “Saturday Night Live” -
Becky Ann Baker
Image Credit: HBO “Girls” (2017)
“Ted Lasso” (2023)Results:
2017 – lost to Melissa McCarthy, “Saturday Night Live”
2023 – lost to Judith Light, “Poker Face” -
Judith Light
Image Credit: Peacock “Ugly Betty” (2007)
“Poker Face” (2023)Results:
2007 – lost to Elaine Stritch, “30 Rock”
2023 – won