Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series

The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series is an award that is presented annually by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a guest starring role on a television drama series for the primetime network season.

The award was first presented at the 27th Primetime Emmy Awards on May 19, 1975, to Zohra Lampert, for her performance on Kojak, and to Cloris Leachman, for her role on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. It has undergone several name changes, originally honoring single leading and supporting appearances in drama and comedy series through 1978. The award was re-introduced at the 38th Primetime Emmy Awards under the name Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series, honoring actors and actresses in guest starring roles on television drama series. In 1989, the category was split into categories for each gender, resulting in the name change to its current title.

Since its inception, the award has been given to 35 actresses. Patricia Clarkson, Cherry Jones, Shirley Knight, Margo Martindale, Amanda Plummer, and Alfre Woodard have won the most awards in this category, with two each. Cicely Tyson has been nominated for the award on five occasions, the most in the category. Meanwhile, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit holds the most awardees, with 5 winners coming from the show.

Winners and nominations
Listed below are the winners of the award for each year, as well as the other nominees.



Performers with multiple wins

 * 2 wins
 * Patricia Clarkson
 * Cherry Jones (consecutive)
 * Shirley Knight
 * Margo Martindale (consecutive)
 * Amanda Plummer
 * Alfre Woodard

Programs with multiple wins

 * 5 wins
 * Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (4 consecutive)


 * 3 awards
 * The Handmaid's Tale (consecutive)
 * The Practice (2 consecutive)


 * 2 wins
 * The Americans (consecutive)
 * The Good Wife (consecutive)
 * NYPD Blue
 * Six Feet Under

Performers with multiple nominations

 * 5 nominations
 * Cicely Tyson


 * 4 nominations
 * Cherry Jones
 * Shirley Knight
 * Margo Martindale
 * Diana Rigg
 * Alfre Woodard


 * 3 nominations
 * Alexis Bledel
 * Ellen Burstyn
 * Kate Burton
 * Veronica Cartwright
 * Laverne Cox
 * Joan Cusack
 * Penny Fuller
 * Marcia Gay Harden
 * Allison Janney
 * Swoosie Kurtz
 * Cloris Leachman
 * Kay Lenz
 * Marlee Matlin
 * Phylicia Rashad
 * Jean Smart
 * Harriet Walter


 * 2 nominations
 * Kathy Baker
 * Patricia Clarkson
 * Colleen Dewhurst
 * Loretta Devine
 * Patty Duke
 * Sally Field
 * Louise Fletcher
 * Jane Fonda
 * Claire Foy
 * Eileen Heckart
 * Diane Ladd
 * Mary McDonnell
 * Jayne Meadows
 * Martha Plimpton
 * Amanda Plummer
 * CCH Pounder
 * Carrie Preston
 * Lili Taylor
 * Lily Tomlin

Programs with multiple nominations

 * 14 nominations
 * Law & Order: Special Victims Unit


 * 9 nominations
 * Grey's Anatomy


 * 8 nominations
 * ER
 * The Handmaid's Tale
 * Succession


 * 6 nominations
 * Six Feet Under
 * St. Elsewhere


 * 5 nominations
 * The Americans
 * Game of Thrones
 * How to Get Away with Murder
 * The Practice
 * Road to Avonlea


 * 4 nominations
 * Homicide: Life on the Street
 * House of Cards
 * Law & Order
 * Mad Men
 * NYPD Blue
 * Touched by an Angel
 * The X-Files


 * 3 nominations
 * Big Love
 * China Beach
 * The Good Wife
 * The Last of Us
 * Masters of Sex
 * Mr. & Mrs. Smith
 * Orange Is the New Black
 * Scandal
 * Shameless
 * thirtysomething
 * This Is Us


 * 2 nominations
 * Cagney & Lacey
 * Chicago Hope
 * The Crown
 * Fallen Angels
 * Huff
 * Joan of Arcadia
 * L.A. Law
 * Midnight Caller
 * Moonlighting
 * The Morning Show
 * The Newsroom
 * Nip/Tuck
 * Picket Fences