Olivia Colman tears up during her acceptance speech as The Crown sweeps the Emmys
Academy Award-winning actress Olivia Colman added another accolade to her trophy cabinet this weekend, as she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her performance of Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix’s The Crown.
Colman became emotional during her acceptance speech as she revealed she lost her father during the COVID-19 pandemic. She described winning the award as “a lovely end to the most extraordinary journey with this lovely family”, and went on to wrap up her acceptance speech by explaining why she was tearing up, saying, “I wish my dad was here to see this… I lost my daddy during Covid, and he would have loved all of this.”
The Crown became the first drama series to win in every category it was nominated in this year (a feat Schitt’s Creek achieved last year, and Angels in America in 2004, for comedy and limited series, respectively). In addition to Colman’s win, the series was awarded Best Drama Series, Best Actor for Josh O’Connor, who played Prince Charles, Best Supporting Actress for Gillian Anderson, who played Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and Best Supporting Actor for Tobias Menzies, who played Prince Philip.
Colman is now the second actress to win the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series award for playing Queen Elizabeth II on Netflix’s The Crown, following Claire Foy’s win in the category in 2018. Netflix won a total of 44 Emmys this year – 34 in Creative Arts and 10 in Primetime, 11 of which were for The Crown, which won 7 Primetime Emmys and 4 Creative Arts Emmys.
Colman has previously been nominated for both International and Primetime Emmys for her roles in Broadchurch, The Night Manager, and Fleabag, and was previously nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for The Crown last year, but this is her first win. For her role as Queen Elizabeth II, she has also won a Golden Globe, a SAG Award, and a Satellite Award. Colman is also an Oscar winner, having received the Best Actress award for 2019’s The Favourite, in which she played Queen Anne, who ruled Great Britain and Ireland from 1702-1714.