Euphoria star Zendaya becomes the youngest two-time Emmy winner for lead actor in a drama series

At 26, Zendaya has become the youngest lead actor in a drama series and the first Black woman to win two Emmy awards in the same category.

She became the youngest Emmy winner in 2020 for her performance in popular teen-show Euphoria and bagged it for the same show this time around as well. According to Variety, she thanked the cast and crew of of the series and those who have shared with her their stories of addiction in her speech.

“My greatest wish for Euphoria was that it could help heal people, and I just want to say thank you to everyone who shared their story with me,” she said. “I want you to know that anyone who has loved a Rue or feels like you are a Rue, I’m so grateful for your stories and I carry them with me and carry them with her. Thank you so much.”

Along with Zendaya, the list of nominees for the award included renowned actors such as Jodie Comer (Killing Eve), Laura Linney (Ozark), Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets), Sandra Oh (Killing Eve) and Reese Witherspoon (The Morning Show).

She plays Rue in the show, a character who struggles with a drug addiction. It returned for a second season this year after its debut in 2019. Euphoria is a binge-worthy high school drama that follows a group of students as they struggle with drugs, love, social media and money as they come of age while trying to establish their identity. The cast also includes Hunter Schafer, Jacob Elordi, Alexa Demie, Sydney Sweeney, Barbie Ferreira, Nika King, Eric Dane, Algee Smith, Angus Cloud and musician Dominic Fike.

The series scored a season three renewal in February after the successful season. The season two premiere episode on Jan 9 raked in 14 million total viewers across HBO and HBO Max at the time and viewership doubled compared to season one.

Zendaya’s appearance at this year’s awards show set a record for the youngest star to receive an Emmy nomination for producing.