Who was the first African American actress to win a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series? The answer is Viola Davis.
Davis made history at the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards in September 2015, winning for her performance as defense attorney and professor Annalise Keating in ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder. She became the first African American woman to win the category, which had been presented in various forms since the early years of the Emmys.
Her victory was significant both for the award and for the role’s centrality. Davis was not being honored as a guest performer or in a supporting category; she won the lead-actress prize for carrying a network drama. Her acceptance speech addressed the lack of opportunities for women of color in television and became one of the ceremony’s defining moments.
Cicely Tyson and Oprah Winfrey are accomplished Emmy winners, but neither was the first winner of this specific lead-drama category. Davis later added an Oscar, Tony Awards, and a Grammy, becoming one of the select performers to achieve EGOT status.