It’s official: there is a new comedy queen in Hollywood.
Fleabag star Phoebe Waller-Bridge pulled off an upset at the 2019 Emmy Awards on Sunday night, beating Veep’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus to win in the Lead Actress in a Comedy Series category.
Nominated for her much-celebrated turn as Selina Meyer the final season of HBO’s Veep, Louis-Dreyfus was on course to take home her seventh straight Emmy in the stacked category, which would’ve made her the most winning actor in Emmys history. As PWB walked up to the stage, Thomas Lennon, the night’s narrator, joked, “To compete with Louis-Dreyfus’ numbers, PWB will have to live until the 171st Emmys…which will be held on Mars.”
Waller-Bridge seemed just as surprised by her acting win, saying, “No! Oh my god, thank you! I find acting really hard and really painful, but it’s all about this!”
Before winning for her turn as Fleabag on the Amazon breakout hit, Waller-Bridge, who created the series, won the award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series.
In addition to JLD, Phoebe faced fierce competition in the talent-filled category, going up against Christina Applegate (Dead to Me), Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll), Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek), and Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvous Mrs. Maisel). Did we mention this race was stacked this year?
“To be nominated with these unbelievable actresses I have just looked up to, grown up watching and laughed at with for so many years means so much,” PWB, looking regal in a nude sequined Monique Lhuillier gown, said, “I mean that in a nice way. This means a huge amount to me.”
Waller-Bridge, 34, went on to thank her Fleabag family, saying, “It’s sick how much we love each other.”
Fleabag is shaping up to win the majority of the awards in the comedy categories this year, with Harry Bradbeer winning the award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series.
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