How Zendaya Made History at the 2020 Emmys With Her ‘Euphoria’ Win

At only age 24, it seems like nothing can stop Zendaya. The former Shake It Up star more than proved her dramatic acting chops in the HBO series Euphoria — and recently, the Emmys awarded or for it. Here’s how the actor made history with her Emmy win in 2020.

Zendaya won an Emmy for her performance on the HBO series ‘Euphoria’ — and made history

In a win for Gen Z, former Disney Channel star Zendaya snagged the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series. Zendaya beat out some seasoned performers — Oscar-winners among them — in her category. Laura Linney, Sandra Oh, Olivia Colman, Jennifer Aniston, and Jodie Comer all went home (or rather, stayed home) empty-handed.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Zendaya’s impressive feat actually broke an Emmy record.

She is “the youngest-ever best actress in a drama series winner,” the publication reported.

That record was most recently broken only last year, by Killing Eve star Jodie Comer, who was 26 at the time she received the Emmy.

Zendaya reached the heights of adorable with her reaction to her Emmy win

Zendaya was overcome with joy upon receiving the award, surrounded by family members and her team, who celebrated along with her. Her acceptance speech was full of emotion — the main one being gratitude.

“I know that this feels like a really weird time to be celebrating,” Zendaya said. “But I just want to say like there is hope in the young people out there.”

She acknowledged that Euphoria (with its intensely dark subject matter) “doesn’t always feel like a great example of that.” But out of darkness, there is light — especially for the youth.

“… there is hope in the young people,” she continued. “To all my peers out there doing the work, in the streets: I see you, I admire you, and I thank you.”

Zendaya also changed her Instagram profile picture to the reaction shot of her after hearing about her Emmy win.

“Still don’t really have any words,” she wrote in an Instagram caption under a picture of herself with her Emmy award. “… feeling so much love right now, thank you.”

What other Emmys did ‘Euphoria’ win in 2020?

According to the Emmys website, Euphoria was nominated for a total of 6 nominations this year. The HBO show did well for itself; they made out with a 50% success rate.

In addition to Zendaya’s prize, the artist Labrinth took home the trophy for Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics. He won for the song that closed out Euphoria‘s first season: “All For Us.”

The HBO show’s make-up team also scored for “Outstanding Contemporary Makeup (Non-Prosthetic).”

Euphoria was nominated for Emmys in Music Composition, Music Supervision, and Modern Costumes, as well, but did not win in those categories.