Madison Meeks, Media Director
mvm7037@psu.edu

Zendaya, known for her roles as Rue Bennett in “Euphoria” and MJ in the MCU Spider-Man trilogy, has made Emmys history once again.
In 2020, Zendaya made history by being the youngest actress ever to win Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role in HBO’s series “Euphoria” at the Emmys. For the unaware, “Euphoria” is a show following a group of high schoolers as they attempt to maintain relationships and deal with their trauma. Zendaya plays the main character, Rue, who struggles with addiction throughout the series. In 2020, “Euphoria” won three out of the six nominations it was up for at the Emmys.
On September 12, the 2022 Emmys premiered. Zendaya was nominated again for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Rue on “Euphoria.” At the ceremony, Zendaya once again received Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, making her the youngest actress ever to win Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series twice. Also, she made history by being the first African American woman to win the category twice.
Along with being nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Zendaya was also nominated for three other awards for writing an original song and Executive Producer. “Euphoria” was nominated for 16 Emmys in 2022 including Outstanding Drama series. In the end, “Euphoria” did not win Outstanding Drama Series, instead HBO’s drama series “Succession” won.
After being announced as the award winner, Zendaya gave an acceptance speech saying “My greatest wish for ‘Euphoria’ was that it could help heal people.” She thanked the people who shared their stories and told them that they were loved during the acceptance speech. The actress also thanked HBO for making the series and the creator of the show.
In the end, Zendaya made history at the 2022 Emmys being the first African American woman to win Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series twice and being the youngest actress to win the category twice.