Jean Smart made history on Monday night by winning her fifth Emmy for lead actress in a comedy series, this time for her role in the HBO show Hacks. This achievement marks her first time winning an acting Emmy for every season of a television series, making her the first woman to do so. The audience gave her a standing ovation as she accepted the award, and she joked, "Just the men stay standing. The girls get to sit down." This win brings her total number of Emmys to eight, tying her with Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus for the most Emmys won by a performer. Smart began her career with the CBS comedy Designing Women and earned her first Emmys for guest appearances on Frasier and a supporting role on Samantha Who. Her latest win is for Hacks, a show that ran for five seasons and concluded in May. During her acceptance speech, she dedicated the award to the show’s creators—Lucia Aniello, Jen Statsky, and Paul W. Downs—and thanked HBO, her representatives, and her children, Forrest and Connor, whom she called her "anchor." She ended her speech with a nostalgic "What a ride!" and tossed her Emmy into the air before exiting the stage. Julia Louis-Dreyfus had previously come close to matching Smart’s feat with her six consecutive wins for Veep, but she lost the seventh and final season to Fleabag star Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Before Monday’s ceremony, Smart had downplayed the significance of the record, calling it a "technicality" during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in August. She acknowledged Louis-Dreyfus’ larger collection of Emmy wins, but the milestone still stands as a unique achievement. Smart has been nominated for 15 Emmys throughout her career. Hacks follows the dynamic partnership between Deborah Vance, played by Smart, and Ava Daniels, played by Hannah Einbinder. The show became a regular at the Emmys, winning awards for outstanding comedy series and for Einbinder’s supporting role. Since Hacks premiered in 2021, Smart was the only performer to win lead comedy actress until Quinta Brunson took the honor for Abbott Elementary in January 2024. For her final season, Smart beat out competitors like Elle Fanning and Lisa Kudrow to secure her historic fifth win.