Maya Rudolph 'honoured' to be part of Emmys history

Maya Rudolph feels “honoured” to be “part of a legacy” with her Emmy Awards wins.

The 49-year-old actress won the Comedy Guest Actress and accolade at Sunday’s (12.09.21) third installment of the Creative Arts Emmys for her hosting of ‘Saturday Night Live’, shortly after taking the Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for ‘Big Mouth’ at the second segment, which made her the first person in 20 years to win twice consecutively in the same category, twice.

And that’s not all because Maya also became the third Black woman ever to win back-to-back Emmys, an achievement she was particularly proud of.

She told reporters backstage at the Los Angeles event: “Wow that’s amazing. I feel honoured to be part of something like that. I feel like this Emmy is very fitting in that it’s for something that feels like such a personal achievement.

“It’s for hosting my childhood love and dream and at a place in my life I finally realised it’s what I do best, and what makes me happiest when I perform.

” I feel really honoured that I’m part of a legacy as the third woman of colour to achieve that.”

Maya has met with Vice President Kamala Harris, and admitted the politician was “lovely and cool” about her depiction of her on ‘Saturday Night Live’.

She said: “We did meet during a fundraiser before the election over Zoom.

“She was quite aware that I was playing her and was so lovely and cool, and it was so exciting to talk to her and to meet her, and to get a chance to be a part of her orbit.

“But she’s so cool, she was great about it, and I think that’s always the mark of someone who knows that they’re impenetrable and they’re doing something great in the world because she knows I’m doing it with love and she’s so fantastic that someone is impersonating her.”

Regina King was the most recent Black actor to win back-to-back Emmys for her work in ‘American Crime’ in 2015 and 2016, while Uzo Aduba previously enjoyed consecutive wins for ‘Orange is the New Black’.

The last person to win twice in the same category was ‘Frasier’s Jean Smart in 2000 and 2001.