Emmy Awards: Quinta Brunson wins Best Actress in a Comedy, becomes the first Black woman in over 30 years

Brunson became the first Black woman to win the category with “Abbott Elementary,” having previously won with “The Jeffersons” in 1981.

Quinta Brunson became the first Black woman to win the best actress in a comedy category since Isabel Sanford did so in 1981 for “The Jeffersons.” Quinta Brunson played the tenaciously upbeat second-grade teacher Janine Teagues on ABC’s “Abbott Elementary.”

She remarked, “I am incredibly happy to be able to live out my dream and act out comedy, and I love making ‘Abbott Elementary.'” “I know I say this all the time, but I just love comedy so much that I am thrilled to have this.”

For Brunson, who also created and wrote “Abbott Elementary,” which follows a group of committed teachers at a Philadelphia public school, it was her first acting Emmy.

Although she was also nominated for best actress at the time (Jean Smart took home the trophy for “Hacks”), she took home her first Emmy last year for best writing for a comedy series.