The Daytime Emmy nominations have been announced – and the fact that history has been made with two African-American performers being chosen for the same category means that perhaps it’s time to have a look at how Black actors have fared within the Emmys overall since it started giving out awards in 1974!
Beyond the Gates has been breaking glass ceilings since before it even hit the airwaves last year – not only was it the first new daytime soap of the 21st century (the last new entry had been Passions in 1999), but it made news as the first primarily Black-led cast in an hourlong show. While Generations, which ran from 1989 to 1991 was indeed the first “Black” soap, it only clocked 30 minutes.
Now with the 2026 Daytime Emmy nominations announced, Fairmont Crest has made history again by landing two of its Black cast members in the Outstanding Lead Performer in a Daytime Drama Series: Actress category – both Tamara Tunie (Anita) and Karla Mosley (Dani) are up for the award!
It’s the first time two Black actresses have been nominated in the same category – plus Tunie and Mosley are only the third and fourth African-American women to receive nods as Lead Actress. The first was AMC’s Debbi Morgan (Angie Hubbard), who was nominated as Lead in 2009 and again in 2011 and 2012, and the second was Mishael Morgan (Amanda Sinclair, Y&R), who took home a trophy in 2022.
The Daytime Emmys will be handed out on October 30, 2026…and it’s not just mother-daughter Anita and Dani Dupree who are up for GATES honors. Read on for a full exploration of which DMV denizens have been recognized…and soak up a little history as to just how many – or how few – Black actors have had the Emmy sun shine on them!
Key Takeaways
- Two Lead Actress nods for Beyond the Gates – but no Lead Actor
- The Articulettes concert set off a string of technical nominations
- Jasmine Burke only the second Black actress up for Guest Performance
- Arielle Prepetit and Ambyr Michelle tip the scales for young African-American women
- Black Supporting Actor/Actress nominees have a complicated history
You Gonna Lead With That?
Karla Mosley and Tamara Tunie being nominated for Lead Actress is truly groundbreaking and a step toward better acknowledgment of Black performers in the industry as a whole. The duo has tough competition, however, with Stacy Haiduk (Kristen DiMera, DAYS), Heather Tom (Katie Logan, B&B), and Michelle Stafford (Phyllis Summers, Y&R) also in the running.
Interestingly, no male Beyond the Gates cast members made the cut for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Daytime Drama Series: Actor this year. But you probably don’t know that it’s been nearly a half century since an African-American performer first took home the Lead statuette – Al Freeman, Jr. (Ed Hall, OLTL) won in the category all the way back in 1979.
It was nearly 40 years before another Black actor received the award: in 2018, James Reynolds (Abe Carver, DAYS) was recognized; this after being nominated for Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Daytime Drama Series: Actor four times (2004, 2017, 2021, and 2022.)
Reynolds was only one of two actors to be considered for Emmys for his work on Generations – he won Lead Actor there in 1991, and Kristoff St. John, who went on to amaze audiences with his performance as Neil Winters on Y&R, received two nominations for playing Adam Marshall on GEN, both for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series, in 1990 and 1991.
The Sun Always Shines On TV
For every one person we see on our televisions or monitors, there are dozens of people who work their hardest to make sure we have a show to watch. It generally starts with scripts, and for those written efforts, new kid on the block Beyond the Gates is up against decades-old soaps for Outstanding Writing Team for a Daytime Drama Series. (B&B is the only one of the five serials that didn’t get noticed in this category this year.) BTG is also a competitor for the pivotal Outstanding Daytime Drama Series trophy.
The show also could see a win in Outstanding Casting, as well as Outstanding Arts and Popular Culture Program for their week-long pre-premiere “Welcome to the Neighborhood” miniseries, which introduced audiences to Fairmont Crest.
Anita getting back up on stage with The Articulettes last August created its own stir in terms of Emmy nominations. Episode 103 (which aired August 1, 2025) generated two potential victories in both Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for a Daytime Program (BTG is the only soap in this category) and Outstanding Hairstyling and Make-Up.
Meanwhile, the following installment, Episode 104 (airing August 4, 2025) picked up noms for Outstanding Technical Direction and Video (the only other soap running against it is B&B) plus Outstanding Lighting Direction (whose only other competitor is GH).
Be Our Guest, Be Our Guest
Jasmine Burke, who plays the spirited and lovable June Hughes on Beyond the Gates, was recognized for her work with a nomination for Outstanding Guest Performance in a Daytime Drama Series this year. But it’s going to be a big battle for Burke, who will have to beat out Jeff Kober (Cyrus Renault, GH), Christopher Sean (Paul Narita, DAYS), Eva LaRue (Natalia Rogers-Ramirez, GH; ex-Maria Santos, AMC) and Ray Wise (Ian Ward, Y&R).
If Burke wins, history will be made yet again. The only other Black actor to take top honors in this category was Vernee Watson (Stella Henry, GH) in 2018; she went on to win for Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Daytime Drama Series: Actress the following year.
You Make Me Feel So Young
Actors under 25 got their own category in 1985: Outstanding Younger Actor/Actress in a Drama Series. Though Kristoff St. John never won for his role on Generations, he hit the ground running on Y&R by being the first Black male to win in this category in 1992; he was nominated again in 1993.
This particular group of actors all got wins on top of nominations, with Monti Sharp (David Grant, GL) going home victorious in 1993 and being considered as well the following year. Kevin Mambo (Marcus Williams, GL) won in 1996 and 1997, rounding off with a nomination for 1998. Despite Shemar Moore (Malcolm Winters, Y&R) not turning his nom into a win in either 1996 or 1997, he did win the category in 2000. Not to be outdone, before Bryton James (Devon Winters, Y&R) went on to be a player in the Supporting Actor field, he was nominated for Younger Actor in 2006, winning in 2007 and being tapped twice more in 2009 and 2013.
Rome Flynn (ex-Zende Forrester Dominguez, B&B) and Kyler Pettis (ex-Theo Carver, DAYS), were the category’s last recipients in 2018, and 2019, respectively. Amazingly, Christel Khalil (Lily Winters, Y&R) was the only Black performer to win as Younger Actress in 2012, though she was nominated in 2004, 2006, and 2010. Khalil picked up a Supporting Actress nod in 2020.
From that year on, until 2023, the Actor/Actress categories were merged to not reflect gender. Then, that title was retired in 2024, with the existing current category Outstanding Emerging Talent in a Daytime Drama Series going into effect last year – Lisa Yamada (Luna Nozawa, B&B), was its first winner.
This year, Beyond the Gates cast members Ambyr Michelle (Eva) and Arielle Prepetit (Naomi) are both in the running for this sophomore statuette, with Braedyn Bruner (Emma Scorpio, GH), Al Calderon (Javi Hernandez, DAYS), Alice Halsey (Rachel Black, DAYS), and Giovanni Mazza (Gio Palmieri, GH) competing alongside them.
It seems the young ladies are now finding the lion’s share of nominations. Historically, it was the boys who found themselves getting recognized. Dondre Whitfield (Terrence Frye, AMC) lost to Kristoff St. John in 1992, but he was nominated again in 1993 and 1994. The 20th century rounded out with the cherubic Bryant Jones (ex-Nate Hastings, Y&R) being considered in 1998, 1999, and 2000. Jason Winston George (Michael Bourne) was the only Black actor from Sunset Beach to find himself in this category.
The new millennium saw Paul Taylor (Isaac Jenkins, ATWT) kicking things off in 2001, with Cornelius Smith, Jr. (Frankie Hubbard, AMC) getting a nod in 2009. Tequan Richmond (ex-TJ Ashford, GH) was nominated three years in a row: 2015, 2016, and 2017.
Only a handful of young Black women seemed to make the Young Actress cut. Debbi Morgan began her string of Emmy nominations and wins by being the first to be considered for this category in 1986. Following her in 1988 was Tichina Arnold (Zena Brown, Ryan’s Hope; that soap’s only Black nominee) – ten years later, Rhonda Ross Kendrick (Toni Burnell) was Another World‘s sole African-American representative.
1999 saw Sherri Saum (Vanessa Hart, Sunset Beach) in the running – and it was nearly two decades before a Black Young Actress found herself on this list in the form of Reign Edwards (Nicole Avant, B&B), who was nominated in both 2017 and 2018. Fun fact: Edwards played the sister of Karla Mosley’s Maya Avant on B&B, incidentally the first regular transgender character on American daytime television, while we’re talking of inclusion.
Support Can Be Beautiful
GATES heavy hitters Timon Kyle Durrett (Bill) and Mike Manning (Smitty) have each found themselves with a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor. Durrett is joined by two other African-American men: Sean Dominic (Nate Hastings, Y&R) and Lawrence Saint-Victor (Carter Walton, B&B). The category completes with nods to Roger Howarth (Matt Clark, Y&R) and Michael Graziadei (Daniel Romalotti, Y&R).
The Supporting Actor/Actress category came into being in 1979, with the first Black man to win this trophy being Darnell Williams (Jesse Hubbard, AMC) in 1983. A year earlier, he had made his mark by being nominated. Kristoff St. John, who had moved into this category from Young Actor, was awarded its statuette in 2008, though he had been up for it in 1999, 2000, 2007, and 2015.
Sean Blakemore (Shawn Butler, GH) also took home this trophy in 2016, following his nomination in 2012. Other winners were Bryton James (Devon Winters, Y&R), who won in 2020 after competing in the category in 2016 and 2019 (he was nominated again afterwards in 2021 and 2024), and Robert Gossett (Marshall Ashford, GH), who picked up a win in back-to-back years: 2023 and 2024.
African-American actors who didn’t make it past the nomination stage for Supporting Actor have been: William Christian (Derek Frye, AMC; 1991), Keith Hamilton Cobb (Noah Keefer, AMC; 1995), Anthony Montgomery (Andre Maddox, GH; 2018), Aaron D. Spears (Justin Barber, B&B; 2022), and Tajh Bellow (TJ Ashford, GH; 2025). Notably, Bellow was the only Black performer to be nominated in the merged Outstanding Younger Performer in a Drama Series category, in 2021.
Finally, we’ve got fan favorite Trisha Mann-Grant (Leslie) up for this year’s Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Daytime Drama Series: Actress category. Can Fairmont Crest’s biggest troublemaker (sorry, Hayley) lead the pack over Beth Maitland (Traci Abbott, Y&R), Camryn Grimes (Mariah Copeland, Y&R), Linsey Godfrey (Sarah Horton, DAYS), and Amanda Setton (Brook Lynn Quartermaine, GH)?
Outside of the aforementioned Debbi Morgan and Vernee Watson rising to the top in this category, the only other Black actress to do so was Sonya Eddy, in 2024, winning for her run as Epiphany Johnson on GH.
But that doesn’t mean there haven’t been African-American women counted as nominees for Supporting Actress. The much missed Victoria Rowell (Drucilla Winters, Y&R), received nods in 1996, 1997, and 1998. Her on-screen sister, Tonya Lee Williams (Olivia Barber, Y&R), joined her in both 1996 and 2000.
More recently, Renée Elise Goldsberry (Evangeline Williams, OLTL) was considered in 2007, while Mishael Morgan preceded her 2022 Lead Actress win as Y&R’s Amanda Sinclair with recognition for her previous character, Hilary Curtis, in 2018 and 2019. Briana Nicole Henry (Jordan Ashford, GH) saw a nomination in 2022 – and, before Mann-Grant’s this year, the last African-American woman to get one was Brook Kerr (Portia Robinson, GH; ex-Whitney Russell, Passions) in 2023.
That’s a lot of info, but if you’re going to get into Beyond the Gates making history for Black Lead Actresses…why not get hip to the entire history of African-American actors and their experiences with the Daytime Emmys?
Which Fairmont Crest face do you most want to see take home an award? Share your thoughts in the comments below — and don’t forget to check out Beyond the Gates spoilers for even more drama coming to CBS and Paramount+.
Photo Credit: CBS Broadcasting Inc.
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