The 65th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards are airing tonight at 8 p.m. EST on CBS and here is a quick rundown about the four African-American nominees.
Kerry Washington may very well make history tonight as the first African-American nominee to win in the category of “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.” Not since Cicely Tyson’s nomination in 1995 for Sweet Justice has there been a Black female nominee. Washington’s role as Olivia Pope in the ABC political thriller Scandal is without a doubt 2013’s most beloved TV character and most talked about as well. According to Indie Wire, Scandal was ABC’s most social program achieving over 4.3 million tweets during its second season, outperforming American Idol by 56%. Washington will also present during tonight’s show with living legend Diahann Carroll.
Don Cheadle is up for “Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series” for his role as Marty Kaan on Showtime’s House of Lies. As previously reported, the show follows a group of management consultants who stop at nothing to get business deals done, even if it calls for extreme measures. Cheadle is also an Academy Award nominee for his role in 2004’s Hotel Rwanda and is also a Goodwill Ambassador for the U.N. Environment Program. Cheadle won a Golden Globe this year as “Best Actor in a Comedy Series” for House of Lies. Let’s hope lightening will strike twice again tonight!
Kerry Washington (pictured above), Alfre Woodard, Don Cheadle and Oprah Winfrey
Alfre Woodard is no stranger to the Emmy Awards having been nominated 18 times and winning four throughout her career. Her nomination tonight is for “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie,” and for her role as the feisty Ouiser in the Lifetime adaptation of Steel Magnolias. The film was directed by Kenny Leon and featured an all-star cast African-American cast including Queen Latifah, Phylicia Rashad, Condola Rashad, Jill Scott, Tory Kittles and Adepero Oduye. Woodard is also an Academy Award and Grammy nominee and has won a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Oprah Winfrey is up for “Outstanding Informational Series or Special” for her series, Oprah’s Master Class. The show, which is executive produced by Winfrey, featured a number of heavy hitters during its second season including Alicia Keys, Lenny Kravitz, Diahann Carroll and Berry Gordy. The Forbes Most Influential Celebrity is a vet when it comes to the Emmy Awards. According to her website, “after accepting her seventh Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show Host and the 9th Emmy for The Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah decided to stop submitting herself and the show for Emmy consideration. To date, the show has won a total of 47 Emmy awards.”
Congratulations once again to the four nominees and good luck.
Click here to see the full list of tonight’s nominees!
Source: Wikidpedia
