Jean Smart continues to have an amazing 2021.
The actress won the lead actress in a comedy series Emmy on Sunday night for her star turn in HBO Max’s “Hacks.”
Smart plays Deborah Vance, a veteran stand-up comic with a residency at a Las Vegas casino who’s coasting on her old material. This is the fourth Emmy award victory of her acting career.
She began her Emmy acceptance speech by thanking her late husband, Richard Gilliland, who died a week before production on the first season of “Hacks” wrapped earlier this year.
“I would not be here without him putting his career on the back burner so I could take advantage of [all the roles I’ve been offered],” Smart said, also thanking her children Conner and Forrest, who she called “very courageous individuals in their own right. And put up with mommy commuting to Philadelphia and back.”
Smart began acting while a student at Ballard High School, from which she graduated in 1969. She went on to study acting at the University of Washington.
Jean was part of a very big night for television comedy as the event saw Emmy awards handed out to stars of “Ted Lasso” who took home seven awards.
“Hacks” was renewed for a second season by HBO in early 2021 and is set to air new episodes in early 2022.
