Youngest Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series winner at the Primetime Emmy Awards

Zendaya (USA, b. Zendaya Coleman, 1 September 1996) was 24 years 19 days old when she landed the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series prize, for portraying Rue Bennett in the US teen drama series Euphoria (HBO), at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California, USA, on 20 September 2020.

At the 74th edition of the Emmys at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on 12 September 2022, again for her role in Euphoria, Zendaya became the youngest two-time Lead Actress in a Drama Series winner, at the age of 26 years 11 days. She was, at this time, still 184 days younger than Jodie Comer (b. 11 March 1993) was when she became the youngest-ever winner in this category in 2019.

Barbra Streisand (b. 24 April 1942) was 23 years 141 days when she won Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment – Actors and Performers at the 17th Primetime Emmy Awards on 12 September 1965, but this was immediately before the acting awards were sub-categorised, leading to the introduction of Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series and finally Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

With Streisand’s award for her TV special My Name Is Barbra (CBS), in support of her studio album of the same name and primarily in recognition of her vocal performances, Zendaya takes the record for her acting. Jodie Comer (b. 11 March 1993; 26 years 195 days old at the 71st edition of the Emmys on 22 September 2019), Mary Tyler Moore (b. 29 December 1936; 27 years 148 days old at the 16th edition on 25 May 1964), Lindsay Wagner (b. 22 June 1949; 28 years 81 days old at the 29th edition on 11 September 1977) and Gillian Anderson (b. 9 August 1968; 29 years 36 days old at the 49th edition on 14 September 1997) were all in their 20s when they won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series at the Primetime Emmys. In 2020, Zendaya was the 42nd different woman to win Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, and in 2022 she became the 18th woman to win the award at least twice.