Britt Lower reigned supreme in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category at the 2025 Emmy Awards.
Lower, 40, took home the award for Severance during the Sunday, September 14, ceremony at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
“First, it’s a privilege to even be mentioned alongside such an incredible group of artists. I share this award with my heroic cast and crew, whose work catalyzes mine,” the actress said in her acceptance speech. “I am forever grateful to the visionary hearts of Dan [Erickson, series creator], Jessica [Lee Gagné, director and cinematographer], Adam [Scott, costar], and Ben [Stiller, director and executive producer]. Thank you to the Academy, Apple TV+, and to my fans, our fans, and to my team … Thank you to my mom, and my dad, my brother, my husband, our kids, our co-parents, our chosen family, I love you so much.”
“Thank you for Helly R.,” Lower concluded, referring to her character in Severance. “For choosing me.”
This marked Lower’s first-ever Emmy nomination. Ahead of the show, she walked the red carpet in a burnt copper gown from Calvin Klein Collection, which featured an open back with a deep V-shaped cut.
The other contenders in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category were Kathy Bates for Matlock, Sharon Horgan for Bad Sisters, Bella Ramsey for The Last of Us and Keri Russell for The Diplomat.
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Prior to Sunday’s awards show, Bates, 77, was the only past Emmy winner in the running for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Of her 15 career nominations, she received two awards for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for Two and a Half Men in 2012 and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for American Horror Story: Coven in 2014.
Russell, 49, has earned six Emmy nods throughout her career, including for Outstanding Drama Series this year for executive producing The Diplomat and for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2023 for her performance on the show.
As for Horgan, 55, she is a four-time Emmy nominee, with one previous nod for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Bad Sisters in 2023.
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Ramsey, 21, has received two nominations over the years, with past recognition for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for The Last of Us in 2023.
None of the 2025 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series nominees were included in the category last year. Instead, Shōgun’s Anna Sawai won over The Morning Show’s Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, The Gilded Age’s Carrie Coon, Mr. & Mrs. Smith’s Maya Erskine and The Crown’s Imelda Staunton.
The 2023 lineup of contenders was more similar to this year, with Horgan, Ramsey and Russell in the race. However, Succession’s Sarah Snook beat out the trio as well as Yellowjackets’ Melanie Lynskey and The Handmaid’s Tale’s Elisabeth Moss.
