Scott Clifton and Tamara Tunie captured lead acting honors at the 53rd annual Daytime Emmys on Friday night, while ABC’s “General Hospital” extended its historic run by winning outstanding drama series for a record 19th time overall and its sixth consecutively.
Clifton, who stars as Liam Spencer on the CBS serial “The Bold and the Beautiful,” secured his second career lead actor trophy following a 2017 victory. His win adds to prior accolades in younger actor and supporting categories, maintaining his distinction as the first male performer to sweep all three major acting fields. Clifton triumphed over a formidable group of nominees that included Eric Braeden, Steve Burton, Thorsten Kaye, and Christian Jules LeBlanc. Accepting the honor, Clifton remarked on the significance of recognition from industry colleagues.
Tunie earned her lead actress trophy for portraying strong-willed matriarch Anita Dupree on CBS’s “Beyond the Gates,” which debuted last year as the first network soap opera with a primarily Black cast since the 1990s and the first new network daytime drama since 1999. Tunie, who previously starred on “As the World Turns” from 1987 until 2009, expressed gratitude for her return to daytime television and acknowledged the Black actresses who preceded her.
In addition to its top drama series win, “General Hospital” collected trophies for writing and for Jeff Kober in the guest performance category. Meanwhile, Roger Howarth and Beth Maitland of CBS’s “The Young and the Restless” swept the supporting acting awards, decades after their initial career victories. Howarth, currently appearing as Matt Clark, first won in 1994 as a younger actor for his role as Todd Manning on “One Life to Live.” Maitland was honored for playing Traci Abbott, a character she originated in 1982 when she won her first supporting actress award.
A major highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award to Genie Francis, who began her tenure on “General Hospital” in 1977 at age 14. Accompanied to the stage by her children while recovering from a broken right ankle, Francis watched a video tribute introduced by her husband, actor-director Jonathan Frakes. Reflecting on a half-century in the industry, Francis thanked notable collaborators spanning generations and joked about the physical demands of high-heeled party scenes.
The ceremony at the Hollywood Palladium, streamed live for the second consecutive year after a five-year television run on CBS, also distributed awards across lifestyle, talk, and culinary categories. Tracee Ellis Ross won in the travel and adventure category for her Roku series “Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross,” thanking Morocco, Mexico, and Spain in her remarks. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, contended in the lifestyle program category for her Netflix show “With Love, Meghan,” but the Prime Video documentary series “A Different Breed” ultimately claimed the prize. Ambyr Michelle of “Beyond the Gates” received the emerging talent in a daytime drama award, marking the second year the honor has been presented, while Peacock’s “Days of Our Lives” won for directing.
Talk shows no longer in active production also scored wins. Sherri Shepherd was named daytime talk series host for “Sherri,” which concluded its four-season run on Fox in May, and Kelly Clarkson won for daytime talk series following the August conclusion of her seven-season NBC program. Neither was present to accept their trophies.
In culinary and personality categories, Giada De Laurentiis won as non-daily daytime personality for “Giada in the Kitchen,” while Star Jones and Corey Jovan captured the daily daytime personality award for Fox’s “Divorce Court.” Ina Garten earned two accolades, taking home the culinary host and culinary instructional series prizes for “Be My Guest” on Food Network.
