Anna Sawai made history with her win for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series at the 2024 Emmy Awards!

The Shogun The actress took home the coveted award on Sunday, September 15. She beat out Carrie Coon (The Gilded Age), Imelda Staunton (The Crown), Jennifer Aniston (The morning show), Maya Erskine (Mr and Mrs Smith) and Reese Witherspoon (The morning show.

“I cried before my name was announced. I feel bad today,” Sawai, who made history as the first woman of Asian descent to win in this category, began her speech after taking the stage.

After thanking the Television Academy and others – including Shogun The 32-year-old actress thanked her family and co-creators Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks “for believing in me and giving me the role of a lifetime” – and especially thanked her mother.

“Mom, I love you,” she said. “You are the reason I am here. You showed me stoicism, and that’s how I was able to portray Mariko.”

Sawai was nominated for her role as Toda Mariko, a confident and mysterious woman who works as a translator for Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) in FX’s Shogun.

At a performance on PEOPLE in 10 In April, the actress spoke openly about the impression the character made on her and why she found it difficult to move on after the series finale.

“I thought I had let her go the moment I was finished because I had to go to another project the next day, but when we started doing press work for Shogun “Before the release, I realized how much I was still carrying with me because I couldn’t talk about certain scenes or the character without crying,” Sawai said.

The actress also told fashion before the Emmys, “After completion ShogunI wanted to give my mother a gift, just to thank her for enabling me to take the path I am on now.”

“I bought her a Cartier Love ring. I didn’t buy one for myself because that’s a luxury; it was a lot, but I wanted to give a gift to the most important person,” she added.

Coon, who plays Bertha Russell, was nominated for her performance in HBO’s 19th-century historical drama The Gilded Age.

On screen, Bertha is a matriarch from a nouveau riche family who will stop at nothing to do something good for her family. She has become incredibly wealthy thanks to the success of her husband, railroad magnate George Russell (Morgan Spector), and she is plotting and intriguing to penetrate old New York society.

Speaking to PEOPLE in August, the actress revealed that wearing ornate dresses with gloves, hats and elaborate hairstyles isn’t as glamorous as one might think.

“When you spend 16 hours in a corset and high heels, you just lose your mind,” joked Coon, 43. “You start to understand why upper-class women changed their clothes five or six times a day because they needed a break.”

Staunton, 68, was nominated for her role as Queen Elizabeth for the sixth and final season of The crown.

At a performance on The Graham Norton Show In December 2023, the actress recalled that she learned of the late monarch’s death while filming the final season in September 2022.

“Lesley Manville, who plays Princess Margaret, and I were filming and at lunchtime we were told we might receive some sad news,” she recalls.

Staunton said she was initially confused, but then production made her aware that it was related to the Queen’s death and asked if she wanted to stop filming, but she declined.

“We went ahead and finished the day… and oddly enough, I had 10 days off in the schedule, which was the 10 days of mourning,” she continued. “I was heartbroken that night. And I would have been sad, but I think it was obviously magnified by living with her for so long.”

Aniston, 55, was nominated for her role as host Alex Levy in Apple TV+’s The morning show.

When speaking with diversity In April 2023, the actress spoke about the positive working atmosphere and revealed why she loved working with her co-stars in the hit series.

“We thrive and it’s pretty – dare I say it – easy,” Aniston gushed. “It’s such a comfortable set. We love to communicate. We love to work things out and we don’t just sweep things under the rug. No stone is left unturned when it comes to a creative decision. We all put our heads together.”

“There’s something so wonderful about trusting your colleagues and knowing that if five people say I look sick, I’m going to lie down and put down my sword,” she added.

Erskine, 37, was nominated for her portrayal of Jane Smith in Prime Video’s Mr and Mrs Smith. Donald Glover also played a leading role in the series. The two played reinterpretations of the film roles that made Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie famous.

The duo played two strangers who landed mysterious jobs as spies and were forced to live as a married couple under the names Mr. and Mrs. John and Jane Smith.

In each episode of the series, the Smiths must complete a different, high-risk mission. The biggest challenge for the couple, however, is their feelings for each other. They are faced with the question: what is riskier, espionage or marriage?

Witherspoon, 48, was nominated for her role as Bradley Jackson in Apple TV+’s The morning show.

The actress’ character Bradley Jackson and Aniston’s Alex Levy have endured a rocky working relationship since the duo began working together as hosts. The morning show after the dismissal of Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell) in season 1.

During a panel discussion at an FYC event at Paramount Studios in June, Aniston spoke about the close bond that has developed between the two over the years since taking on their roles.

“We love to hate each other and we love to love each other, and I think that’s a really fun dynamic for Reese and I to live out,” she said. “And of course we’d love to be together forever, I think. I hope so, but … we really don’t know what’s going to happen.”

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Watch PEOPLE’s full coverage of the 76th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, broadcast live from the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles on ABC.