Quinta Brunson Becomes The Second Black Woman To Win An Emmy For Outstanding Actress In A Comedy.

Quinta Brunson of “Abbott Elementary” is the first Black woman to win an Outstanding Comic Actress Emmy in over 40 years.

Quinta Brunson, the actress and creator of “Abbott Elementary,” received a milestone award at Monday night’s 75th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Brunson became the first Black actress in almost 40 years to win an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

The last time a Black actress received the prize was in 1981, when Isabel Sanford won for her work in “The Jeffersons,” according to the Television Academy, which presents the Emmys.

Brunson’s win this year marks her first acting Emmy. She received an Emmy Award in 2022 for best writing for a comedy series for “Abbott Elementary,” a mockumentary series about a group of teachers at a fictitious largely Black school in Philadelphia.

“I am so happy to be able to live my dream and act out comedy,” Brunson said in her acceptance speech Monday night. “I adore my mother, father, sisters, brothers, and family. I adore my spouse. I’m quite happy. I adore my cast. I adore ‘Abbott Elementary.’ “Thank you very much.”

Brunson grew upset on the red carpet before the Oscars when she was questioned with two other pioneering Black actors, Tisha Campbell and Tichina Arnold, from the film “Martin.”

“This is a dream come true,” Brunson told The Associated Press, accompanied by Campbell and Arnold. “These two were powerhouses on a show that was not named after them, but for people like me, OK, Pam and Gina [Campbell and Arnold’s characters on ‘Martin’] meant more to me than anybody else growing up.”

“That is how important women are in situations like these. “They are still playing in my house,” she stated. “I cannot give these two ladies enough credit. I didn’t know what to say about them and ‘In Living Color’ since I had no idea it was representation at the time.

Campbell said how much it meant to her and other actors to see a new generation of Black women, such as Brunson, on stage.

“We are proud of the work that she’s doing, and she’s changing the game,” she added.

Campbell said that at one time, she and Arnold were the only young Black women on television.

“Representation does matter,” she added. “And to have individuals that look like us getting nominated, winning, and producing behind the scenes means a lot to so many people right now. “We are so proud of her.”