Zendaya’s Lead Actress Win At The 2022 Emmys Just Cemented Her In History

Zendaya already made history back in 2020 with her first win, as Deadline pointed out at the time. Two years ago, she was the youngest actress to ever win that particular award at the age of 24. And — as reported by Variety — tonight’s second win for the young actress isn’t just about her breaking age barriers. She’s also the first black woman in Hollywood history to snag such a coveted award twice over.

For both wins, a big part of Zendaya’s acceptance speech was dedicated to the complicated and compelling nature of her character. In 2020, when giving her acceptance speech virtually, she praised Rue for being a layered and complicated character that fans want to root for despite all her faults. For this most recent award, she expressed a strong desire for her fans “to know that anyone who has loved a Rue or feels like you are a Rue, I’m so grateful for your stories, and I carry them with me and carry them with her.” Zendaya’s historic double-win is a perfect example of what can happen when truly talented individuals have well-written material to work with — and the Emmys have gone out of their way to acknowledge and recognize it.