Jean Smart Ties Acting Record With Fifth Emmy Win For ‘Hacks’: “What A Ride This Has Been”

Jean Smart ended her Emmy run for Hacks the way her character Deborah Vance ended her comedy career — on top. Smart tonight earned her fifth consecutive Outstanding Lead Actress In a Comedy Series win for the fifth and final season of the HBO Max show.

With that, Smart has tied Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Cloris Leachman for the most Emmys ever by a performer, eight. In addition to the five for Hacks, her haul includes two in the Guest Actress In a Comedy Series category for Frasier and one in the Supporting Actress a Comedy Series field for Samantha Who?, a rare sweep of the comedy acting trifecta.

After channeling Deborah when she got a standing ovation how only men should stay up given how uncomfortable it is for women wearing tight shapewear and high heels, Smart turned serious.

“This one I’m dedicating to Lucia Aniello, Jen Statsky and Paul W. Downs,” she said about the Hacks creatoes/executive producers. “It all begins and ends with them.”

RELATED: Here Are The Actors Who Have Won The Most Emmys: Photo Gallery

Smart has won an acting Emmy for every eligible season of her series, the only performer to accomplish that for a show that has run for four seasons or more. The feat comes with an asterisk because Louis-Dreyfus won six Emmys in a row for her starring role in Veep. She did not complete a full sweep after losing the seventh time but had the show ended at six seasons, Louis-Dreyfus would be holding the record.

The Seinfeld alumna has the record for the most Emmys won for a single role, 6, with Smart now tied with Candice Bergen who also took five trophies for Murphy Brown.

RELATED: ‘Hacks’ Jean Smart Chases Emmy History As She Nears Julia Louis-Dreyfus & Cloris Leachman Record

Smart’s last Emmy win for Hacks comes just months after she was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.

In the final season of Hacks, Deborah (Smart), shaken up by a false death announcement, is focusing on her legacy as she teams with Ava (Hannah Einbinder) to mount one last, record-breaking standup performance.

“What a ride this has been,” Smart said at the end of her speech. You can watch it below: