At the 2022 Creative Arts Emmys, Lee You-mi ("Squid Game") pulled off an upset win over Harriet Walter ("Succession") in the Best Drama Guest Actress category. The 28-year-old first-time contender, who was second in Gold Derby's odds, is now the youngest person to ever be awarded a guest acting Emmy. She takes the mantle from Justin Timberlake, who was 176 days older than she is now when he scored his first Best Comedy Guest Actor win for "Saturday Night Live" in 2009. The previous record holder in Lee's category was Samira Wiley (31, "The Handmaid's Tale," 2018).
Besides Walter (who was first recognized here for "Succession" in 2020), Lee's competitors were Hope Davis ("Succession"), Marcia Gay Harden ("The Morning Show"), Martha Kelly ("Euphoria") and Sanaa Lathan ("Succession"). This was Harden's second nomination in this category following one for "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" in 2007. As a "Ted Lasso" guest star, Walter was also up for the Best Comedy Guest Actress award this year but lost that race to Laurie Metcalf ("Hacks").
On the first season of Netflix's "Squid Game," Lee plays the recurring role of Ji-yeong, one of 456 desperate people who participate in a series of deadly challenges in hopes of winning a large cash prize. In her submitted episode, "Gganbu," Ji-yeong pairs up with fellow contestant Sae-byeok (Jung Ho-yeon) for a one-on-one game of marbles. After the two young women learn that only the one who wins the other's entire set of 10 marbles will move on to the next round, they run out the half-hour clock by sharing details about their personal lives. Before sacrificing herself to secure her partner's advancement, Ji-yeong reveals that she recently served a prison sentence for killing her abusive stepfather.
Lee is the 10th youngest woman to ever compete for the Best Drama Guest Actress Emmy. The current low-end record among the category's nominees was set just last year by 15-year-old Mckenna Grace ("The Handmaid's Tale"), who is the only non-adult guest acting contender in Emmys history.
This victory makes Lee the first actor ever honored by the TV academy for a fully non-English language performance. Next Monday, she could be joined on this new list by any of the Korean show's four nominated regulars (Jung, Lee Jung-jae, Oh Young-soo or Park Hae-soo). "Squid Game" earned a total of 14 nominations this year and has already picked up three other wins for Best Contemporary Production Design, Best Stunt Performance and Best Special Visual Effects (Single Episode).
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