Julia Louis-Dreyfus Makes History With Her Best Actress in a Comedy Win at the 2016 Emmy Awards & Delivered a Heartbreaking Speech

The Veep star revealed her father had passed away only days earlier during her acceptance speech for the history-making win

By Billy Nilles Sep 19, 2016 1:00 AMTags

Julia Louis-Dreyfus just made history, made us laugh, and made us cry all within the span of one acceptance speech. 

The Veep actress won her fifth consecutive Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, breaking the record she once shared with Candace Bergen and Mary Tyler Moore for most wins in the category. (In addition to her five for Veep, she also has one win in the category for her work on The New Adventures of Old Christine.)

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Emmy Awards 2016 Winners: The Complete List
Vince Bucci/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images

Having won out over fellow nominees Tracee Ellis Ross, Laurie Metcalf, Lily Tomlin, Amy Schumer, and Ellie Kemper, Julia launched into a speech that went through the perfunctory "Thank you"s, but quickly veered into the comedy we've come to expect from one of TV's funniest women.  "While I'm apologizing, I'd also like to take this opportunity to personally apologize for the current political climate," she said. "I think that Veep has torn down the wall between comedy and politics. Our show started out as a political satire, but now feels more like a sobering documentary. So, I certainly do promise to rebuild that wall and make Mexico pay for it."

Before she was finished, she had one last dedication to make—and it was her most important one. "Lastly, I'd like to dedicate this to my father William Louis-Dreyfus who passed away
on Friday," she said, voice quavering and hands shaking. "I'm so glad that he liked Veep because his opinion was the one that really mattered. Thank you."

And now we have to go wipe the tears from our eyes, yet again.

Watch E!'s live 2016 Emmy Awards red carpet coverage starting at 4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PT on Sunday, September 18th