Emmys Night Includes Historic Moment For Hispanic Women In Hollywood
Liza Colón-Zayas, who stars as Tina Marraro on “The Bear,” made history during the 2024 Emmy awards, winning “Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.” She is the first Latina actress to win in the category.
In an empowering acceptance speech that went viral, she acknowledged other iconic women in the industry and urged her fellow Latina women to get out and vote.
Empowering History-Making Emmys Speech
“Thank you to my husband David Zayas. He told me to write a speech and I didn’t because I didn’t think it would be possible,” Colón-Zayas said as she accepted her award. “How could I have thought it would be possible to be in the presence of Meryl Streep and Carol Burnett and Janelle [James] and Sheryl Lee Ralph and Hannah [Einbinder]. I love you all from the bottom of my heart, and all the women — my mommy, thank you.”
She also acknowledged her co-stars, saying, “Thank you for giving me new life with this show.”
“And to all the Latinas who are looking at me, keep believing and vote. Vote for your rights,” she continued.
Pioneering Hispanic Women In Entertainment
Colón-Zayas has also appeared in “Law & Order,” “In Treatment,” and “David Makes Man,” and is a native of Bronx, N.Y. In 2000, she produced, wrote, and starred in a one-woman off-Broadway show called “Sistah Supreme,” giving voice to her life as a Latina woman living in New York City in the 1970s and ’80s.
She’s now among other pioneers, like Puerto Rico-born actress Rita Moreno, who has won two Emmys: one in 1977 for her appearance on “The Muppet Show,” and a second in 1978 as the lead actress in “The Rockford Files,” and Honduras-born America Ferrera, who won an Emmy in 2007 for her role as Betty Suarez in the hit comedy “Ugly Betty.”
Watch her full speech from the 2024 Emmy Awards below:
