Jamie Lee Curtis Recalls Selling 'Yogurt That Makes You S— for 7 Years' as She Wins Guest Actress Emmy for The Bear

She may have only had a cameo, but Jamie Lee Curtis made her mark — and now she’s taking home hardware for her performance!

On Sunday, September 8, Curtis won Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series at the 2024 Creative Arts Emmys for her role as Donna Berzatto in Bear. With the win, Curtis defeated fellow nominee Olivia Colman (Bear), Kaitlin Olson (hacks)Da’Vine Joy Randolph (Only murders in the building)Maya Rudolph (Saturday night live) and Kristen Wiig (Saturday night live).

Taking to the stage after her name was announced, Curtis, 65, told the crowd: “You know there’s a saying, ‘Hurt people, hurt people,’ but I also think you can add to that and say, ‘Helped people, helped people,’ and I think that’s the story of Bear.”

“Being the source of someone’s pain is very difficult… It’s amazing that I got this opportunity at this point in my life,” she continued, before highlighting the show’s cast and crew, who she said are “the ingredients of this beautiful, a beautiful, beautiful piece of television … that I’m privileged to be in.”

Curtis later expressed her gratitude in the press room, telling reporters she felt “lucky” after winning the prestigious award. She also reflected on her time starring in Activia yogurt commercials and joked about how far she’s come since then.

“I’m the luckiest girl in the world. I’ve been an actress since I was 19. I’m 65,” she said. “I’ve been selling the yogurt you’re from… for seven years. And never in my life did I think I’d be doing work at this level of depth and complexity and intelligence. And it’s just been the thrill of my creative life these past few years that I’ve been given these opportunities so I’m humbled and incredibly grateful.”

bear’with Jon Bernthal winning his first Emmy for guest actor in a comedy series

Jamie Lee Curtis.

Kayla Oaddams/Getty

She added of the achievement: “I think we’re all underrated, and as actors, you just rush to get a job, any job. And look at my career, I’ve done a lot of weird things because I just love the process. And for me, persistence and patience and faith in myself, this is an industry full of rejection every day, every day when you’re an actor and being 65 is extraordinary.”

When asked if she’s looking for EGOT status one day, Curtis joked, “Well, I can’t sing at all and I’ve never actually been on stage. I’ve never done a play, so I can’t imagine.”

“I don’t stay up late… I don’t know if any of you ever paid attention to anything I said, but at my age, about concerts going so late and why can’t Bruce Springsteen do a fucking matinee?” she joked. “So I’m just not sure I’d do that well in the theater since you go to bed so late. But you know what? I never thought any of this would even be possible in my lifetime.”

Jamie Lee Curtis ‘Just Knew’ She’d Join ‘The Bear’ Cast After Watching First Episode

Curtis wowed audiences with her surprising portrayal of Donna — the mother of Carmen (Jeremy Allen White), Sugar (Abby Elliot) and Mikey Berzatta (Jon Bernthal), who struggles with alcoholism and what appears to be borderline personality disorder — in season two Bear.

In particular, her erratic performance preparing Christmas dinner in episode 6, titled “Fish,” made a big splash with critics and fans alike — so much so that Curtis’ co-star Bernthal also took home a guest actor Emmy on Sept. 8 for his performance in that episode.

Before joining BearCurtis, who also appeared in the final episode of season two, admitted she had a premonition about her future on the show after watching it for the first time.

“When I saw the first episode last summer and Sugar asks Carmen if he talked to their mother, I knew in that second I was going to play her. Don’t ask me how. I just knew,” she wrote on Instagram in June 2023. “A year later, after the wild success of the brilliant first season, Chris Storer offered me the role of a lifetime.”

“Thank you Chris and the ENTIRE BEAR family of creative human beings and stage partners for letting me in to let me rip!” she concluded.

Aside from Curtis, this year’s category was quite competitive with memorable on-screen performances from the other nominees.

Olivia Colman in ‘The Bear’.

FX

Colleague Bear star Colman, 50, earned her nomination after playing chef Andre Terry, the British head chef at Ever, a fine-dining restaurant starring Richard “Richie” Jerimovich (Ebon Moss-Bachrach).

The actress first appeared in Bear universe in Season 2, Episode 7 and reprized her role in the Season 3 finale. Christopher Storer, creator of the series, said Time that Colman’s character was inspired by real-life culinary masters, Alice Waters and Marcella Hazan.

“She’s just incredibly established but honest,” Storer said of working with Colman. “She is warm, kind and very normal. She was just as excited to be there as we were to have her, which was kind of cool.”

Bear and Shogun Lead the 2024 Emmy nominations: See the full list

Kaitlin Olson on ‘Hacks’.

John Johnson/Max

Olson, 49, made her Max debut Hacks as DJ, Deborah Vance Jean Smart’s troubled daughter.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in June, the actress admitted, “I don’t like being a guest star on other people’s shows,” but agreed to sign on after producer Mike Schur promised her a juicy role on the show.

“The writing was so good and so clever,” she recalled. “It’s very unusual to find a smart, funny show with real emotions organically woven into it. A lot of bad things have been done. I just couldn’t say no.”

Jean Smart wants to know how Hacks It takes place next season after the ‘Wicked’ move from Hannah Einbinder’s character

Da’Vine Joy Randolph on ‘Only Murders in the Building’.

Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu

Randolph, 38, is nominated for her role as Detective Donna Williams in Just the murders in the building season 3 episode 8

The actress was first introduced to fans in the first season of the series. Although episode 8 is the only time she appears in season 3, Randolph said The Hollywood Reporter how her appearance in the third part came about.

“I was told that the third season would be action-packed, that everything would be set up in the best way, so many new variables, more actors, a play within a TV series,” she recalled. “I talked to the showrunner and I said, ‘Please, I’d love to! I don’t care what we do, please, something with Meryl Streep, anything,’ and he kept his word.”

“John Hoffman [co-creator] it was like, ‘If I can make it happen, I want it to be worth your effort,’ and he definitely did,” she added.

Everything you need to know about Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers Oscar nomination season

Maya Rudolph on ‘Saturday Night Live’.

Will Heath/NBC/Getty

Rudolph, 52, was nominated as a host on Ssaturday night live. While hosting this year’s Mother’s Day episode in May, the comedian made the audience laugh with a special musical monologue called “I am your mother”. The composition also received a nomination for excellent original music and lyrics.

“It’s so good to be back, and for a Mother’s Day episode,” she told the audience. “And for me it’s special because I’m a mother four times. That’s right, I have four beautiful children – that I know of.” she continued jokingly.

SNL Cast members Bowen Yang and Sarah Sherman then joined Rudolph on stage to wish her a happy Mother’s Day, before Yang explained: “Maya, look, you’re not just a mom, you’re mother.”

“Who me, mother?” Rudolph then asked, before laughing and somewhat menacingly saying, “You have a point” to the camera. After an introduction by Kenan Thompson, the actress appeared on stage in a sparkly leotard, surrounded by dancers, before launching into an impressive rap and dance routine.

The rapper’s monologue culminated when Rudolph returned to the stage, surrounded by silver-clad dancers and the show’s cast, as she declared, “I am your mother” one last time and introduced the show.

Maya Rudolph returns to Ssaturday night live to play Kamala Harris in season 50

Kristin Wiig on ‘Saturday Night Live’.

Saturday Night Live/YouTube

Like Rudolph, Wiig, 51, is also nominated for her guest appearance in April Saturday night live.

Her looks have earned her entry into the show’s five-star club, an ever-growing list of stars who have also hosted the sketch show five or more times in its 48-year history.

During Wiig’s monologue, the host was joined by a host of celebrities, from Paul Rudd, to Matt Damon, Jon Hamm, Martin Short, Fred Armisen, Will Forte and none other than Ryan Gosling.

The actress and comedian began by telling the crowd that she was “so happy to be back” and “so excited” to be hosting SNL for the fifth time because it meant he was “officially in the five-year-old club”.

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The 2024 Creative Arts Emmys will air Saturday, September 14th at 8:00pm ET on FXX and can also be streamed on Hulu from September 15th to October 9th.

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Source: HIS Education