The actress beat out herself in the same category for her role on The Good Place.

When Maya Rudolph next returns to Studio 8H — whenever that may be — she’ll be returning as an Emmy winner.
The former Saturday Night Live cast member won the Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series award for her portrayal of Senator — and now vice presidential candidate — Kamala Harris on the long-running sketch show. Notably, Rudolph beat herself for the award, as she was also nominated in the category for her performance on NBC’s The Good Place. Nor did her nominations end there: Rudolph scored her first Emmy win on Thursday, for her vocal performance on Netflix’s Big Mouth.
Rudolph was not on hand to accept her award at Saturday’s Creative Arts Emmys, but she did stop by the press room afterward where she thanked Lorne Michaels and called Studio 8H where SNL is filmed her “happy place.”
“It’s just like kids, you don’t have a favorite [role],” she said of being nominated twice in the category. “To be fair I didn’t think I was gonna win again tonight. The guest actress, this nomination is usually flooded with women who are legends and I saw a couple of legends in there.”
“It hasn’t felt that lucky lately so this is a foreign feeling I’m feeling, I’m really cherishing it.” Referring to beating herself in the same category, she joked, “Maya Rudolph is in there crying I gotta go give her a hug. She’s a good sport though.”
In August, Rudolph happened to be on a Zoom interview with EW when Harris was announced as Joe Biden’s running mate, prompting her memorable reaction: “Oh s—.” She then spoke about potentially returning to SNL to reprise her role as Harris, noting, “I love going to the show. Any excuse I can get, I love. I just didn’t really anticipate traveling during a pandemic, but if there’s anyone that can work it out I’m sure Lorne [Michaels] has some sort of invisible helicopter that can get me there.
“Ever since I was a kid, truly, I wanted to be on any kind of SCTV, Saturday Night Live, and I can’t believe that I got to work there, and I can’t believe that it’s my family still,” she continued. “I’m so thrilled to even be associated with the show and that I got to go back. It’s like the gift that keeps on giving. Honestly, it’s my favorite place to play.”
Rudolph was a cast member on SNL from 2000 to 2007, and earned her first-ever Emmy nod for hosting the show in 2012. This year also marked her third consecutive nomination for her Good Place role.
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