Stars with the most Emmy nominations and/or wins

By Wonderwall.com Editors 11:50am PDT, Sep 19, 2021

One of Hollywood's biggest nights is right around the corner! The 73rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards are set for Sept. 19, 2021. To mark the occasion, Wonderwall.com is taking a look back at the stars who have the most Emmy nominations and/or wins under their belt, starting with Julia Louis-Dreyfus… The "Seinfeld" alum has earned 26 Emmy nominations and claimed 11 wins since 1992. And get this: After she took home the Emmy for best lead actress is a comedy series for her work on "Veep" six times in a row, she set the record for the actor with the most wins for a single role. Since 2017, she's been tied with Cloris Leachman for most overall acting wins.

Keep reading for more of TV's most celebrated stars…

This picture of Tina Fey says it all — not only has this hilariously smart writer, producer and actress received 45 Emmy nominations, but she's also taken home an impressive nine awards. Her first Emmy nod came in 2001 for outstanding writing on "Saturday Night Live" — which she ended up winning in 2002. Since then, she's slayed the Emmys over and over again. Her most recent nomination came in 2020: outstanding television movie for "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend," which she executive produced.

Ted Danson has earned 18 Emmy nominations since 1983, though he's surprisingly only won twice: outstanding lead actor in a comedy series for his work on "Cheers" in 1990 and 1993. Between 2018 and 2020, he scored three more nominations in the same category for his work on "The Good Place."

The late, great Cloris Leachman — who died at 94 in January 2021 — earned 22 Emmy nominations between 1972 and 2011, the year she was honored by the Television Academy with an induction into the Emmy Hall of Fame. She took home eight Emmys over the years for her work on shows like "Malcolm in the Middle" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."

Heidi Klum might not have won the most Emmys, but she's received an incredible 23 nominations for her work on "Project Runway" over the years. In 2013, the supermodel finally took home her first Emmy for hosting the hit reality show.

Comedian, actor, writer and "Late Night with Seth Meyers" host Seth Meyers has been nominated for 27 Emmys over the course of his career. But he's only won one statuette so far — for his part in writing Justin Timberlake's opening monologue for an episode of "Saturday Night Live" in 2011. He could finally pick up a second Emmy this year: He scored a nomination for outstanding short-form series for "Late Night With Seth Meyers: CORRECTIONS."

Larry David has so many titles — actor, writer, playwright, co-creator of the hit comedy series "Seinfeld" — that it's impossible to list them all. The "Curb Your Enthusiasm" mastermind has also earned an incredible 28 Emmy nominations over the course of his career for executive producing, acting, hosting, writing and more. In 1993, Larry won two Emmys for his work behind the scenes on "Seinfeld." But he hasn't come out on top since then.

Stephen Colbert is one of our favorites and it's no surprise that this notoriously funny actor, writer and host has hit the jackpot when it comes to Emmy Awards and nominations. The host of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" has amassed an impressive 41 nominations and nine wins, with his most recent Emmys coming in 2014 for both writing and executive producing his hit former show "The Colbert Report." He's up for three Emmys this year: outstanding writing for a variety special for "Stephen Colbert's Election Night 2020: Democracy's Last Stand Building Back America Great Again Better 2020," outstanding writing for a variety series for "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" and outstanding short-form series for "Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out The News."

Allison Janney doesn't have the highest number of Emmy nominations (she's at 15), but she's taken home an astounding seven statuettes, making her nomination-to-win ratio one of the best amongst her peers. This year, she's up for best lead actress in a comedy for her performance as Bonnie Plunkett on the CBS sitcom "Mom." In 2014 and 2015, she also won the Emmy for best supporting actress for her work in the same role.

Another legend to make our list is the late writer, actor and producer Carl Reiner, who got his start on the small screen in 1948. Over the course of his illustrious career, the notorious funnyman earned 18 nominations and won 11 awards — making his win-to-nomination ratio higher than even Allison Janney's! In 1999, Carl was inducted into the Emmy Hall of Fame for his incredible contributions to the television industry.

You might not be surprised to learn that actor, director and comedian Chris Rock has a total of 19 Emmy nominations under his belt, but you'll likely be shocked to learn that his most recent nod in 2016 was for his directorial work on "Amy Schumer: Live at the Apollo." Chris has four statuettes to his name, including a 2009 win for writing on his comedy special "Chris Rock: Kill the Messenger" and a 1999 award (also for writing) for his HBO late-night comedy "The Chris Rock Show."

Alan Alda has racked up 34 Emmy nominations since the early '70s. The Oscar-nominated actor has won six times: five times for his work on "M*A*S*H" and once for his performance as politician Arnold Vinick on "The West Wing."

Lily Tomlin has earned 25 Emmy nominations since 1971. She's landed on top six times, taking home statuettes for various variety shows and specials and for her voice-over work narrating the documentary "An Apology to Elephants."

Actor, producer, writer and voice artist extraordinaire Seth MacFarlane is a man of many talents. Not only has he earned 23 Emmy nominations over the years, but he's managed to take home five awards: four for his incredible range of voice work on "Family Guy" and one for his lyric-writing genius on the same show.

Actress, dancer and choreographer Debbie Allen has earned 20 Emmy nominations over the years including four for best actress in a drama series for her work on "Fame." She's won three Emmys for her work as a choreographer — two for "Fame" and one for "Motown 30: What's Goin' On!" — and could potentially add to her collection this year! She's up for best choreography for scripted programming and best TV movie for "Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square," which she executive produced.

Over the years, Betty White has received 21 Emmy nods — 18 for her work as an actress and three for hosting "Betty White's Off Their Rockers." She's won five times for acting on "Golden Girls," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "The John Larroquette Show" and "Saturday Night Live."

When it comes to Emmy nominations, no one has it on lock like David Letterman. The former late night talk show host has accrued a jaw-dropping 50 nods since 1984, though he's only won five times. He took home four statuettes for his work as a writer on "Late Night with David Letterman" and one in 1994 when the show won the Emmy for outstanding variety, music or comedy series.

The late, great Johnny Carson earned 15 Emmy nominations between 1965 and 1992. He won four times for his work on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson."

For decades now, Alfre Woodard has dazzled viewers while racking up an impressive 17 Emmy nominations. She's claimed four Emmys total: three for her work on the dramas "The Practice," "L.A. Law" and "Hill Street Blues" and one for her performance as the titular nurse in the acclaimed HBO film "Miss Evers' Boys."

Ed Asner, who died at 91 in August 2021, had more Emmy wins than any other male performer. He racked up 17 nominations and ultimately claimed seven statuettes including three for playing Lou Grant on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and two for portraying the same character on his eponymous spinoff "Lou Grant."

Over the course of her lengthy career in Hollywood, Lucille Ball earned 13 Emmy nominations and won four times. Her first Emmy was for best comedienne in 1953, followed by best actress in 1956 for her work on "I Love Lucy" in and again in 1967 and 1968 for "The Lucy Show." Lucille was one of the first select group of performers the Television Academy inducted into the Emmy Hall of Fame in 1984. In 1989 — the same year she died — the Academy posthumously honored Lucille with the Governors Award for her contributions to television. Two years later, the Academy added "I Love Lucy" to its Hall of Fame.

Tyne Daly has earned 16 Emmy nominations so far and taken home six statuettes — four for her work as Detective Mary Beth Lacey on "Cagney & Lacey," which ran from 1982 to 1988. She also won Emmys in 1996 and 2003 in the outstanding supporting actress in a drama series category for her work on "Christy" and "Judging Amy," respectively.

Kelsey Grammer has racked up 17 Emmy nominations and five statuettes since the late '80s. Surprisingly, he earned 16 nominations for playing the same role (Dr. Frasier Crane) on three different shows: "Cheers," "Wings" and "Frasier," for which he ultimately won four Emmys. He won his fifth Emmy for voicing Sideshow Bob on "The Simpsons."

Michael J. Fox scored 18 Emmy nominations between 1985 and 2016 and has come out on top five times over the years. After claiming three statuettes in the '80s for his work on "Family Ties," he won Emmys for his work on "Spin City" and "Rescue Me." He went on to earn five nominations for "The Good Wife."

Bryan Cranston has 15 Emmy nominations and six wins to his name. After scoring three nominations for best supporting actor in a comedy series for his work on "Malcolm in the Middle," he won all six of his Emmys for his work on "Breaking Bad," which he headlined and produced. He then received Emmy recognition for his performance as President Lyndon B. Johnson on the HBO made-for-TV movie "All the Way" and for a guest starring role on "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

The late, great Mary Tyler Moore earned 15 Emmy nominations between 1963 and 1993. She won seven times — four times for her performance as the titular TV journalist on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." She won her final Emmy in 1993 for her starring turn in the made-for-TV movie "Stolen Babies."

The late Art Carney won half of the 12 Emmys for which he was nominated between 1954 and 1990. He took home four Emmys for his work on "The Jackie Gleason Show" and one Emmy for his portrayal of Ed Norton on "The Honeymooners" — which started out as a recurring sketch on "The Jackie Gleason Show" and is widely regarded as the first spinoff in TV history. His sixth and final win came in 1984 when he took home the award for outstanding supporting actor in a limited series for his work on "Terrible Joe Moran."

Sterling K. Brown earned nine Emmy nominations and two wins in just five years! He claimed his first Emmy in 2016 for his performance as Christopher Darden on "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story" and his second in 2017 for his work as Randall Pearson on "This Is Us." Since then, he's also picked up nominations for "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" and "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." This year, he's up for best lead actor in a drama series for "This Is Us" for the fifth consecutive year, plus outstanding narrator for CNN's "Lincoln: Divided We Stand."

Laura Linney has won four of the seven Emmys for which she's been nominated since 2002. So far, she's been recognized for her work as an actress on the Showtime made-for-TV movie "Wild Iris," for her performance as a matchmaker on "Frasier," for portraying Abigail Adams on the HBO miniseries "John Adams" and for her starring turn on the fourth and final season of Showtime's "The Big C." In recent years, she's picked up two more nominations for starring as Wendy Byrde on "Ozark."

Angela Lansbury has earned 17 Emmy nominations over the years but has surprisingly never won! She scored her first nomination in 1983 for outstanding lead actress in a limited series for her work on "Little Gloria… Happy at Last" and received 12 consecutive nominations for every season of "Murder, She Wrote." Most recently, she was up for outstanding guest actress in a drama series in 2005 for her work on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit/Trial By Jury."