Cristin Milioti Wins First Emmy for ‘The Penguin,’ Capping Off a Career That Includes ‘Black Mirror,’ ‘30 Rock,’ and Playing the Titular Mom in ‘HIMYM’

Cristin Milioti took home the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her work in HBO‘s The Penguin at the 2025 Emmys and immediately became the sweetheart of the night. Milioti is an actress whom TV fans know from such iconic turns as the titular “Mother” in CBS’s How I Met Your Mother, the “Sexy Baby” writer on 30 Rock, the intrepid heroine Nannette of Black Mirror‘s USS Callister, and even in a bit part as one of Meadow Soprano’s gal pals on The Sopranos. However, tonight’s win marks a particular triumph for the actress, one that she underlined with an adorable acceptance speech that ended with her crying, “I love acting so much! Wooo!”

Cristin Milioti started her acceptance speech acknowledging that she wrote it on the back of some notes she took during therapy. “So don’t look at the back,” she said.

Milioti discussed how playing Sofia Falcone, aka Sofia Gigante, aka The Hangman, in HBO’s The Penguin was a “bright spot” for her. “Playing her felt like flying,” she said.

“I want to thank my incredible family,” she said, noting they were there that night. “Thank you for supporting your strange kid and showing me movies that were very inappropriate for my age.”

After tearfully thanking her friends, Milioti gave a shoutout to The Penguin showrunner. “Lauren LeFranc, whose brain I want to freebase,” she said. “She’s the reason our show is so special.”

Then, after thanking her costars and crew and the HBO gang, she yelled, “I love you and I love acting so much!”

However, that’s not where her jubilation ended. Entertainment journalist Courtney Howard shared video of Milioti walking off stage on X.

DECIDER first tapped Cristin Milioti’s turn in The Penguin as a potential Emmys win over a year ago in our review for the series: “Through it all, Cristin Milioti is spectacular. So much so, she should already be the early frontrunner for next year’s Emmys.” (Okay, that was my review, so am I smug? A little, but mainly happy that such a great actress received such immense recognition for her work.)

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Milioti is also one of the only major wins for The Penguin so far tonight. Netflix’s celebrated limited series Adolescence has been sweeping the other major awards, hinting at an eventual big win.