Betty Gilpin capped a stellar night for breakout Apple TV series Widow’s Bay on Sunday by winning the Emmy in the Guest Actress In a Comedy Series category for playing one of the most dramatic — and tragic — characters in the horror comedy: the 18th century Sarah Westcott Warren.
Taking the stage on Night 2 of the 2026 Emmys, Gilpin delivered one of the more unusual acceptance speeches, reading a long poem she had written on her phone. It reflected on her journey in acting.
“I want to thank all of the actors I’ve met, old ladies in dressing rooms, hot guys on sets./What a privilege to spend this life laughing at crafty, watching Shakespeare in theaters, half-full and drafty./Our business is stupid, but actors are the bomb. From [Margo] Martindale to [Cristin] Milioti,” Gilpin said, referencing two other Emmy winners, her Mrs. Davis co-star Martindale and longtime best friend Milioti with whom she starred in an off-Broadway play 15 years ago.
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Gilpin culminated her speech by urging her fellow artists, “Let’s all lean towards Sam Shepard, and less toward Sam Altman,” to cheers from the audience at the Peacock Theater.
Backstage, Gilpin shared the inspiration for her speech, and it involved fellow Widow’s Bay guest acting Emmy nominee Hamish Linklater, who plays Gilpin’s husband on the show.
“I was on the same flight as my co-nominee Hamish Linklater. He came over to my row and asked if I had written my speech,” Gilpin said. “I was like, ‘No, I’m not going to win.’ He’s like, ‘Well, you need to do that because it’s a scientific possibility, and don’t be stupid just prepare something.’ He scared the sh*t out of me, so I wrote a quick manic poem, which, as you know, women have done for centuries.”
The Guest Actress In a Comedy Series category staged the first major face-off between the two comedy series frontrunners this year, newbie Widow’s Bay and HBO Max’s departing juggernaut Hacks, with the latter’s Kaitlin Olson leading most predictions, followed by Gilpin.
It was a big night for Widow’s Bay, which is leading all programs heading into the September 14 main Emmy telecast with eight wins.
Featured in the flashback Widow’s Bay episode “Our History,” Sarah (Gilpin) arrived in 1702 to marry Widow’s Bay founder Richard Warren (Linklater). On the island, she stumbles upon dark secrets, strange illnesses, unexplained disappearances, that she links to her husband and his alleged deal with a demon (and possibly the devil himself).
Horrified, Sarah tried to flee the island with Richard’s children but dies tragically alongside alongside all children, except one.
This was Gilpin’s fourth Emmy nomination; she was nominated three times for Netflix’s GLOW.
