This year’s race for Outstanding Lead Actress and Lead Actor is officially underway at the 2026 Daytime Emmy Awards.
The 53rd Daytime Emmys covers an eligibility calendar of January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2025. The event, which was previously held in June, will now be held on Friday, October 30, at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles.
“We’re proud to honor the extraordinary talent and creative teams whose work continues to define and elevate daytime television,” NATAS president/CEO Adam Sharp said in a statement. “As the Daytime landscape evolves and new forms of storytelling emerge, we remain committed to recognizing the innovation happening across the industry.”
Check out this year’s nominees for Outstanding Lead Actress and Lead Actor.
Daytime Emmy Award Nominees for Outstanding Lead Actor
Getty- Eric Braeden (Victor Newman, “The Young and the Restless”)
- Steve Burton (Jason Morgan, “General Hospital”)
- Scott Clifton (Liam Spencer, “The Bold and the Beautiful”)
- Thorsten Kaye (Ridge Forrester, “The Bold and the Beautiful”)
- Christian Jules LeBlanc (Michael Baldwin, “The Young and the Restless”)
This year’s nomination marks Braeden’s 11th since making his debut as Victor Newman on “The Young and the Restless” in 1980. He was nominated for an Emmy in 1987, 1990, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2024, and now 2026.
Meanwhile, Burton is a two-time Daytime Emmy winner for Outstanding Supporting Actor. This year’s nomination marks his 10th overall and his third in the Outstanding Lead Actor category.
Kaye, on the other hand, is a two-time Daytime Emmy winner for Outstanding Lead Actor, earning back-to-back victories in 2023 and 2024 for his portrayal of Ridge Forrester on “The Bold and the Beautiful.”
Clifton has a total of eight Daytime Emmy nominations overall. He bagged the Lead Actor in 2017 for his role as Liam Spencer on “B&B.”
As for LeBlanc, his nomination is his first in a decade. His last Outstanding Lead Actor nomination was in 2016, and he has won in the same category three times for his portrayal of Michael Baldwin on “The Young and the Restless.”
Daytime Emmy Award Nominees for Outstanding Lead Actress
Getty- Stacy Haiduk (Kristen DiMera, “Days of Our Lives”)
- Karla Mosley (Dani Dupree, “Beyond the Gates”)
- Michelle Stafford (Phyllis Summers, “The Young and the Restless”)
- Heather Tom (Katie Logan, “The Bold and the Beautiful”)
- Tamara Tunie (Anita Dupree, “Beyond the Gates”)
Both Mosley and Tunie of “Beyond the Gates” are first-time Daytime Emmy nominees for the Outstanding Lead Actress category.
Meanwhile, Haiduk’s nomination is also a first in the Lead Actress category. She was previously nominated for the Supporting Actress category three times, twice for “Days of Our Lives” and once for “The Young and the Restless” as Patty Williams.
Stafford, on the other hand, marks her 11th nomination in the Lead Actress category. She won the title in 2004 and 2024.
Tom earns her seventh nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress and her 19th Daytime Emmy nomination overall. She previously won the category three times, taking home the award in 2012, 2013, and 2017.
