When it comes to the Emmys, it’s truly an honor to be nominated—and these stars know the feeling best.
Ahead of the Emmys 2026 kicking off at Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles at 8 p.m. ET Sept. 14, there are plenty of worthy nominees whose names could be engraved for, surprisingly, the very first time.
Indeed, the upcoming ceremony—which will be hosted by Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay—could correct one of the biggest omissions in television comedy history, as Steve Carell is up for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role in Rooster.
And while Carell’s category mates include Wonder Man’s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Widow’s Bay’sMatthew Rhys,Shrinking’s Jason Segeland Only Murders in the Building’s Martin Short, a win for Carell is long overdue as he never took home a statue for his portrayal of Michael Scott in The Office.
For his part, Carell—who received six nominations for his iconic role in the NBC comedy series—has never bemoaned the missed opportunity to work a “that’s what she said,” joke into an acceptance speech, but trust, his fellow Dunder Mifflin colleagues have expressed disappointment.
In fact, the Television Academy is lucky all the trophies weren’t put in Jell-O.
Rainn Wilson, who played Carell’s No. 2 Dwight Schrute in the Greg Daniels series, slammed the TV academyafter the 2011 ceremony—Carell’s last year of eligibility for the role—in a since-deleted post on X, “The world of TV should be ashamed of itself that Steve Carell never won an Emmy for Michael Gary Scott.” (That year, theBig Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons took home the Emmy.)
Of course, while Abdul-Mateen II, Rhys and Short have all taken home a trophy at least once, Segel has similarly never won an Emmy. However, despite starring inHow I Met Your Motherfor nearly 10 years, he only received his first-ever nomination in 2023 for Shrinking.
Meanwhile, David Harbour—up for Outstanding Supporting Actor for his role in DTF St. Louis—similarly has an opportunity to receive an Emmy for the first time after missing the opportunity for his Stranger Things role following nominations in 2017 and 2018.
And although the beloved Netflix series nabbed seven nominations for its final season at this year’s ceremony, the series’ stars—including Millie Bobby Brownwho also received nominations in 2017 and 2018—have never taken home wins for their roles.
Of course, TV fans are well aware that “not yet” doesn’t always mean “never.” Noah Wyle finally took home his first win last year after five prior nominations for his iconic role as Dr. John Carter in ER.
And for the longtime TV emergency physician, the wait was well worth it.
“What a dream this has been,” Wyle said on stage last year. “Thank you to everyone at HBO Max and Warner Bros. Television for allowing the conditions to exist for lightning to strike in my life twice.”
In anticipation of similar speeches possibly being read tonight, keep reading for more iconic TV stars who have never won an Emmy…
Steve Carell
Carell received ten Emmy nominations for his run onThe Office—on which he played Michael Scott and was a producer. Despite his acclaimed performances during his seven-season run, Emmy voters never quite declared him the World’s Best TV Actor.Nine years later, Carell scored one nod for portraying disgraced news anchor Mitch Kessler onThe Morning Showin 2020.In 2026, he earned his 12th Emmy nomination for his role ofGreg Russo onThe Rooster.
Keri Russell
It’s an honor to keep getting nominated. The star has received eight Emmy nomination nods—five for starring as Kate Wyler and producingThe Diplomatand three for starring onThe Americans.
Kaley Cuoco
While herBig Bang TheorycostarJim Parsonswon four Emmys for playing Sheldon, Cuoco was never even nominated for her role as Penny.And while she was, however, up for two Emmys for her work onThe Flight Attendant, in which she played Cassie and served as an executive producer, she still hasn’t taken home a trophy quite yet.
Kathryn Hahn
The actress is a four-time Emmy nominee, most recently nominated for her role inThe Studioin 2025.
Natasha Lyonne
Since her first 2014, Lyonne has received five Emmy nominations for her acting, writing and producing onPoker Face,Russian DollandOrange Is the New Black.
Matthew Perry
CouldEmmy voters have had a bigger snub?Lisa KudrowandJennifer Anistonare the only core cast members ofFriendswho have won an Emmy.Perry, who died in 2023, earned one individual nomination for his role of Chandler Bing, and went on to earn two more forThe West Wing,one forThe Ron Clark Storyand one for his work as an executive producer onFriends: The Reunion.
Courteney Cox
Justice for Monica! Shockingly, Cox is the only coreFriendsstar who has never even been nominated for an individual Emmy. In 2021, she shared a nomination for Outstanding Variety Special for her appearance in theFriendsreunion.
Matt LeBlanc
Like hisFriendscharacter Joey, LeBlanc has had some practice with his gracious loser face. He’s received seven individual Emmy nominations, including three for playing Joey and four for his role of a satirical version of himself onEpisodes. The actor also got an executive producing nod for the 2021Friendsreunion.
David Schwimmer
Schwimmer was nominated for an individual Emmy for playing Ross onFriendsin 1995 and received a second acting nod in 2016 for portrayingRobert Kardashian, the late father ofKim Kardashian,Kourtney Kardashian,Khloe KardashianandRob Kardashian, on the limited seriesThe People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.Add these to his executive producing nod for theFriendsreunion, and his total comes to three.
Connie Britton
TV’s favorite mom has been shut out: Britton scored two nods for playing Tami Taylor onFriday Night Lightsbefore being nominated for her performances onAmerican Horror Story,NashvilleandThe White Lotus, garnering a total of five Emmy nominations.
Kristen Wiig
Trust, fans will be more excited than the Target Lady when Wiig finally gets to give an acceptance speech.TheSaturday Night Livealum has been nominated for a whopping 13 Emmys: eight for her performances onSNLas both a cast member and host, two for her producing and acting onPalm Royale, one for her voice-over work as Lola onThe Looney Tunes Show, one for her role onThe Spoils of Babylonand one for her song inWill & Harper.
Hugh Laurie
Laurie has received ten Emmy nominations, including one for his guest role onVeep, two for his work onThe Night Managerand seven for his run onHouse. Unfortunately, he’s won none. As Dr. House would say, “What’s the opposite of thank you?”
Angela Lansbury
Before her death in 2022, the late legendary actress was nominated for 18 Emmys, including 12 for her role of Jessica Fletcher onMurder, She Wrote.While the Emmy votes couldn’t give her a statuette, they did her one better: Lansbury became a Hall of Fame honoree in 1996.
Cate Blanchett
The two-time Oscar winner has been nominated for three Emmys, including for her performance inDisclaimeras well as for her acting and producing inMrs. America.
Lauren Graham
Coffee, coffee, coffee? More like snub, snub, snub! TheGilmore Girlsactress has never received recognition at the Emmys for either her role as Lorelei or Sarah Braverman onParenthood.She has, however, been nominated for two Actor Awards and one Golden Globe forGilmore Girls.
Denzel Washington
While he’s more of a movie star, the two-time Oscar winner has received two shared Emmy nominations: Outstanding Non-Fiction Special forHalf Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parksin 2001 and Outstanding Informational Special forHank Aaron: Chasing the Dreamin 1995.
Amy Adams
Adams was up for two Emmys for her producing and performance inSharp Objectsin 2019. She might not have won an award, but fans arestilltalking about the perofrmance.
Emilia Clarke
Butwhenwill winter come? The actress was nominated for Emmys in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2019 for playing Daenerys Targaryen onGame of Thrones, but luck was not on her side.
Kit Harington
While the HBO series earned a whopping 59 Emmys during its run, Clarke’s costar Harington has also never received Emmys recognition, though he was nominated twice for playing Jon Snow.
Leonardo DiCaprio
The Oscar winner received his first Emmy nomination in 2015 for producingVirunga, which is about mountain gorillas and was up for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special.
Hugh Grant
A two-time Emmy nominee, Grant was up his roles inThe UndoingandA Very English Scandalin 2021 and 2019, respectively.
Milo Ventimiglia
This IsUnfair. The actor was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2017, 2018 and 2019 forThis is Usbut sadly never walked away with an Emmy.
Mandy Moore
Meanwhile, theTangledactress received her first-ever Emmy nod for her role onThis Is Usin 2019 but came up empty-handed.
Lena Dunham
Dunham is certainly a voice of a generation, receiving eight Emmy nominations forGirls, including in the acting, directing, writing and producing categories.And yet, Dunham still hasn’t taken home a statuette.
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