Original Coverage & Source Attribution: www.goldderby.com
Heather Tom is eyeing history at the 2026 Daytime Emmys.
Six years after The Bold and the Beautiful star won her sixth career trophy, tying her with One Life to Live‘s Erika Slezak, she now has the opportunity to win No. 7. That would make Tom the undisputed Daytime Emmy champion as the most awarded female performer ever. Anthony Geary remains the record-holder for men, with eight statuettes.
Tom broke through in daytime television on The Young and the Restless as corporate heiress Victoria Newman. She joined that show in 1990 when she was just a teenager and played the role for 13 years. Along the way she earned nine Emmy nominations, winning Best Younger Actress twice (1993 and 1999).
Then she jumped over to One Life to Live, where she took over the role of Kelly Cramer for three years and earned two more Daytime Emmy nominations for Best Supporting Actress (2005 and 2007), though she lost both. Her 2005 nomination was itself historic; that was her 10th bid, which set a record for the most nominations for any actress under age 30.
In 2007, Tom took over her current role as Katie on B&B, which had previously been played by Nancy Sloan on and off since the show’s premiere in 1987. Once again the Academy showered her with recognition, with nine more bids and four wins: Best Supporting Actress in 2011, and Best Actress in 2012, 2013, and 2020. She wasn’t nominated again until this year.
Tom also holds a unique piece of daytime history as the only female actor to win Emmys in all three performer categories: Younger Actress, Supporting Actress, and Lead Actress.
As for Slezak, she won six out of her nine Best Actress nods for playing matriarch Victoria Lord (1984, 1986, 1992, 1995, 1996, and 2005). Perhaps she would have won more if the ABC soap hadn’t been cancelled in 2012 (it returned in 2013 for a short-lived online revival).
Since Slezak has been out of the soap game, Tom continues to chase the all-time record for women. Can she pull it off this year?
Best Drama Actress
1.
Tamara Tunie
Beyond the Gates
2.
Michelle Stafford
The Young and the Restless
3.
Heather Tom
The Bold and the Beautiful
4.
Stacy Haiduk
Days of Our Lives
5.
Karla Mosley
Beyond the Gates
According to the Gold Derby predictions, Tom and Michelle Stafford (The Young and the Restless) are tied in the runner-up position to win, with 6% support apiece. Tamara Tunie (Beyond the Gates) remains the overwhelming front-runner at 84% for TV’s brand-new soap. The category also includes Karla Mosley (Beyond the Gates) and Stacy Haiduk (Days of Our Lives).
Find out whether Tom makes history when the 2026 Daytime Emmys take place Oct. 30 at the Hollywood Palladium.
— Daniel Montgomery contributed to this story.
