Zendaya Makes History With ‘Euphoria’ Emmys Win: “I Am So Grateful”

Euphoria star Zendaya made history at the 2022 Emmys by becoming both the first Black woman to win the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series two years in a row and the youngest two-time winner of any Emmy. The 26-year-old beat out a stacked category including Jodie Comer from Killing Eve, Laura Linney from Ozark, Melanie Lynskey from Yellowjackets, Sandra Oh from Killing Eve, and Reese Witherspoon from The Morning Show. While accepting her award, Zendaya offered a heartfelt message to fans, expressing how “grateful” she is to folks who have shared their own stories of struggling through addiction and trauma with her.

“My greatest wish for Euphoria was that it could help heal people, and I just want to say thank you to everyone who has shared their story with me,” Zendaya said. “I want you to know that anyone who has loved a Rue or feels like they are a Rue, I want you to know that I am so grateful for your stories, and I carry them with me, and I carry them with her.”

In Euphoria Season 2, Rue continued to struggle with her addiction, going so far as to run away from home and narrowly escape sex slavery. She ends the season sober, but who knows what will come next for the teen.

When Decider spoke with the Euphoria star back in January, the idea of using Rue as a way to tell the stories of others out there was already on her mind. “I think Rue is representative of so much more to a lot of people. She is the embodiment of a lot of people’s pasts and a lot of people’s lives and a lot of people’s sobriety journeys. So, it’s not just my own pain that I’m carrying, it’s a lot. It’s the culmination of a lot of people’s,” she said.

Zendaya will return to the role of Rue in Euphoria Season 3.