The Bear Emmy Winner Ayo Edebiri Praises 'Found Family,' Jokes About Not Sitting by Her 'Real' Parents at Event (2024)

Ayo Edebiri won big at the 75th annual Primetime Emmy Awards!

The Bear star was named the year's outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series, making it her first Emmy ever.

"This is a show about found family and real family, and my parents are here tonight," she said in her speech. "I'm making them sit kind of far away from me because I'm a bad kid. But I love you so much. Thank you so much for loving me and letting me feel beautiful and Black and proud of all of that. I just love you so much."

"Probably not a dream to immigrate to this country and to have your kid be like, 'I want to do improv,'" she joked. "But you're real ones."

Edebiri earned her Emmy nomination this year for her portrayal of Sydney Adamu in the first seasons of FX’s breakout hit about a struggling Chicago restaurant. Alongside The Bear costars Jeremy Allen White, who plays Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as cousin Richie, Edebiri’s Sydney has been fighting tooth and nail to keep the restaurant alive — and help transform it into the vision Carmy and his late brother (Jon Bernthal) had for it.

The Bear scored big this year in other categories, too: White and Moss-Bachrach also earned their first nominations in 2023.

In the supporting actress in a comedy series, Abbott Elementary and Ted Lasso led the category with two nominations each, with Abbott's Janelle James and Sheryl Lee Ralph, plus Ted Lasso's Juno Temple and Hannah Waddingham, in the running against Shrinking star Jessica Williams and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Alex Borstein.

Borstein, a 10-time Emmy nominee and three-time winner, once again earned a nod this year for her role as brash comedy manager Susie Myerson in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. The Rachel Brosnahan-led Prime Video hit aired its fifth and final season last year, and both Brosnahan, 33, and Borstein, 52, closed out the run of their beloved characters with nominations, with Brosnahan earning her sixth nomination for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series.

In the world of Mrs. Maisel, their characters closed out their stories together, too, with their years-long fallout coming to an end in a final flash-forward scene that showed an older Midge (Brosnahan) and Susie reconciled at last.

Borstein was also a double nominee this year, as she once scored a nod for outstanding character voice-over performance for her long-running role as Lois Griffin on Family Guy. She’s previously been nominated in the category five times, winning in 2018.

Abbott Elementary's mockumentary-style chronicle of a Philadelphia public elementary school led to nominations for both James and Ralph.

James stars as inept principal Ava Coleman, for which she was also nominated in this category in 2022, whebn the breakout hit sitcom racked up an impressive seven nominations for its freshman season.

Ralph —who portrays veteran teacher Barbara Howard — took home the win in 2022 and performed a verse from jazz singer Diane Reeves' 1993 song “Endangered Species” as she accepted her first-ever Emmy and made history as the second Black woman (after Jackée Harry) to win the category.

"I am an endangered species, but I sing no victim song," she crooned, holding out several words for emphasis as names of those she wished to thank flashed across the screen and earned her a standing ovation. "I am a woman, I am an artist, and I know where my voice belongs."

She then made a short speech, thanking her family and Abbott creator Quinta Brunson and delivering an inspiring message to viewers: "To anyone who has ever ever had a dream and thought your dream wasn't wouldn't couldn't come true I am here to tell you that this is what believing looks like. This is what striving looks like, and don't you ever, ever give up on you.”

Ralph was joined in 2023 the nominee pool by her costars Brunson, James and Tyler James Williams. The ABC sitcom — which returns for its third season on Feb. 7 — earned eight nominations overall, including outstanding comedy series.

With a whopping 21 nominations this year, Ted Lasso was among the shows that dominated this year’s Emmys, and Temple's Keeley Jones made her way up in the PR world in the Apple T series' third and (seemingly) final season.

Temple was previously nominated in both 2021 and 2022, endearing herself to viewers by portraying a character who began the series appearing to be a ditzy stereotype — but finding depth and dimension in Kelley along the way.

Waddingham took home this very award in 2021, tearfully thanking creator and star Jason Sudeikis.

"Jason, you've changed my life with this and more importantly my baby girl's. Honestly, I'm so privileged to work with you," she said in her acceptance speech. “This single mum wouldn't be standing here without you.”

Among Ted Lasso’s other nominations this year were Sudeikis in the outstanding lead actor in a comedy series field, Phil Dunster vying for outstanding support actor in a comedy series and a triple threat in Harriet Walter, Becky Ann Baker and Sarah Niles among the outstanding guest actress in a comedy series nods. Sam Richardson scored on Jan. 6, taking home the Emmy for outstanding guest actor in a comedy series.

Ted Lasso was among the 2023 nominees for outstanding comedy series, outstanding writing for a comedy series and outstanding directing for a comedy series.

Earning her first-ever Emmy nomination, Williams was recognized this year for her role as Gaby in Apple TV+’s therapy comedy series Shrinking.

As the resident happy therapist breaking up the bad moods and sometimes over-the-line humor of colleagues Jason Segel and Harrison Ford, she previously told PEOPLE that the role solidified her love of acting.

Williams broke onto the scene as a senior correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart when she was just 22 and has since starred in Booksmart and the Fantastic Beasts series.

The comedian was not the only nom that Shrinking earned — show creator Segel also earned a nod for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series.

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See PEOPLE's full coverage of the 75th annual Primetime Emmy Awards as they're broadcasting live on Fox from the Peaco*ck Theater in Los Angeles.