9 Times a Daytime Emmy win for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series won our hearts

The Daytime Emmy for a Guest Performer began in 1980. Known for sensational and melodramatic storylines, daily soaps over the years have depicted the main characters of the shows going through several challenging phases in their lives that sometimes take even more than a decade to be resolved. Whether it's a betrayal, a family feud, or a tragic accident that could require them to suffer physically, daily soaps have it all!

Sometimes, these problems in their lives are caused by a new character that is introduced to just increase their difficulties and cause trouble in their lives. Although these guest performers do not stick around for a lot of time, they surely leave a mark among the daily soap fans, with their sometimes villainous and sometimes thoughtful characters, and are even honoured for it by a daytime Emmy.

In this article, we have listed 9 such daytime Emmy guest performer wins that won our hearts with their exceptional performance.

Disclaimer: This article is based on the writer’s opinion. Reader discretion is advised.

9 best Daytime Emmy Outstanding Guest Performer wins

9) Hugh McPhillips (Days of Our Lives)

Hugh Phillips' role as Hugh Pearson in Days of Our Lives deserves a mention in this list, as he was the first recipient of the daytime Emmy in the Outstanding Guest Performer category in 1980.

The late actor also appeared in several other daily soaps, such as The Young and the Restless, where he appeared as Andre, a restaurant host. Other than that, he was also nominated twice in the category of individual director for the 1963 daily soap, The Doctors.

8) Patricia Bethune (General Hospital)

Patricia Bethune might have just played a simple nurse named Mary Pat in General Hospital, but she surely ended up creating a lot of problems in Carly Spencer’s life.

She drugged Carly against her will while she was admitted to Ferncliff Asylum. She was also one of the key characters who sent Carly to Dr. Kurt Lasaris for electroconvulsive therapy after her second attempt at escaping from the Asylum. For her villainous performance that brought so much drama to General Hospital, Bethune won a Daytime Emmy in 2019 in the Outstanding Guest Performer category.

7) Fred Willard (The Bold and the Beautiful)

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After being mentioned several times by other characters in The Bold and the Beautiful, Fred Willard finally brought the character of John Forrester, brother of Eric Forrester, to the screen in 2014.

The late comedian appeared for a couple of episodes in the daily soap in 2014- 2015 to meet his younger brother and his daughter, Ivy. As a perfect and understanding father, he even advised Ivy to fight for her love for Liam Spencer, who was still reeling with his feelings for Steffy, while being married to Ivy. He won his daytime Emmy in 2015.

6) John Wesley Shipp (Santa Barbara)

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John Wesley Shipp is not just a celebrated soap opera actor but also an overall popular TV actor due to his performances in Dawson's Creek and CW’s Flash.

In daily soaps, his performances in Guiding Light and As The World Turns are among the most popular ones. However, his 1987 daytime Emmy win for his role as Martin Ellis in Santa Barbara is also not far behind. Shipp’s character, Ellis, is introduced as Victoria Lane’s ex-boyfriend, who is brought to Santa Barbara by Katie Timmons to draw a wedge between Victoria and Cruz Castillo. However, her plans fail as Cruz and Victoria end up getting closer due to Ellis’ aggressive nature, which often required Cruz’s intervention.

5) Cady McClain (Days of Our Lives)

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Cady McClain is a famous name in the genre of soap opera with her work in popular daily soaps such as All My Children and As The World Turns. These projects also resulted in her winning many daytime Emmy nominations and win.

For her portrayal of a fan-favorite character, Jennifer Horton in Days of Our Lives, McClain received her recent Daytime Emmy in 2021 in the guest performer category. In the 2020 storyline, McClain's performance as Jennifer Horton was praised by many due to her emotional and memorable performance after she discovers her mother, Laura Horton's, death. The performance led to her win in the guest performer category.

4) Donna Mills (General Hospital)

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Another character from General Hospital who brings dramatic twists and turns in the daily soap would be Donna Mills’s Madeline Reeves. From the moment she comes to Port Charles, she begins her scheming to keep Dr. Silas Clay away from her daughter, Nina.

Her scheming even puts Nina into a coma, which is the result of Madeline giving Nina drugs to kill her unborn child, just to keep Silas away from the inheritance. Her cunning and dramatic performance led her to win an Emmy in 2015.

3) Alley Mills (General Hospital)

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Alley Mills's stint in General Hospital as Heather Webber, also known as The Hook killer, wreaked havoc in Port Charles with her killing spree, bringing suspense and thrill to the 2022 storyline. In the storyline, she also gets to finally meet her daughter Esme, whom she had put up for adoption.

However, the meeting is not a happy one as Esme tells her mother she won’t see her daughter and her grandson ever again. For her blended performance of a villainous killer with some speck of maternal instincts, she went on to win her Emmy in 2023.

2) Ray Wise (The Young and the Restless)

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Ray Wise's mysterious cult leader, Ian Ward, came to Genoa City in 2014. He visits Genoa City to create disruptions in Nikki Newman’s life, a former member of a cult they belonged to. His animosity with Victor began with him creating problems in his wife Nikki’s life and continued for years.

He won an Emmy for his guest starring role in 2015, where two other performers also received the award with him.

1) Dick Van Dyke (Days of Our Lives)

Who would have thought that 2024 Daytime Emmy would end up creating history with Dick Van Dyke becoming the oldest winner by winning the award at 98 years of age.

After suffering from amnesia due to being injured during the Korean War, Van Dyke’s character, Timothy Robicheaux, comes to Salem in search of his long-lost son. In the daily soap, he is helped by Patch, Marlena, and even John Black in recovering his memories. The explosive revelation attached to Van Dyke’s character is that he is the biological father of John Black.