Susan Lucci’s career is coming full circle with her 2023 Daytime Emmys Lifetime Achievement Award.
Shemar Moore will present the 76-year-old actress with the distinction on Friday, December 15, 24 years after he famously presented Lucci with her first outstanding lead actress win at the 1999 Daytime Emmys.
“It’s really, totally, amazing,” Lucci told Good Morning America’s Lara Spencer of receiving the honor on Monday, December 11. “I’m so humbled by this — the Lifetime Achievement award. My first thought is, ‘Oh, my goodness. Have I achieved enough in my lifetime to be [worthy of the achievement]?’ … I mean, I’m not Meryl Streep. You know what I’m saying? So, suddenly, ‘Oh, OK. That’s [fantastic]. I’m so honored.’”
Lucci is best known for her role as Erica Kane on the soap opera All My Children, which she starred on from 1970 to 2011. She earned a total of 21 Daytime Emmy nominations for her work on the series and broke her losing streak in 1999. “The streak is over!” Moore, 53, shouted on stage as he announced Lucci’s win, which prompted a minutes-long standing ovation.
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On Monday, Lucci joked that she has “no expectation” to receive the same reaction at this year’s awards ceremony, adding, “I’m just really happy to be there.”
In the audience for her historic win was Lucci’s former All My Children costar Kelly Ripa, who portrayed Hayley Vaughan on the soap. Rumors of a possible reboot have swirled online for years, and according to Lucci, the show is “still alive” and in the works. “I would be in the very best hands with Kelly and Mark [Consuelos] producing,” she shared on GMA. (Ripa, 53, and Consuelos, 52, wed after falling in love as Hayley and Mateo on the show.)
Susan Lucci holds her Emmy award at the annual Daytime Emmy Awards, 1999. Diana Freed/Getty Images
Now five decades into her career, Lucci noted to Spencer, 54, she would tell her younger self to not “listen to anybody who tells you just because you have dark eyes and dark hair and olive skin that you can’t make it.”
Following her run on All My Children, Lucci went on to appear in shows and movies such as Army Wives, Hot in Cleveland, Joy, Devious Maids and Difficult People. Her other credits include The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Lady Mobster, Dallas, French Silk and Ebbie.
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Lucci and daytime host Maury Povich were first announced at the 2023 Daytime Emmys Lifetime Achievement Award recipients in June. “I am truly humbled to receive this esteemed award from the Academy,” she said in a statement at the time. “Throughout my career, I have been incredibly fortunate to work alongside exceptional talents and embraced by my fans that have been with me every step of the way.”
She continued: “This honor is not just a reflection of my journey, but a testament to the enduring power of storytelling and the profound connection we are so lucky to forge with audiences all over the world through television.”
The 2023 Daytime Emmy Awards will air on CBS Friday, December 15, at 9 p.m. ET.