An Emmy is the biggest award an actor can win for their work on the small screen — and when there's a show or a performance Emmy voters love, it often gets multiple nominations and wins.
We've pored over the stats and compiled a list of the most Emmy-awarded actors of all time. It includes some of the biggest TV stars of all time, including Bryan Cranston, Betty White, Mary Tyler Moore, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
In fact, Louis-Dreyfus is tied with Cloris Leachman, Jean Smart, and Allison Janney for eight Emmy wins as a performer and with Carl Reiner for the most total Emmy wins among the actors on this list, with 11, if you include their awards in other categories, too.
The total Emmy wins listed here aren't exclusively for performances: Some on this list have won for writing, directing, or producing — Cranston was a producer on "Breaking Bad," and Louis-Dreyfus is an executive producer for "Veep," for example — but the majority of their Emmys are for acting.
Here are the actors with the most Emmy wins.
Carrie Wittmer contributed to a prior version of this article.
15 (tie). Don Knotts — 5 wins and 5 nominations
Knotts was nominated for five Emmy Awards (in 1961, 1962, 1963, 1966, and 1967) for his performance as Barney Fife in "The Andy Griffith Show" — and he won them all.
15 (tie). John Larroquette — 5 wins and 7 nominations
Larroquette won four consecutive Emmys from 1985 to 1988 for his performance in "Night Court." His last win came for his guest role in "The Practice" in 1998.
15 (tie). Candice Bergen — 5 wins and 9 nominations
All five of Bergen's wins came from her performance as the titular role in the CBS sitcom "Murphy Brown." She was nominated for an additional two awards in the 2000s for "Boston Legal."
15 (tie). Peter Falk — 5 wins and 12 nominations
All but one of Falk's Emmys came from his long-running performance as one of the most iconic TV detectives: Frank Columbo on "Columbo."
He also won in 1962 for "The Dick Powell Show."
15 (tie). Michael J. Fox — 5 wins and 19 nominations
Fox won three consecutive Emmys in '86, '87, and '88 for playing Alex P. Keaton in "Family Ties."
He won another two for "Spin City" and "Rescue Me."
In 2026, he was nominated for his guest appearance on "Shrinking," but lost to Rob Reiner, who won posthumously for his appearance on "The Bear." He did, however, receive the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award this year.
15 (tie). Kelsey Grammer — 5 wins and 17 nominations
Four of Grammer's wins came from his long-running performance as Frasier Crane on "Frasier."
His fifth (and most recent) win came from his vocal performance as Sideshow Bob in an episode of "The Simpsons."
15 (tie). Betty White — 5 wins and 21 nominations
White's wins were for "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "The Golden Girls," "The John Larroquette Show," and "Saturday Night Live."
9 (tie). John Lithgow — 6 wins and 13 nominations
Lithgow won three Emmys for his performance in "3rd Rock from the Sun" in the '90s. He also won in 1986 for his guest role in "Amazing Stories."
More recently, he won for playing the evil Trinity Killer in "Dexter" and for playing Winston Churchill in "The Crown." He was nominated once again in 2021 for "Perry Mason."
9 (tie). Tim Conway — 6 wins and 13 nominations
Conway was nominated for both his acting and his writing. He won for acting on "The Carol Burnett Show," "Coach," and "30 Rock."
9 (tie). Maya Rudolph — 6 wins and 16 nominations
Rudolph won twice while on "Saturday Night Live," and won four times for voicing Connie the Hormone Monstress on "Big Mouth."
9 (tie). Art Carney — 6 wins and 12 nominations
Carney won four times for "The Jackie Gleason Show," once for "The Honeymooners," and once for the made-for-TV film "Terrible Joe Moran."
9 (tie). Tyne Daly — 6 wins and 16 nominations
In 1983, 1984, 1985, and 1988, Daly took home the Emmy Award for lead actress in a drama series for "Cagney and Lacey."
She won twice more in 1996 and 2003 for roles in "Christy" and "Judging Amy," respectively.
9 (tie). Alan Alda — 6 wins and 34 nominations
Alda won five Emmys across acting, writing, and directing on "MASH." His last win came in 2006 for appearing on "The West Wing."
6 (tie). Bryan Cranston — 7 wins and 16 nominations
In 2025, at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, Cranston won his seventh Emmy for his guest role on "The Studio."
Prior to that, all of Cranston's wins came from starring in and producing "Breaking Bad."
6 (tie). Ed Asner — 7 wins and 17 nominations
Asner won for "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "Rich Man, Poor Man," "Roots," and "Lou Grant."
Asner's wins for "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Lou Grant" made him one of the few actors to win for playing the same character across two different shows.
6 (tie). Mary Tyler Moore — 7 wins and 15 nominations
Moore won twice for "The Dick Van Dyke Show," four times for "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," and once for the TV movie "Stolen Babies."
3 (tie). Jean Smart — 8 wins and 15 nominations
Smart's first two Emmy wins came back-to-back in 2000 and 2001 for her guest roles on "Frasier."
After three more nominations for "24" and "The District," she won once again in 2008 for outstanding supporting actress in "Samantha Who?"
Then more nominations came for "Fargo," "Watchmen," and "Mare of Easttown," before her absolute domination for her role in "Hacks" as acerbic stand-up comedian Deborah Vance. She won five Emmys in a row for all five seasons of the show from 2021 to 2026 — only missing 2023 because the show didn't air.
3 (tie). Allison Janney — 8 wins and 16 nominations
Janney won three Emmys in a row for "The West Wing" from 2000 to 2002 (and then another in 2004).
She won three more times for "Masters of Sex" and "Mom."
Her most recent Emmy win, the eighth overall, came in 2026 for her performance on "The Diplomat." She won for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series.
3 (tie). Cloris Leachman — 8 wins and 22 nominations
If we're just counting performances, Leachman would be tied for No. 2; however, the two actors above her have also won for writing and producing.
Leachman won for acting in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "A Brand New Life," "Cher," the "Screen Actors Guild 50th Anniversary Celebration," "Promised Land," and "Malcolm in the Middle" across 33 years.
1 (tie). Carl Reiner — 11 wins and 18 nominations
Reiner's three acting Emmys came from "Caesar's Hour" and "Mad About You."
His other eight wins came from writing and producing "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "The Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris Special."
1 (tie). Julia Louis-Dreyfus — 11 wins and 26 nominations
Most famously, Louis-Dreyfus won six consecutive Emmy Awards for playing Selina Meyer on "Veep" (she also won three more for producing the show).
She won one Emmy apiece for her performances on "Seinfeld" and "The New Adventures of Old Christine," as well.
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Gabbi Shaw is a reporter on Business Insider's editorial partnerships team. She covers entertainment, travel, food, and lifestyle for Business Insider, and Insider Inc.'s partners, including MSN, Apple News, and Yahoo.She graduated from Tulane University in 2017 with a degree in public health and now lives in New York City. She can be reached on X or LinkedIn.Please send all inquiries, comments, or tips to gshaw@businessinsider.com.Selected stories:
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