#5
August 16, 2014
Allison attended the 66th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards on August 16, 2014 as a nominee for Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Margaret Scully on Showtime’s “Masters of Sex.” Though she had appeared at the 2013 Primetime Emmy Awards as a presenter, Allison’s most recent prior Emmy nomination had come in 2006 for the final season of “The West Wing”; her most recent prior win had actually been a full decade earlier. So it was a triumphant return to the Emmys for Allison as a double nominee - and winner - in 2014. Now age 54, Allison appeared on the red carpet for this event in a classic, elegant sleeveless gown by Bert Keeter.
Allison won this Emmy for her guest appearance in Season 1 of “Masters of Sex” over Diana Rigg (“Game of Thrones”), Kate Mara (“House of Cards”), Kate Burton (“Scandal”), Margo Martindale (“The Americans”), and Jane Fonda (“The Newsroom”). As per Guest Actress category rules, Allison submitted one episode from Season 1 for voter consideration; that episode was “Brave New World”. The award was presented to Allison by actresses Laverne Cox, Uzo Aduba & Natasha Lyonne.
This Emmy win brought Allison’s career total briefly to five; in just nine more days she would snag another. Speaking to reporters backstage, Allison commented about the significance the role on “Masters of Sex” had for her acting career: “I felt that Margaret Scully challenged me in ways that I’ve never been challenged before as an actress on so many levels — on an emotional level, on a physical level — and having to do sex scenes was extraordinarily nerve-wracking and stressful for me and something that I didn’t think I’d have to do at this age, frankly.”