On May 21, 1999, one of the most talked-about losing streaks in Emmy history finally reached its conclusion: Susan Lucci took home the award for Best Actress. The victory was a long time coming, to say the least. Her first Best Actress Emmy nomination had arrived back in 1978, and every single year after that, she found herself nominated once again — only to walk away empty-handed each time.
All of those nominations recognized her work as Erica Kane on the beloved soap opera All My Children. When she first stepped into the role in 1970, Erica was a troubled teenager. As the years went on, the character evolved dramatically — surviving multiple marriages, enduring plane and car crashes, and ultimately building her own cosmetics empire. By the time that first nomination came around, Susan Lucci had already established herself as one of the most recognizable soap opera actresses in the country. Most people assumed it was only a matter of time before she claimed the Emmy, even if she didn't win right out of the gate. But things didn't quite work out that way.
The early years of losing reportedly took a real toll on her, and the pursuit of that elusive Emmy became something of an obsession. Nomination after nomination came and went, each one ending in disappointment. Over time, however, she managed to find some humor in the situation. In 1990, she made a guest appearance in a Saturday Night Live skit where people waved Emmy statuettes in front of her just to stoke her jealousy. Despite the laughs, her desire to win never faded. That's why it was such a momentous occasion when, in 1999, the announcer declared, "The streak is over… Susan Lucci!"
So what ultimately tipped the scales in her favor? A critic at the Los Angeles Times pointed to a shift in strategy: rather than submitting the kind of soap opera melodrama scenes she had always relied on in the past, she chose clips that highlighted her diverse range of acting talents — and it made all the difference.