An emotional Jean Smart paid a moving tribute to her late husband, “friend and soulmate” Richard Gilliland, who passed away in March, as she accepted the Emmy for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy on Sunday.

“I wouldn’t be here without him, without him putting his career on the back burner so I could take advantage of all the opportunities I have found,” she said.

Smart took home her fourth Emmy for a bravura performance as Deborah Vance, an aging caustic and spoiled female comedian in Las Vegas (a la Joan Rivers meets Debbie Reynolds) in the biting, much-nominated freshman HBO Max series. She thanked HBO Max and her team “for working through a pandemic. You’re all so creative and brave.”

The actress, 69, was also in the running tonight for a best supporting Emmy on HBO’s limited series Mare of Easttown in the midst of a fast-moving career...