The 50th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will be held on Friday, Dec. 15, with the ceremony airing live on CBS starting at 9 p.m. ET. Soap Opera Digest chatted with the nominees to get the scoop on how they found out, what episodes they submitted, and more as we count down to daytime’s biggest night!
Outstanding Supporting Actress
Kelly Thiebaud (ex-Britt, GENERAL HOSPITAL)
ABC/Ricky Middlesworth
Congratulations on yet another nomination! How did you get the good news? “I was actually in New York at the time, and I knew the announcements were going to come out on a Wednesday. I was nervous and excited and not sure how it was going to play out. But then, Wednesday came around and I completely forgot about it! Which was good, because I wasn’t, like, waiting by my phone. I was going uptown to visit a girlfriend on the Upper East Side and I rode my bike all the way up from Union Square, and I was just having the best time riding through Central Park. I didn’t quite know exactly where my friend lived, so I decided to check the maps on my phone and I saw all these text messages. I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, the announcement!’ I pulled over, parked my bike and checked some of the messages. The first one I read said, ‘Congratulations on your nomination!’ Then I immediately called my boyfriend and was like, screaming in Central Park: ‘I got nominated again!’ I was just so over-the-moon excited. I couldn’t believe it! I had so much ecstatic energy running through my body. Then I hopped back on my bike, went to my friends house and carried on with my day [laughs].”
Did you do anything to celebrate? “It wasn’t, like, a huge celebration, but I took myself to lunch and had a glorious glass of champagne and had a moment of gratitude and appreciation.”
What was on your reel this year? “I submitted the scene with [Britt’s] mom [Liesl] after I got the official diagnosis that I was in stage three, I believe, of Huntington’s and we’re in my office and we had this big emotional, crying scene. I submitted another scene with my mom, where it’s the night of the party [that Britt threw for herself when she planned to leave town] and she shows up unexpectedly in my hotel room and in my own way, I’m kind of saying good-bye to her. Then I had a couple of scenes with Roger [Howarth, ex-Austin], one where I tell him about the diagnosis and another one after he knows everything and we talk about the party and who I’m going to invite and why it’s happening, about how I just want to lose myself at this party and forget about my problems. And I believe I also submitted the breakup/good-bye scenes between Britt and Cody.”
What does it mean to you to have made the list again this year? “You know, I actually can’t decide whether it means more or the same or the first time around, but it is significant to get recognized again. You go, like, ‘Oh, my gosh, it’s not a fluke! People actually like my work!’ And that feels really good. There is so much effort and hard work that goes into this job, and I received such wonderful writing, so it just feels really good to get recognized again. It’s a very special thing. You go through a lot of your career being unrecognized and being told no so many times, and then when you get recognition on this level, it’s such a great feeling. It’s reaffirming.”
You’re living abroad. Will you be in attendance? “I’m gonna be there! I’m gonna make it happen.”
What are you most looking forward to about the big night? “It’s going to be such a reunion. I’m nervous and excited to see everyone again! It’s going to feel a little different than last year, where I was still on the show and I felt like a part of the family. But I’m hoping to be greeted with open arms and I’m really excited to see everyone, and I’m excited to celebrate, no matter what happens. It’s a win that I got nominated again and I just feel so much joy and appreciation and excitement for it all.”
Will you prepare a speech or would it be a wing-it moment if you were to win? “Last year was a wing-it moment, and I would like to do that again … just maybe a little bit more calm when I’m talking! I was so out of my body, I didn’t know what was coming out of my mouth! I still think I would wing it, just because I want it to be authentic from the heart and in the moment, but I’m hoping that I would have enough control over my body and my energy to remember to thank all the people that need to be thanked and to say things in a more eloquent way.”
Any concerns about having to get the Emmy on the plane back to London with you if you win? “Yes [laughs]. But what a great problem to have!”
