Daytime Emmys 2025: Inside The Winners Circle With Stars of General Hospital, Young and Restless and More!

Alley Mills, who won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Guest Performance for her work as Heather Webber as GH in 2023, duplicated her victory in the category this year. She began her speech by thanking "my beautiful daughter," Avery Kristen Pohl (ex-Esme), her fellow nominee in the category, who played her on-screen offspring. Mills thanked Executive Producer Frank Valentini and the writers as well as the crew, who she described as "the family, the village that supports us." She thanked God and observed "that we're living in really dark times ... so we've just got to keep our spirits high." To her late husband, Orson Bean, Mills said, "I miss you, baby."

Lisa Yamada (Luna, B&B) showed both poise and raw emotion as she accepted her Emmy as Outstanding Emerging Talent. "Acting has been my dream since I gained consciousness and my dreams are coming true right now," she said at the podium. "I have so many people to thank before the music comes on!" She thanked her boss, Executive Producer/Head Writer Brad Bell and noted that playing Luna was "the honor of my life." She also shouted out Don Diamont (Bill) "for your constant guidance" and fellow nominee Christian Weissmann (Remy), "my bestie" as well as B&B's behind-the-scenes crew. "But most importantly, I want to thank my mommy and my daddy," she wept. "You sacrificed so much for me to pursue this silly dream of mine!"

Susan Walters nabbed her first trophy in the Outstanding Supporting Actress on her first nomination for her work as Y&R's Diane. She first thanked co-stars Peter Bergman (Jack) and Michael Mealor (Kyle), her on-screen husband and son, respectively. "I would not be here without you," she professed. "You are the most generous scene partners that I have ever worked with." She congratulated her fellow nominees and, addressing Executive Producer/Head Writer Josh Griffith, said, "When you brought Diane Jenkins back to life, you gave me life!" Acknowledging her spouse, Linden Ashby (ex-Cameron, Y&R), she added, "I am so happy that I won so that I can thank my husband of 40 years who has helped me get to work and do this work for the last three-and-a-half years."

Jonathan Jackson was only 12 years old when he took home his first Daytime Emmy as GH's Lucky Spencer back in 1995. His win as Outstanding Supporting Actor this year brings his total number of victories to six, tying him with Heather Tom (Katie, Bold and Beautiful) and Erika Slezak (Ronnie, GH; ex-Viki, One Life to Live). "I'm very humbled to be up here, and overwhelmed," he said. He thanked The Father, the son and the Holy Ghost "for grace and mercy," his wife, Lisa Vultaggio, his children, Caleb, Adora and Titus, his parents, "everyone who's ever said a prayer for me and been there for me in dark times." Next, he voiced his gratitude to Executive Producer Frank Valentini, the writers and everyone at GH, singling out Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth) and Steve Burton (Jason). "I especially want to thank Genie Francis [Laura]," he said. "I owe you a debt of love that I will never be able to repay, and also Anthony Geary [ex-Luke]. Even though I didn't get to work with you this time around, the truth is, you are with me in every single scene that I do."

Outstanding Lead Actress winner Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis, GH) had never won before in this category, but she has a pair of Supporting Actress statuettes to her name. Accepting her award, Grahn first acknowledged her fellow nominees: "Ladies, we'll share it. We'll pass it around." She then recalled how she had sought out her job at the show when she was 39 and wanted to have a child. "I was able to do what I love and raise the person that I love most in this world," Kate, she said, gesturing to where her daughter was sitting in the audience. She thanked her boss, Executive Producer Frank Valentini, noting, "We were friends long before you were my boss, and throuhg it all I have loved you, respected you and appreciated you." The actress then brought the crowd to its feet with her rousing comments about the fragile state of democracy in the country and urging everyone to "show up, stand up, speak up for human decency!"

With his win as Outstanding Lead Actor, Paul Telfer (Xander Kiriakis) became just the third actor from Days of Our Lives to win the prestigious award. When he reached the stage, Telfer's first thank-you was to his wife, Broadway actress Carmen Cusack, who could not attend the ceremony with him because she was busy on stage in the new musical Bull Durham. He thanked his DAYS family, both in front of and behind the camera, "and especially Linsey Godfrey [Sarah]," noting that she had helped make his winning performance possible. Getting choked up, he said, "The last thing I ever expected was for my 80-year-old father to become a fan of soap operas, and he did, whereas my mum always loved soaps and she loved villains. She's been gone for over 20 years, and so to win this, first, on a soap opera, playing a villain, is really wonderful. So, thanks, Mom!"