Jessica Gunning Wins First Emmy for ‘Baby Reindeer’

Jessica Gunning has just won her first Emmy Award for her portrayal of Martha in Netflix’s “Baby Reindeer.” Gunning was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series for her work, one of 11 total nominations for the show.

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After its April premiere, “Baby Reindeer” became one of the buzziest shows of the summer, catapulted into the Netflix Top 10 and earning instant awards speculation for Gunning, creator and star Richard Gadd, and the series itself. The show received nominations at the 76th Annual Emmy Awards for its casting, costuming, directing, editing, and music supervision, as well as in the performance categories for Gunning, Gadd, Tom Goodman-Hill, and Nava Mau (in Gunning’s category). The Creative Arts Emmys earlier in September awarded casting directors Nina Gold and Martin Ware as well as editors Peter H. Oliver and Benjamin Gerstein.

In “Baby Reindeer,” Gunning plays the stalker Martha, who becomes obsessed with bartender and comedian Donny (Gadd) after he gives her a free cup of tea when she’s upset. As they spend more time together (not always willingly), the duo experience an intimate understanding of each other’s minds that adds layers of complexity to both characters and to an already tenuous relationship. The series was previously a one-man show mounted by Gadd and based on his real-life experiences with stalking and sexual assault.

“I’ve said before, and I genuinely do mean this: if I never work again, I get to say that I played Martha in ‘Baby Reindeer,’” Gunning told IndieWire in June. “Everywhere you go, you can hear people talk about shows that they’re binge watching, or music they love, or books they’ve read. You do this job to entertain, but every so often, something comes along where you’re just like, ‘This might be changing someone’s life.’”

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It’s certainly been a big life changing for Gunning, with her first Emmy nomination and win. The Irish actress has been working for 17 years and appeared in the Matthew Warchus film “Pride” and Stephen Merchant’s series “The Outlaws.” She was nominated for her supporting turn in “Baby Reindeer” alongside Dakota Fanning (“Ripley”), Lily Gladstone (“Under the Bridge”), Aja Naomi King (“Lessons in Chemistry”), Kali Reis (“True Detective: Night Country”), Diane Lane (“Feud: Capote vs. The Swans”), and costar Mau, who plays Donny’s love interest (notably, five of the six actresses are first-time Emmy nominees, in one of the award show’s most diverse categories).

“Baby Reindeer” is available to stream on Netflix.