Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series

The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series is an award presented annually by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It was first awarded at the 7th Daytime Emmy Awards in 1980,^[1] and is given to honor an actor/actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a guest role while working within the daytime drama industry.

Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series
The 2024 recipient: Dick Van Dyke
Awarded for	Outstanding Performance by a Guest Actor or Actress in a Drama Series
Country	United States
Presented by	NATAS ATAS
First award	1980
Currently held by	Dick Van Dyke, Days of Our Lives (2024)
Website	theemmys.tv/daytime

Originally referred to as the Outstanding Cameo Appearance in a Drama Series category, it was changed to Outstanding Guest Star in a Drama Series in 1987, when the category was re-introduced.^[2] It was re-introduced in 2015, when the category was called Outstanding Special Guest Performer in a Drama Series and marked its return after 28 years. It included a criterion that "the performer's character must have premiered in the current eligibility (calendar) year, and have made a limited number of appearances in a significant role".^[3] The category then began using its current title in 2018. The eligibility criteria also was modified, permitting actors who "are playing characters they either played before, or are newly cast" as able to submit in the category.^[4]

The award was first presented to Hugh McPhillips, for his role as Hugh Pearson on Days of Our Lives.^[1] Since its inception, the award has been given to twelve actors. The Bold and the Beautiful and General Hospital are tied the most awarded actors, with a total of four. In 2015, Donna Mills, Fred Willard, and Ray Wise made Daytime Emmy Award history when they tied in the category. As of the 2024 ceremony, Dick Van Dyke is the most recent winner in this category for his role as Mystery Man/Timothy Robicheaux on Days of Our Lives. At the age of 98 years old, Van Dyke also became the oldest performer to win a Daytime Emmy Award.

Winners and nominees

Listed below are the winners of the award for each year, as well as the other nominees.

Table key

‡	Indicates the winner

John Wesley Shipp won in 1987 for his performance on Santa Barbara

Donna Mills won in 2015 for her role on General Hospital, and was one of three recipients of the award that year.

Ray Wise won in 2015 for his role on The Young and the Restless, and was one of three recipients of the award that year.

Jim O'Heir won in 2018 for his role as Matt Cannistra on The Bold and the Beautiful.

Eva LaRue won in 2020 for her role as Celeste Rosales on The Young and the Restless.

Cady McClain won in 2021 for her role as Jennifer Horton on Days of Our Lives.

Alley Mills won in 2023 for her role as Heather Webber on General Hospital.

1980s

Year	Performer	Program	Role	Network	Ref.
1980 (7th)	Hugh McPhillips ‡	Days of Our Lives	Hugh Pearson	NBC	[1]
	Sammy Davis Jr.	One Life to Live	Chip Warren	ABC	[5]
	Joan Fontaine	Ryan's Hope	Page Williams	ABC
	Kathryn Harrow	The Doctors	Pat Reyerson	ABC
	Eli Mintz	All My Children	Locksmith	ABC
1987 (14th)	John Wesley Shipp ‡	Santa Barbara	Martin Ellis	NBC	[6]
	Pamela Blair	All My Children	Maida Andrews	ABC
	Eileen Heckart	One Life to Live	Ruth Perkins	ABC
	Celeste Holm	Loving	Clara and Lydia Woodhouse	ABC
	Terrence Mann	As the World Turns	Jester	CBS

2010s

Year	Performer	Program	Role	Network	Ref.
2015 (42nd)	Donna Mills ‡	General Hospital	Madeline Reeves	ABC	[7]
	Fred Willard ‡	The Bold and the Beautiful	John Forrester	CBS
	Ray Wise ‡	The Young and the Restless	Ian Ward	CBS
	Meredith Baxter	The Young and the Restless	Maureen Russell	CBS	[8]
	Sally Kellerman	The Young and the Restless	Constance Bingham	CBS
	Linda Elena Tovar	General Hospital	Rosalie Martinez	ABC
2016 (43rd)	Obba Babatundé ‡	The Bold and the Beautiful	Julius Avant	CBS	[9]
	Anna Maria Horsford	The Bold and the Beautiful	Vivienne Avant	CBS	[10]
	Adam Leadbeater	Days of Our Lives	Dr. Seth Malcom	NBC
	Frank Runyeon	The Young and the Restless	Angel	CBS
	Dee Wallace	General Hospital	Patricia Spencer	ABC
2017 (44th)	Jim O'Heir ‡	The Bold and the Beautiful	Matt Cannistra	CBS	[11]
	Tobin Bell	Days of Our Lives	Yo Ling	NBC	[12]
	Don Harvey	General Hospital	Tom Baker	ABC
	Monica Horan	The Bold and the Beautiful	Kieran Cannistra	CBS
	Nichelle Nichols	The Young and the Restless	Lucinda Winters	CBS
2018 (45th)
	Vernee Watson ‡	General Hospital	Stella Henry	ABC	[13]
	Ryan Ashton	The Young and the Restless	Zach Sinnett	CBS	[14]
	Robb Derringer	Days of Our Lives	Scooter Nelson	NBC
	John Enos	Days of Our Lives	Roger	NBC
	Morgan Fairchild	Days of Our Lives	Anjelica Deveraux	NBC
2019 (46th)
	Patricia Bethune ‡	General Hospital	Nurse Mary Pat	ABC	[15]
	Philip Anthony-Rodriguez	Days of Our Lives	Miguel Garcia	NBC	[16]
	Wayne Brady	The Bold and the Beautiful	Dr. Reese Buckingham	CBS
	Kate Mansi	Days of Our Lives	Abigail Deveraux	NBC
	Thaao Penghlis	Days of Our Lives	Andre DiMera	NBC

2020s

Year	Performer	Program	Role	Network	Ref.
2020 (47th)
	Eva LaRue ‡	The Young and the Restless	Celeste Rosales	CBS	[17]
	Elissa Kapneck	The Young and the Restless	Sasha	ABC	[18]
	Michael E. Knight	General Hospital	Martin Grey	ABC
	Jeffrey Vincent Parise	The Young and the Restless	Simon Black	CBS
	Chrishell Stause	Days of Our Lives	Jordan Ridgeway	NBC
2021 (48th)
	Cady McClain ‡	Days of Our Lives	Jennifer Horton-Devereaux	NBC	[19]
	Kim Delaney	General Hospital	Jackie Templeton	ABC	[20]
	George DelHoyo	Days of Our Lives	Orpheus	NBC
	Briana Lane	General Hospital	Brook Lynn Ashton	ABC
	Victoria Platt	Days of Our Lives	Dr. Amanda Raynor	NBC
2022 (49th)
	Ted King ‡	The Bold and the Beautiful	Jack Finnegan	CBS	[21]
	Robert Gossett	General Hospital	Marshall Ashford	ABC	[22]
	Michael Lowry	Days of Our Lives	Dr. Clay Snyder	NBC
	Naomi Matsuda	The Bold and the Beautiful	Dr. Li Finnegan	CBS
	Ptosha Storey	The Young and the Restless	Naya Benedict	CBS
2023 (50th)
	Alley Mills ‡	General Hospital	Heather Webber	ABC	[23]
	Steve Burton	Beyond Salem: Chapter Two	Harris Michaels	Peacock	[24]
	Cassandra Creech	The Bold and the Beautiful	Grace Buckingham	CBS
	Robert Newman	The Young and the Restless	Ashland Locke	CBS
	Kevin Spirtas	Days of Our Lives	Dr. Craig Wesley	NBC/Peacock
2024 (51st)
	Dick Van Dyke ‡	Days of Our Lives	Mystery Man/Timothy Robicheaux	Peacock	[25]
	Linden Ashby	The Young and the Restless	Cameron Kirsten	CBS	[26]
	Ashley Jones	The Bold and the Beautiful	Dr. Bridget Forrester	CBS
	Alley Mills	General Hospital	Heather Webber	ABC
	Guy Pearce	Neighbours	Mike Young	Freevee
2025 (52nd)	*Winner will be announced on October 17, 2025				[27]
	Linden Ashby	The Young and the Restless	Cameron Kirsten	CBS
	Clint Howard	The Bold and the Beautiful	Tom Starr	CBS
	Jacqueline Grace Lopez	General Hospital	Blaze	ABC
	Alley Mills	General Hospital	Heather Webber	ABC
	Valarie Pettiford	The Young and the Restless	Amy Lewis	CBS
	Avery Kristen Pohl	General Hospital	Esme Prince	ABC

Performers with multiple nominations

3 nominations

• Alley Mills

2 nominations

• Linden Ashby

Series with most awards

4 wins

• The Bold and the Beautiful

4 wins

• General Hospital

3 wins

• Days of Our Lives

2 wins

• The Young and the Restless

Network with most awards

6 wins

• CBS

4 wins

• ABC

3 wins

• NBC