Sandra Oh Is the First Asian Actress Nominated for Lead in a Drama Series

By Meredith Woerner

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – History was made with the 2018  Emmy Awards  nominations, which included recognition for Sandra Oh. Oh, who had been nommed five times in the supporting category for her work on “Grey’s Anatomy,” is now the first actress of Asian decent to be nominated for an Emmy for lead actress in a drama series.

The actress received the nomination for the critically acclaimed BBC America thriller “Killing Eve.” Oh plays Eve Polastri, a MI5 officer who is tailing an assassin played by Jodie Comer. While their cat-and-mouse chase plays out across Europe, both women slowly become obsessed with one another. “It’s a complicated role that also requires precise comic timing, and Oh nails every aspect of it,” read Variety’s review .

Oh was born in Canada to Korean immigrant parents and has appeared in movies including “The Princess Diaries,” “Under the Tuscan Sun,” “Big Fat Liar” and her feature debut, “Double Happiness.” In addition to her extensive voice work for animation, she starred on the series “Arliss” in the late 1990s.

Oh’s nomination spurred fans to celebrate online, with several hoping that this nomination might lead to a win she “deserved” for “Grey’s Anatomy,” after her decade-long run as Dr. Cristina Yang on the ABC drama.

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