The 2026 Daytime Emmy Award nominations for Lead Actress have been revealed. Get the scoop on the nominees!

The race for Outstanding Lead Actress at the 2026 Daytime Emmy Awards is officially underway, with the category unveiled on Entertainment Tonight ahead of Tuesday’s complete nominations announcement.

Performers from General Hospital, The Young and Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, Beyond the Gates, and Days of Our Lives were all eligible this year, and actresses from every show but one — GH — made the cut. And don’t forget to check out the Lead Actor nominees, too!

Outstanding Lead Actress

Stacy Haiduk (Kristen DiMera, DAYS)
Karla Mosley (Dani Dupree, BTG)
Michelle Stafford (Phyllis Summers, Y&R)
Heather Tom (Katie Logan, B&B)
Tamara Tunie (Anita Dupree, BTG)

There are two first-time Daytime Emmy nominees in the category, both from Beyond the Gates: Mosley and Tunie. Though both are soap veterans — Mosley previously played Maya Avant Forrester on B&B and Tunie starred as Jessica Griffin on As the World Turns — this marks the first Emmy eligibility period for their work on BTG.

Also of note: this is Haiduk’s first nomination in the Lead category. She has previously been nominated three times in the Supporting Actress category, twice for DAYS and once for playing Patty on Y&R.

This marks Stafford’s 11th nomination in the Lead Actress category. She took home the trophy in 2004 and 2024. Tom makes her 7th appearance in the Lead Actress race and her 19th Daytime Emmy nomination overall. She is a three-time winner in the category, hearing her name called in 2012, 2013 and 2017.

The other acting and creative arts categories will be announced on Tuesday, July 14, and Soap Opera Digest will publish the full list of all the other Daytime Drama nominees then. The 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards are scheduled to be held on Friday, October 30, but no information about where the ceremony will take place or how fans will be able to watch has been shared yet.