Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month: 2024 Emmy Nominees and Winners

For Hispanic Heritage Month, we are highlighting a diverse group of actors and actresses who were nominated for Emmy Awards this year. These talented performers represent numerous ethnicities and cultures, showing the wide spectrum of Hispanic heritage.

Liza Colón-Zayas, Winner, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, "The Bear"

Colón-Zayas won her first Emmy last night for her performance as sous chef Tina Marrero on "The Bear," becoming the first Latina to win in the category Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She grew up in a Puerto Rican family in the Bronx and began her career acting in off-Broadway productions.

She first gained notice for writing, producing, and starring in the one-woman show "Sistah Supreme," a semi-autobiographical play about growing up as a Latina woman in New York City in the 1970s and 1980s. In 2020, she won an Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actress and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play for her performance in "Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven."

Colón-Zayas has appeared in small roles on numerous New York-based television shows, including "Sex and the City," "Law & Order," "Rescue Me," "Nurse Jackie," and Broadway Stages productions "Blue Bloods" and "Bull."

Néstor Carbonell, Winner, Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, "Shōgun"

Born in New York City to Cuban parents of Spanish descent, Carbonell is known to television viewers for his roles as Luis Rivera in NBC's "Suddenly Susan" and Richard Alpert in ABC's "Lost." He also portrayed Sheriff Alex Romero in the A&E series "Bates Motel" and currently plays weatherman Yanko Flores in the Apple TV+ series "The Morning Show." Filmgoers likely know him best as the mayor of Gotham in "The Dark Knight" and "The Dark Knight Rises."

On "Shōgun," Carbonell played Vasco Rodrigues, a Spanish sailor in league with the Portuguese who befriends the captive English pilot John Blackthorne. This performance earned him his first Emmy nomination and win.

Carbonell grew up in a Spanish-speaking household, though the actor has rarely spoken the language in his countless film and television appearances. He did rely on his language skills when filming flashbacks of his character on "Lost" and has conducted multiple interviews in Spanish.

Selena Gomez, Nominee, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, "Only Murders in the Building"

Gomez began her career as a child actor on "Barney & Friends" in 2002. Since then, she has released several albums, starred on numerous television shows, and appeared in myriad films. Gomez was born in Texas to a father of Mexican descent and a mother of Italian ancestry. Her parents named her after the legendary Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla, and in 2021 she released her first Spanish-language album "Revelación," which earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Pop Album.

She told the Los Angeles Times that she has retained a connection to her Mexican heritage by "sharing weekends, holidays, and quinceañeras" with her father. She has also publicly spoken about her aunt immigrating to the United States "in the back of a truck" and her grandparents following soon after, and she executive produced the Netflix docuseries "Living Undocumented" about eight immigrant families living illegally in the United States.

Gomez can currently be seen starring in the fourth season of Hulu's popular comedy series "Only Murder in the Building," and later this year she will appear in the Spanish-language musical "Emilia Pérez," which won the Jury Prize at Cannes this year.

Sofía Vergara, Nominee, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, "Griselda"

Vergara became a household name while portraying Gloria Delgado-Pritchett, the Colombian second wife of Ed O'Neill's Jay Pritchett on ABC's "Modern Family." She earned Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series four times from 2010 to 2013.

The Colombian actress earned her most recent Primetime Emmy nod for a much darker role, portraying the real-life Griselda Blanco, a notorious Colombian drug lord who dominated Miami's cocaine market in the 1980s. The miniseries "Griselda" premiered on Netflix in January to positive reviews, with critics signaling out her performance.

Nava Mau, Nominee, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, "Baby Reindeer"

Mau plays Teri, the transgender love interest of Richard Gadd's Donny Dunn, on Netflix's hit limited series "Baby Reindeer." The Mexican actress's Emmy nomination was the first for a transgender actress in the category Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

Mau first gained notice in the industry when she wrote, directed, and starred in the 2019 short film "Waking Hour." She went on to co-star in the short-lived 2021 HBO Max series "Generation," portraying the aunt and primary caregiver of one of the main teenage characters. Heavily involved in LGBTQ+ causes, she worked behind the scenes on the 2020 Netflix documentary "Disclosure," which focused on LGBTQ+ representation in Hollywood.

She can next be seen as a guest star on the fifth and final season of Netflix's popular series "You," in the role of Detective Marquez.

Hank Azaria, Nominee, Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance, "The Simpsons"

Azaria has portrayed countless characters on "The Simpsons" over the past 35 years and is one of the most nominated performers of all time in this category. His four wins tie him with several other voice actors for the record.

Azaria is a descendent of Sephardic Jews, also known as "Jews of Spain." He grew up speaking the Spanish dialect Ladino, often called Judeo-Spanish. His mother was fluent in Spanish and English and worked as a publicist at Columbia Pictures, promoting films in Spanish-speaking countries.

On top of his work as bartender Moe Szyslak and Chief Clancy Wiggum on "The Simpsons," Azaria has played memorable roles in popular films including "The Birdcage" and "Mystery Men." He has also voiced the villain Gargamel in the "Smurfs" film franchise.

Follow our blog to learn more about notable Hispanic and Latino individuals, organizations, and businesses as we observe Hispanic Heritage Month.