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“The Bear” star Lisa Colon-Zayas became the first Latina actress to win Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series at the 2024 Emmy Awards.
“I’m taking it in,” she told Extra’s Melvin Robert backstage. “It’s just an honor to be able to show that at my age, coming from the South Bronx, you can do it. We matter. Our stories matter, our faces matter, everything we bring to the table matters.”
Reflecting on the honor, Liza said, “My family has always supported this crazy dream and I feel like my ancestors led me to this point.”
Colon-Zayas also responded to her co-star Jeremy Allen White saying he was proud of her win.
“There’s a lot of love and respect and fun,” she said of “The Bear” family. “I’m blessed that they’re healthy. He’s amazing. I’m learning from him and from the whole family.”
She said she had “always had doubts” about being put in the same category as actresses like Meryl Streep and Carol Burnett.
Regarding his decision not to write the speech, Colon-Zayas said, “I didn’t think it was that big a deal. Look at all those legends.”
Liza continued speaking about the power of dreams, saying, “I’ve always believed, in theory, that if you chase your dreams and work hard enough, they will come true, and this just proves that to be the case.”
She adds: “It’s hard to stay centred, especially when society is telling you the exact opposite of what you are.”
