Zendaya Makes History As Youngest Woman To Win Emmys Best Actress: 'There Is Hope'

Zendaya had a big win over the weekend after being named Best Actress in a drama series at the 2020 Emmy Awards for her portrayal of teenage drug addict Rue on HBO's teen drama TV show "Euphoria."

Zendaya beat several esteemed actresses nominated in the same category including "Killing Eve" stars Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh, "Ozark" actress Laura Linney, "The Crown" star Olivia Colman and "The Morning Show" star Jennifer Aniston. The victory was a huge celebration for the 24-year-old actress.

"I know this feels like a really weird time to be celebrating," Zendaya said as quoted by the BBC.

"But I just want to say there is hope in the young people out there - I know that our TV show doesn't always feel like a great example of that - but there is hope in our young people and I just want to say to all my peers out there doing the work in the streets, 'I see you, I admire you, I thank you.'"

In her speech, Zendaya also thanked her family, team and the people behind "Euphoria" especially its creator Sam Levinson.

"I appreciate you so much; you’re my family. I’m so grateful for Rue. I’m so grateful that you trusted me with your story," she said.

Variety's Caroline Framke believes that Zendaya's win was well-deserved. For her, the character was very effective because of the way Zendaya portrayed it.

"Though written with vicious precision by Sam Levinson, Rue's only as effective as she is because Zendaya is so incredibly good at portraying her," Framke wrote.

"The character could have been - and sometimes is - a mess of cliched teenaged angst. Instead, Zendaya digs into every corner of her gnarled psyche to find the terrified kid hiding in the shadows.”

Several celebrities also praised Zendaya for bagging the award, including Aniston’s “Morning Show” co-star Reese Witherspoon.

"So happy for you @Zendaya!! Your performance in #Euphoria is outstanding," Witherspoon wrote.

Storm Reid also shared a video of her jumping for joy when Zendaya’s name was announced as the winner in the category.

Zendaya is still overwhelmed with her Emmy win. She recently shared a photo of her holding her Emmy trophy on Twitter.

"Still don't really have any words...feeling so much love right now, thank you," she wrote.

Zendaya is the second Black actress to win the Emmy category after Viola Davis' 2015 breakthrough with "How To Get Away With Murder."