Kathy Bates is the oldest actress to be nominated Emmy's Best Actress

Writer: Heidi Hsia

Kathy Bates - the record-breaking nominee

17 Jul - Kathy Bates has become the oldest actress to ever be nominated as Best Actress at the Emmys, after receiving the nomination at the upcoming Emmy Awards.

The actress, who is 77 this year, received her nomination in the category for her performance as the titular attorney Matty Matlock in the CBS reboot of "Matlock", which tells the story of a resilient attorney who hides her true identity in order to join a law firm she suspects was indirectly involved in the death of her daughter.

Bates is surpassing Angela Lansbury, who was the oldest when she was nominated at 70 for "Murder, She Wrote".

Kathy Bates plays attorney Matty Matlock in the CBS reboot of "Matlock"

The veteran actress breaks Angela Lansbury's record with her "Matlock" performance.

She will be facing Sharon Horgan ("Bad Sisters"), Britt Lower ("Severance"), Bella Ramsey ("The Last of Us") and Keri Russell ("The Diplomat").

However, this is not the first Emmy nomination for Bates, who competed in the category in 2011 and 2012 for NBC's "Harry's Law". She is also an Oscar winner for her performance as Annie Wilkes in "Misery" (1990).

The 77th Emmy Awards will be broadcast on 14 September, with "Severance", "The Penguin", and "The White Lotus" among the most nominated.

Bates won an Academy for "Misery" in 1990

Cinema Online, 17 July 2025

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