Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming

The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming was an Emmy award given to performers in television programming aimed towards children. During the 1970s and 1980s, guest performers in dramatic specials and regular performers on children's series competed in the same category. However, starting in 1989, separate categories for performances in children's series and performances in children's specials were created and used until after 2007 when all categories related to Children's Specials were dropped.^[1]

The youngest Emmy nominee, Jodelle Ferland, was nominated in this category in 2001 at the age of six.^[2] The youngest Emmy winner, Bindi Irwin, won in 2008 at age nine.^[3]

In November 2021, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced that all Daytime Emmy categories honoring children's programming will be retired in favor of a separate Children's & Family Emmy Awards ceremony, to be held starting in 2022.^[4]

Winners in bold. For "Individual Achievement" categories, only nominees relevant to this page are listed.

Outstanding Individual Achievement in Children's Programming

1975

Bill Cosby - Highlights of Ringling Brothers and Barnum Bailey Circus (NBC)
Robert Keeshan - Captain Kangaroo (CBS)

1978

Tom Aldredge - The CBS Festival of Lively Arts for Young People ("Henry Winkler Meets William Shakespeare") (CBS)

1979

Jack Gilford - Big Blue Marble ("Hello in There") (SYN)
Geraldine Fitzgerald - Special Treat ("Rodeo Red and the Runaways") (NBC)
Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Caroll Spinney, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt - Sesame Street (PBS)

1980

Maia Danziger - ABC Afterschool Special ("The Late Great Me! Story of a Teenage Alcoholic") (ABC)
Butterfly McQueen - ABC Afterschool Special ("Seven Wishes of a Rich Kid") (ABC)
Melissa Sue Anderson - ABC Afterschool Special ("Which Mother Is Mine?") (ABC)
Fred Rogers - Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (PBS)
Robert Keeshan - Captain Kangaroo (CBS)
René Auberjonois - CBS Library ("Once Upon a Midnight Dreary") (CBS)

1981

Danny Aiello - ABC Afterschool Special ("A Family of Strangers") (ABC)
Bill Cosby - Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (CBS)
Ken Howard - The Body Human ("Facts for Boys") (CBS)
Marlo Thomas - The Body Human ("Facts for Girls") (CBS)
Scott Baio - ABC Afterschool Special ("Stoned") (ABC)
Hal Linden - Animals, Animals, Animals ("Llama") (ABC)
Julie Andrews - The CBS Festival of Lively Arts for Young People ("Julie Andrews' Invitation to the Dance with Rudolf Nureyev") (CBS)
Bill Bixby - Once Upon a Classic ("A Tale Of Two Cities") (PBS)

Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming

1982

Robert Keeshan - Captain Kangaroo (CBS)
Mike Farrell - The Body Human ("Becoming a Man") (CBS)
Cicely Tyson - The Body Human ("Becoming a Woman") (CBS)
Rita Moreno - CBS Library ("Orphans, Waifs and Wards") (CBS)

1983

Cloris Leachman - ABC Afterschool Special ("The Woman Who Willed a Miracle") (ABC)
Kevin Dobson - CBS Afternoon Playhouse ("Help Wanted") (CBS)
Lynn Redgrave - CBS Afternoon Playhouse ("The Shooting") (CBS)
Fred Rogers - Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (PBS)
Molly Picon - Young People's Specials ("Grandma Didn't Wave Back") (SYN)

1984

Dick Van Dyke - CBS Library ("The Wrong Way Kid") (CBS)
Carrie Snodgress - ABC Afterschool Special ("Andrea's Story: A Hitchhiking Tragedy") (ABC)
Robert Keeshan - Captain Kangaroo (CBS)
Fred Rogers - Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (PBS)

1985

John Carradine - Young People's Specials ("Umbrella Jack") (SYN)
Scott Baio - CBS Schoolbreak Special ("All the Kids Do It") (CBS)
Betty Buckley - Special Treat ("Bobby and Sarah") (NBC)
Richard Pryor - Pryor's Place (CBS)
Lily Tomlin - Pryor's Place (CBS)

1986

Pearl Bailey - ABC Afterschool Special ("Cindy Eller: A Modern Fairy Tale") (ABC)
Michael York - ABC Afterschool Special ("Are You My Mother?") (ABC)
Beau Bridges - ABC Afterschool Special ("Can a Guy Say No?") (ABC)
Drew Barrymore - ABC Weekend Specials ("The Adventures of Con Sawyer and Hucklemary Finn") (ABC)
LeVar Burton - Reading Rainbow (PBS)

1987

Madeline Kahn - ABC Afterschool Special ("Wanted: The Perfect Guy") (ABC)
Adolph Caesar - ABC Afterschool Special ("Getting Even: A Wimp's Revenge") (ABC)
Ruth Buzzi - The Berenstain Bears (CBS)
Paul Reubens - Pee-wee's Playhouse (CBS)
LeVar Burton - Reading Rainbow (PBS)

1988

Philip Bosco - ABC Afterschool Special ("Read Between The Lines") (ABC)
Uta Hagen - ABC Afterschool Special ("Seasonal Differences") (ABC)
James Earl Jones - CBS Schoolbreak Special ("Soldier Boys") (CBS)
Fred Rogers - Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (PBS)
Paul Reubens - Pee-wee's Playhouse (CBS)

Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special

1989

Dana Barron - CBS Schoolbreak Special ("No Means No") (CBS)
Betty Buckley - ABC Afterschool Special ("Taking a Stand") (ABC)
Whoopi Goldberg - CBS Schoolbreak Special ("My Past Is My Own") (CBS)
Lori Loughlin - CBS Schoolbreak Special ("No Means No") (CBS)
Chad Lowe - CBS Schoolbreak Special ("No Means No") (CBS)

1990

Greg Spottiswood - Looking for Miracles (Disney Channel)
Elizabeth Bliss - ABC Afterschool Special ("Torn Between Two Fathers") (ABC)
Elizabeth Franz - ABC Afterschool Special ("A Town's Revenge") (ABC)
Viveca Lindfors - CBS Schoolbreak Special ("A Matter of Conscience") (CBS)
Zachary Bennett - Looking for Miracles (Disney Channel)

1991

Joanne Vannicola - CBS Schoolbreak Special ("Maggie's Secret") (CBS)
Robyn Lively - ABC Afterschool Special ("The Less Than Perfect Daughter") (ABC)
Richard Murphy - ABC Afterschool Special ("The Perfect Date") (ABC)
Lycia Naff - ABC Afterschool Special ("The Perfect Date") (ABC)
Christopher Rydell - CBS Schoolbreak Special ("Lies of the Heart") (CBS)

1992

Josh Hamilton - CBS Schoolbreak Special ("Abby, My Love") (CBS)
Stephanie Yu and Z. Wright - 3-2-1 Contact ("Secrets of the Code") (PBS)
Alison Bartlett - ABC Afterschool Special ("It's Only Rock & Roll") (ABC)
Matt McGrath - ABC Afterschool Special ("It's Only Rock & Roll") (ABC)
Cara Buono - CBS Schoolbreak Special ("Abby, My Love") (CBS)

1993

Dina Waters - Lifestories: Families in Crisis ("Public Law 106: The Becky Bell Story") (HBO)
Stephanie Yu and Z. Wright - 3-2-1 Contact ("Get Busy: How Kids Can Save The Planet") (PBS)
Monica Calhoun - CBS Schoolbreak Special ("Different Worlds: A Story of Interracial Love") (CBS)
Duane Martin - CBS Schoolbreak Special ("Different Worlds: A Story of Interracial Love") (CBS)
Noelle Parker - CBS Schoolbreak Special ("Different Worlds: A Story of Interracial Love") (CBS)

1994

Justin Whalin - CBS Schoolbreak Special ("Other Mothers") (CBS)
Don Murray - ABC Afterschool Special ("Montana Crossroads") (ABC)
Christopher Miranda - ABC Weekend Special ("William Saroyan's The Parsley Garden") (ABC)
Meredith Baxter - CBS Schoolbreak Special ("Other Mothers") (CBS)
Joanna Cassidy - CBS Schoolbreak Special ("Other Mothers") (CBS)

1995

Hal Linden - CBS Schoolbreak Special ("The Writing on The Wall") (CBS)
Peter Billingsley - CBS Schoolbreak Special ("The Writing on The Wall") (CBS)
Aeryk Egan - CBS Schoolbreak Special ("The Writing on The Wall") (CBS)
Missy Crider - CBS Schoolbreak Special ("Love in the Dark Ages") (CBS)
Ben Affleck - Lifestories: Families in Crisis ("A Body to Die For: The Aaron Henry Story") (HBO)
Alan Thicke - The Trial of Red Riding Hood (Disney Channel)

1996

Kate Burton - ABC Afterschool Specials ("Notes for My Daughter") (ABC)
Kristen Cloke - ABC Afterschool Special ("Long Road Home") (ABC)
Grace Johnston - ABC Afterschool Special ("Notes for My Daughter") (ABC)
Lindsay Crouse - CBS Schoolbreak Special ("Between Mother and Daughter") (CBS)
C. Fraser Press - CBS Schoolbreak Special ("Stand Up") (CBS)
Patti LuPone - The Song Spinner (Showtime)

1997

Donna Murphy - Lifestories: Families in Crisis ("Someone Had to be Benny") (HBO)
Sam McMurray - ABC Afterschool Special ("Teenage Confidential") (ABC)
Michael Shulman - Lifestories: Families in Crisis ("Someone Had to be Benny") (HBO)
Paul Winfield - The Legend of Gator Face (Showtime)
Brent Carver - Whiskers (Showtime)

1998

Robert Ri'chard - In His Father's Shoes (Showtime)
Louis Gossett Jr. - In His Father's Shoes (Showtime)
Pat Carroll - The Royale (AMC)

1999

Jordan Kiziuk - The Island on Bird Street (Showtime)
Kenneth Welsh - Edison: The Wizard of Light (HBO)
Michal Suchánek - Edison: The Wizard of Light (HBO)
Diahann Carroll - The Sweetest Gift (Showtime)
Keith David - The Tiger Woods Story (Showtime)

2000

James Earl Jones - Summer's End (Showtime)
Debbie Reynolds - A Gift of Love: The Daniel Huffman Story (Showtime)
Marc Donato - Locked in Silence (Showtime)
Bonnie Bedelia - Locked in Silence (Showtime)
Hume Cronyn - Sea People (Showtime)

2001

Ossie Davis - Finding Buck McHenry (Showtime)
Ellen Burstyn - Mermaid (Showtime)
Jodelle Ferland - Mermaid (Showtime)
Peter Falk - A Storm in Summer (Showtime)
Alfre Woodard - The Wishing Tree (Showtime)

2002

Kelsey Keel - My Louisiana Sky (Showtime)
Kevin Clash - Elmo's World: The Wild Wild West (PBS)
Juliette Lewis - My Louisiana Sky (Showtime)
Hume Cronyn - Off Season (Showtime)
Stephen Rea - Snow in August (Showtime)

2003

Ben Foster - Bang Bang You're Dead (Showtime)
Tom Cavanagh - Bang Bang You're Dead (Showtime)
Bernadette Peters - Bobbie's Girl (Showtime)
Vanessa Williams - Our America (Showtime)
Gregory Hines - The Red Sneakers (Showtime)

Outstanding Performer in a Children/Youth/Family Special

2004

Gena Rowlands - The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie (Showtime)
James Caan - The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie (Showtime)
Rubén Blades - The Maldonado Miracle (Showtime)
Peter Fonda - The Maldonado Miracle (Showtime)
Mare Winningham - The Maldonado Miracle (Showtime)

2005

Stockard Channing - Jack (Showtime)
Jane Alexander - Carry Me Home (Showtime)
Ron Silver - Jack (Showtime)
Hume Cronyn - A Separate Peace (Showtime)

2006

James McDaniel - Edge of America (Showtime)
Tim Daly - Edge of America (Showtime)

2007

Eion Bailey - Life of the Party (Lifetime)
Kera O'Bryon - Assignment Discovery ("Christmas and the Civil War") (Discovery Channel)
Elijah Wood - Saving a Species ("The Great Penguin Rescue") (Discovery Kids)