Baby Reindeer’s Jessica Gunning wins Emmy for Best Supporting Actress

A still from the series (Image via Netflix)

The Netflix miniseries Baby Reindeer was nominated for 11 Emmy Awards at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards. The series ended up winning 6 Emmys in total, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series.

Jessica Gunning, the actor who played Martha Scott in the series, also won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress. This is the first ever Emmy nomination and win for Gunning, 38.

The official synopsis of Baby Reindeer reads:

“When a struggling comedian shows one act of kindness to a vulnerable woman, it sparks a suffocating obsession which threatens to wreck both their lives.”

The miniseries deals with themes like trauma, addiction, and stalking. Gunning’s role as a stalker has earned her widespread praise.

Gunning played Martha in Baby Reindeer

Jessica Gunning plays the role of Martha, a former lawyer with a criminal past, who becomes so obsessed with Donny (Richard Gadd), a bartender she comes across, that she starts stalking him relentlessly online and in person.

Gunning’s intense performance fetched her an Emmy in a category that featured several big names this year. Here are her fellow nominees in this year’s Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie category:

Dakota Fanning (Ripley)
Lily Gladstone (Under the Bridge)
Aja Naomi King (Lessons in Chemistry)
Diane Lane (Feud: Capote vs. The Swans)
Nava Mau (Baby Reindeer)
Kali Reis (True Detective: Night Country)

Upon winning the award, Gunning thought that it was all a dream. She said while receiving the honor:

“I honestly feel like I'm going to wake up any minute now, this whole thing has been a dream. Thank you very, very much indeed.”

She continued:

“I'm so incredibly proud to be part of Baby Reindeer. So I would just love to say a huge 'thank you' to everybody who let me, really."

Her "biggest thanks" went to the show's creator and star Richard Gadd. As per a report published by People magazine on June 6, 2024, Gunning was already a fan of Gadd before the opportunity to work with him arrived. She had seen his work in the show Monkey See, Monkey Do.

To Richard Gadd she said:

“I'll keep it simple and just say thank you for trusting me to be your Martha. I will never, ever forget her or you or this. It really means a lot."

Before this, Gunnung appeared in shows and movies like Pride, The Outlaws and White Heat.

Baby Reindeer had an impressive run at the Emmy Awards

The miniseries already won two awards at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards held a few days ago. Thus, with four more awards, its Emmy-tally reaches 6, out of its 11 nominations. Here are the categories in which the show won the award:

Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie (Richard Gadd)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie (Jessica Gunning)
Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie (Richard Gadd)
Outstanding Casting for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie (Nina Gold and Martin Ware)
Outstanding Picture Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie (Peter H. Oliver and Benjamin Gerstein)

Baby Reindeer: Cast and crew

Created and written by Richard Gadd, the 7-episode miniseries was directed by Weronika Tofilska and Josephine Bornebusch. The executive producers of the Netflix series include Gadd, Wim De Greef, Petra Fried, Matt Jarvis, and Ed Macdonald.

The cast of the series includes:

Richard Gadd as Donny Dunn
Jessica Gunning as Martha Scott
Nava Mau as Teresa "Teri"
Tom Goodman-Hill as Darrien O'Connor
Nina Sosanya as Liz
Michael Wildman as Greggsy
Danny Kirrane as Gino
Thomas Coombes as Officer Daniels
Shalom Brune-Franklin as Keeley
Laura Smyth as Glenda
Will Hislop as Billy
Amanda Root as Elle
Mark Lewis Jones as Gerry
Hugh Coles as Francis

All episodes of Baby Reindeer are available on Netflix.

Edited by Bharath S