Who was the last Saturday Night Live cast member to win an Emmy?

Saturday Night Live has really served as the launchpad for comedy superstars over the past five decades. It's not only served as an outlet for serious actors to get silly as hosts, but it showcases just how talented cast members can be in a range of different parts.

Saturday Night Live continues to be a cultural force, as evidenced by the 18 nominations it got at the 2024 Emmy Awards. Bowen Yang was nominated yet again for Outstanding Supporting Actor, but the rest of the nominations went to guest hosts and writers.

Dana Carvey was the last cast member to win an Emmy

With this in mind, we decided to comb back through the annals of Saturday Night Live and determine when the last time was that an active cast member on the show won an Emmy. We are not counting writers and/or producers, the winner of said Emmy has to be a full-time cast member.

Given the plethora of talent that has rolled through the sketch show throughout the 2000s and 2010s, one would assume someone like Kristin Wiig, Tina Fey, or Bill Hader took home the award. Surprisingly, none of them did. The last time an SNL cast member won an Emmy for their sheer comedic talent was in 1993, and that cast member was Dana Carvey.

It may be easy to forget, given that Mike Myers went on to have the bigger film career, but Dana Carvey was an SNL superstar during the early 90s. He racked up five consecutive nominations for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program between 1989 and 1993. He was an Emmy darling.

Carvey remains a beloved SNL presence

It's fitting, then, that Carvey won his first and only Primetime Emmy on his last nomination. He left the show soon after, and tried his hand at a wide range of projects. He scored big hits with Wayne's World (1992) and Wayne's World 2 (1993), but subsequent releases failed to catch on with the public.

Still, his reputation among SNL fans is bulletproof. He was ranked number 11 on Rolling Stone's SNL cast ranking list. He was also described as the "greatest impressionist guy" in the show's five decade history. Not a bad legacy.