Baby Reindeer actress Nava Mau has made history with her brand new Emmy nomination.
Mau was nominated for best supporting actress in a limited or anthology series or movie on Wednesday, becoming the first Latina trans nominee in this category. She is nominated alongside co-star Jessica Gunning as well as Dakota Fanning (Ripley), Lily Gladstone (Under the Bridge), Aja Naomi King (Lessons in Chemistry), Diane Lane (Feud: Capote vs. The Swans) and Kali Reis (True Detective: Night Country).
Baby Reindeer follows Richard Gadd’s Donny Dunn, a struggling comedian who encounters a lonely woman at the bar where he works. The chance encounter, during which he offers her a cup of tea on the house, spirals as Martha (played by Gunning) is revealed to be a dangerous, serial stalker. Over the course of multiple years, she sent him thousands of emails, hundreds of tweets and letters, and 350 hours of voicemails. Mau, who previously appeared in Max comedy Generation, plays Donny’s transgender girlfriend Teri who gets caught up in the mess.
The breakout Netflix series had a big Emmys morning as well, landing 11 total nominations including outstanding limited or anthology series.
“I stayed up all night and I started journaling about it,” Mau said at an FYC event in May of receiving the show’s script. “It really kind of found a place in my mind and in my heart and never left.” She also spoke at the event of how the part helped her process dormant emotions, explaining, “I had no idea that I internalized so much anger and that I shut it down. As a trans woman, as a Latina woman, I have had to do that in order to survive, in order to make my way into the world as far as I have, it’s kind of been my responsibility to take care of other people’s emotions. It was so difficult and challenging, honestly, to play a character who felt so entitled to her own emotions and was not too concerned about taking care of other people’s emotions. That was very empowering for me to get in tune with my body again.”
The 76th Emmy Awards will broadcast live on ABC on Sept. 15 from the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live and stream the next day on Hulu.
