2026 Emmy age records: Jean Smart, David Attenborough, and more

Emmy broadcaster NBC and Emmy nominee David Attenborough share something unique in common: they both turned 100 in 2026.

Age may be “just a number,” as the old adage goes, but it is a notable point of pride at the 2026 Emmys, where multiple performers over 70 have a shot at winning. That’s especially rare in Hollywood, where actors and actresses of a certain age can often be overlooked.

At 100, Attenborough could beat the all-time age record at the Primetime Emmys that was previously set by then-98-year-old Norman Lear for Live in Front of a Studio Audience (2020). The wildlife activist already holds the age record at the Daytime Emmys, winning at 99 for Secret Lives of Orangutans (2025). To date, he has three Primetime Emmys for Blue Planet II (2018), Our Planet (2019), and Seven Worlds (2020).

This year, Attenborough is double-nominated in Best Narrator for A Gorilla Story and Ocean. He has an overwhelming 83% chance of winning for the latter, per our experts from leading media outlets. Notably, 83-year-old filmmaker-actor Werner Herzog (Ghost Elephants) is also in the Best Narrator category, and looking for his first career Emmy.

In the corresponding Best Voice-Over Performance race, reigning champion Julie Andrews (Bridgerton), now 90, has a 75% shot to claim a bookend trophy to the one she took home in 2025. Last year, she became the oldest female performer to win an Emmy, beating the milestone previously set by then-88-year-old Betty White, who prevailed for hosting Saturday Night Live in 2010.

Moving over to the on-screen Emmy performances, Harrison Ford (Shrinking) is hoping to win Best Comedy Supporting Actor at the age of 84. After losing last year in a shocking upset to Jeff Hiller (Somebody Somewhere), the legendary star now has a 61% chance of winning for his show’s third season. Either he or Stephen Root (Widow’s Bay), 74, would beat the category record previously set by then-72-year-old Henry Winkler (Barry) in 2018.

Both of the lead comedy races could be won by performers in their 70s. Jean Smart, 74, has a healthy margin at 94% to claim her fifth consecutive Emmy for Hacks, and the eighth overall of her career after winning two for Frasier and one for Samantha Who? Smart would beat her own age record in Best Comedy Actress, which she set last year at 73.

Meanwhile, Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building), 76, is hoping to stage an upset against the experts’ overwhelming front-runner in Best Comedy Actor, Matthew Rhys (Widow’s Bay).

Short is a rare double nominee this year, and he has much better Emmy odds (75%) to win Best Game Show Host for Match Game on his first at-bat. He took over the emcee role from Alec Baldwin earlier this season.

Remarkably Bright Creatures star Sally Field, who turns 80 in November, is the projected runner-up in Best Movie/Limited Actress to Carey Mulligan (Beef). Field would set a new age record in the category, overtaking then-79-year-old Jessica Tandy for Foxfire (1988), and Field would also be the first winner from a made-for-TV-movie since Michael Douglas for Behind the Candelabra (2013).

In all, there are 16 total septuagenarians, octogenarians, nonagenarians, and centenarians nominated this year across the various performance races. Here they are:

Best Comedy Actress

• Jean Smart (Hacks) is 74 — predicted winner

Best Comedy Actor

• Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building) is 76

Best Comedy Supporting Actor

• Harrison Ford (Shrinking) is 84 — predicted winner
• Stephen Root (Widow’s Bay) is 74

Best Movie/Limited Actress

• Sally Field (Remarkably Bright Creatures) is 79

Best Limited/Movie Supporting Actress

• Laurie Metcalf (Monster: The Ed Gein Story) is 71
• Youn Yuh-jung (Beef) is 79

Best Limited/Movie Supporting Actor

• Richard Jenkins (DTF St. Louis) is 79

Best Drama Guest Actor

• Ernest Harden Jr. (The Pitt) is 73
• Jeff Kober (The Pitt) is 72
• Jonathan Pryce (Slow Horses) is 79

Best Comedy Guest Actress

• Laurie Metcalf (Hacks) is 71

Best Comedy Guest Actor

Best Narrator

• David Attenborough (Ocean) is 100 — predicted winner
• David Attenborough (A Gorilla Story) is 100
• Werner Herzog (Ghost Elephants) is 83

Best Voice-Over Performance

• Julie Andrews (Bridgerton) is 90 — predicted winner

Best Game Show Host

• Martin Short (Match Game) is 76 — predicted winner

Find out who wins when the Creative Arts Emmys take place Sept. 5–6, and the Primetime Emmys air Sept. 14.