Heather Tom Opens up About Her Historic Daytime Emmy Win (EXCLUSIVE)
When Heather Tom (Katie, THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL) won the award for Outstanding Lead Actress at the 47th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, she became one of the most decorated actresses in daytime history, tying ONE LIFE TO LIVE’s Erika Slezak with six career wins. “It’s kind of crazy,” the actress admitted to Soaps In Depth about the remarkable achievement. “It’s kind of hard for me to wrap my head around, to be honest. I certainly wasn’t expecting to win this year at all. But I’m really grateful and I’ve always said that I’m always so proud to be a part of the daytime community and a part of these shows. I don’t have much to complain about.”
Having won twice in the Younger Actress category for her work on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS, Tom took home Outstanding Supporting Actress in 2011 for B&B and then in the lead category in 2012 and 2013, making her the only actress in Daytime Emmy history to win in all three categories. But Tom confessed she didn’t think she was really in the running this year. “I mean, I was proud of the work that I put forward and I wouldn’t have put it forward if I wasn’t,” she explained. “But I was just kind of like, there’s some years where you feel like, ‘Oh yeah, this is my year.’ And there are some years where you’re like, ‘Oh, I’m so glad to be part of the conversation.’ I told my husband to go on a bike ride! So yeah, it was unexpected, but pleasantly so. I won’t lie!”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Daytime Emmys were held virtually, with the actors pre-taping an acceptance speech from home and only finding out if they won when they were watching the actual show. “They really did put us on a time limit,” Tom chuckled. “When you’re in the moment and you’re on stage, you talk faster, but I don’t think anyone’s ever adhered to the 30-second time rule. Like, ever! I did one that I thought was really freakin’ fast and it was like 47 seconds and they were like, ‘Nope!'”
While Tom was able to thank some people during her brief on-air acceptance speech, she was very happy that she was part of a special B&B Zoom call where the cast and crew were all watching the Emmys together. “I was happy to be on the Zoom because I was able to say thank you to the people that were on there,” she revealed. “I was happy that I was able to kind of speak to people directly afterward and really express my gratitude that way The people behind the scenes that work so hard to make the show happen. Those people I really appreciate a lot.”
And she’s looking forward to doing the Daytime Emmys up right again next year with a glamorous red carpet and a true celebration of the best that daytime has to offer. “I like getting together with the community,” Tom declared. “Our community is small and we know each other. The women that are in this category, I’ve known literally for decades. I like seeing everyone and supporting everyone and getting together. No one knows how to throw a good party like daytime. We always manage to have fun. Yeah, we had fun this time, too. We still whooped it up, but it was just a little bit different!”
