2023 Daytime Emmy Awards: Susan Lucci and Maury Povich to Receive Lifetime Achievement Honors

Susan Lucci and Maury Povich will each receive a prestigious honor at the upcoming 2023 Daytime Emmy Awards. 

The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced on Friday that Lucci and Povich will be the Lifetime Achievement Honorees at the 50th Annual Daytime Emmys, which has been postponed amid Hollywood's ongoing Writers Guild of America strike. The honors will be presented in person during the telecasts once they are rescheduled.

"I am truly humbled to receive this esteemed award from the Academy," Lucci said in a statement. "Throughout my career, I have been incredibly fortunate to work alongside exceptional talents and embraced by my fans that have been with me every step of the way. This honor is not just a reflection of my journey, but a testament to the enduring power of storytelling and the profound connection we are so lucky to forge with audiences all over the world through television."

The All My Children alum took home the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1999, and has been nominated a whopping 21 times over the course of her career. Lucci starred as Erica Kane for over 40 years on the ABC daytime drama, while her other credits include Lifetime’s Devious Maids, the feature film Joy, host and narrator of ID’s Deadly Affairs, and appearances on Hot in Cleveland, Army Wives, Dancing with the Stars, and Saturday Night Live.

In 2005, Lucci received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Povich said in his own statement, "I’m just blown away by this honor from the Academy. I have always had great respect for its work as I served on the National Board and was President of the New York Chapter. I guess if you hang around long enough, some good things happen. It’s been a 60+ year ride for me in this business, so I feel extremely blessed with this acknowledgment."

For his part, Povich cemented his legacy as a talk show icon with his eponymous first-run syndicated show, Maury, from 1998 to 2022. Povich's career highlights also include hosting A Current Affair (1986-1990) and The Maury Povich Show (1991-1998).

Povich got his start in local news in Washington, D.C. and later anchored newscasts and hosted talk shows for ABC, CBS and NBC-owned-and-operated stations in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Philadelphia. It was during his tenure in Los Angeles at the CBS station when Povich co-anchored the news with his future wife, Connie Chung.

NATAS also announced on Friday this year's Gold and Silver Circle honorees, which includes exceptional professionals who have performed distinguished service within the television industry, setting standards for achievement, mentoring, leadership and professional accolades for 50 or 25 years respectively.

This year's Gold Circle class includes Tanya Hart, Wendy Riche, Al Schwartz, and Vernée Watson, while the Silver Circle class features Christina Knack and Patrick Weiland.

As ET previously reported, the 50th annual awards ceremony, which was set to air on CBS, will not take place as originally scheduled on Friday, June 16 due to the current writers' strike. Additionally, the Creative Arts & Lifestyle awards ceremony, which was to take place the following day on Saturday, June 17, has also been postponed.

"We look forward to our community gathering together as one to celebrate our Golden Anniversary and all of the talented nominees and honorees at a later date," NATAS said in a statement. 

General Hospital leads the nominees this year with 19 nods, followed by The Bold and the Beautiful, The Young and the Restless, and Days of Our Lives with 14, 13 and 11 nominations respectively. Daytime talk show The Kelly Clarkson Show is up for 11 awards, including a nomination for Clarkson in the Daytime Talk Series Host category.

In addition, Entertainment Tonight is nominated for two awards -- Entertainment News Series and Directing for a Multiple Camera Daytime Non-Fiction Program.

The writers' strike, which began May 2 after the Writers Guild of America failed to reach an agreement with major Hollywood studios over contracts involving writers' compensation, especially in the wake of streaming services, has already affected several planned awards ceremonies.

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