Susan Lucci received the honor of a lifetime at the Daytime Emmy Awards.
Best known for her role as Erica Kane on the soap opera "All My Children," Lucci accepted a lifetime achievement award at the Dec. 15 event.
While on “All My Children,” Lucci was nominated 21 times for the Daytime Emmy Award for outstanding lead actress in a drama series, winning only once.
She had one of the longest losing streaks in the history of the awards show leading up to the 1999 Daytime Emmys. After reading her name, presenter Shemar Moore memorably shouted, "The streak is over," before announcing Lucci as the winner.
Moore was back Friday night to announce her as the lifetime achievement recipient.
"On the 19th nomination, when I heard Shemar Moore announce, 'The streak is over,' and then he said my name, I began by thanking God for the many blessings. And I begin there again tonight," Lucci said in her acceptance speech amid a standing ovation.
“How lucky am I, to dream my dreams of becoming an actress and grow up and have my dreams come true,” she said. “Oh, there were obstacles and there were road blocks. I mean, they were wannabe obstacles and roadblocks. But tonight’s a night to celebrate and for saying, ‘Thank you.’”
Lucci then expressed gratitude for her parents, her teachers and "All My Children" creator Agnes Nixon, who she called "the visionary storyteller who gave me the part of a lifetime — the fabulously flawed Erica Kane."
"She was the naughty girl in town," Lucci said of her former character. "She was the bad girl in town. She was the troublemaker. And yes, she was all that, but Agnes had other plans for her, too, in addition, and the fans were smart enough. They saw behind the labels, and they could see that in Erica, she was a girl who had dreams for herself. And underneath all of that naughtiness, she had determination and drive and spirit and spunk and that's what they loved."
The actor also showed her gratitude for her co-stars, whom she called the "most accomplished and talented actors in New York."
"We were in the trenches together," she added.
Lucci then began to get emotional, saying how much it meant to her that her son, Andreas Huber, was there in the crowd to support his mom.
"I feel your dad's presence tonight with us, too," she said of her late husband Helmut Huber, who died in 2022.
Aside from her work in daytime television, Lucci also appeared as a guest on "Dallas," "Hot in Cleveland" and "Army Wives." She also hosted "Saturday Night Live" in 1990 and was a contestant on "Dancing With the Stars."
Congratulating her on the award, Andy Cohen said Lucci deserves a "bookcase full of Emmys" for her acting career.
"You were the first diva I fell in love with," Cohen said in a brief video. "And I've been captivated ever since."
Carol Burnett also shared a clip for her former co-star, saying, "Oh Susan, I am so happy for you. Nobody deserves this award more than you do."
"I had such a good time working with you on 'All My Children,'" she continued. "Of course, you're not the diva that everybody thought you were. You're just the total opposite. Let me just put it this way: You are permanently terrific. Congratulations. Love you."
