The Children's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Puppeteer Performer honors performances in both television series and made-for-television/streaming films. The category was established at the 2nd Children's and Family Emmy Awards in 2023, and is open to performers of all genders. It is one of two categories to honor puppetry, alongside the Children's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Puppet Design/Styling.
The inaugural recipient of the award was Ryan Dillon for his work as the puppeteer of Elmo in Sesame Street, which airs on HBO Max. The current holder of the award is Leslie Carrara-Rudolph for her work as Abby Cadabby and Tango in Sesame Street.
Background On November 17, 2021, the NATAS announced the creation of the Children's and Family Emmy Awards to recognize the best in children's and family television. The organization cited an "explosive growth in the quantity and quality of children’s and family programming" as justification for a dedicated ceremony. Many categories of the awards were previously presented at the Daytime Emmy Awards. Performers (including puppeteers) in programming aimed towards children and young people were previously honored with the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming, which was presented under various names however, following the announcement of the establishment of the Children's and Family Emmy Awards, these categories were discontinued.
The category was announced on July 24, 2023. In a statement, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences CEO Adam Sharp explained that “historically, puppetry performers would enter in the live action performer categories, so, if you were the handler of a puppet, then you would go up against a lead actor or lead actress, and that created for some odd pairings. But managing a puppet is a very different kind of performance than a regular live action performance,” and noted that the creation of a specific category designed to award these performers would allow them to receive the overdue recognition they deserve. Beginning with the 3rd Children's and Family Emmy Awards in 2024, performers are encouraged to submit an additional "behind the scenes" video alongside their regular submission which “highlights the human with the puppet(s), demonstrating how the puppet comes alive”.
The original name for the category was Outstanding Puppeteer Performance, and the award received its current name as of the 3rd Children's and Family Emmy Awards.
Winners and nominations 2020s Year Actor Role Program Network Refs 2023(2nd) Ryan Dillon Elmo Sesame Street HBO Max Leslie Carrara-Rudolph Abby Cadabby & Tango Sesame Street HBO Max Frankie Cordero Purple Panda, Penguin Referee & GregoryDonkey HodiePBS Kids Harley Jenkins Donkey HodieEric Jacobson Bert, Oscar the Grouch & Grover Sesame Street HBO Max Animal The Muppets Mayhem Disney+ 2024(3rd) Leslie Carrara-Rudolph Abby Cadabby & Tango Sesame Street HBO Max Eric Jacobson Bert, Oscar the Grouch & Grover Sesame Street HBO Max Donna Kimball Mokey, Storyteller & Cotterpin Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock Apple TV+ Karen Prell Red & Icy Joe David Rudman Cookie Monster Sesame StreetHBO Max 2025(4th) Leslie Carrara-Rudolph Abby Cadabby & Tango Sesame Street HBO Max Frankie Cordero Purple Panda, Turtle-Lou & Penguin Referee Donkey Hodie PBS Kids Stephanie D'Abruzzo Duck Duck, Harriet Elizabeth Cow, Mama Panda & Doc Skunk Ryan Dillon Elmo & Felix Sesame Street HBO Max Carmen Osbahr Rosita
Puppeteers with multiple wins 2 wins Leslie Carrara-Rudolph
Puppeteers with multiple nominations 3 nominations Eric Jacobson Leslie Carrara-Rudolph
2 nominations Frankie Cordero Ryan Dillon
Programs with multiple nominations 9 nominations Sesame Street
4 nominations Donkey Hodie
2 nominations Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock
Networks with multiple nominations 6 nominations HBO Max
4 nominations PBS Kids
References