Kiwi Melanie Lynskey loses Emmy to Zendaya

Melanie Lynskey at the 2022 Emmy Awards
Melanie Lynskey has lost the Emmy to Zendaya from Euphoria. Photo credit: Getty Images

New Zealand actor Melanie Lynskey has lost out on the 2022 Primetime Emmy Award for Best Drama Actress.

She was beaten by Zendaya, who won for her role in Euphoria.

Also up for the award were Reese Witherspoon for The Morning Show, Laura Linney for Ozark, along with Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh for the final series of Killing Eve.

Lynskey had been nominated for her role as Shauna in drama series Yellowjackets, a show about the lives of a handful of survivors of a plane crash which is set between two timelines.

She played the adult version of the character, a role which had seen her showered in praise and had generated substantial buzz in the run up to the Emmy ceremony in Los Angeles on Monday (local time).

The Guardian said Lynskey "does by far the most emotional heavy lifting of the series, straining for intimacy with her husband and bratty teenage daughter, masking enough rage to massacre a rabbit in her garden with placid smiles".

Though this was Lynskey's first Emmy nomination, her acting roles have been both diverse and prolific.

From her performance as Pauline in Heavenly Creatures to Hilary in But I'm a Cheerleader to Lurlynn in Sweet Home Alabama and her role in Disney+ drama Candy, her star continues to be in the ascendant.