Elizabeth Debicki Says Playing 'Incredible' Princess Diana on “The Crown” Has 'Been a Gift' as She Wins Emmy

The actress called Princess Diana an "unparalleled, incredible human being"

Elizabeth Debicki won her first Emmys trophy for her performance in The Crown.

The actress, 33, who portrayed Princess Diana for the series' final two seasons, won outstanding supporting actress in a drama series at the 76th Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 15.

In her acceptance speech Debicki said, "Playing this part based on this unparalleled, incredible human being has been my great privilege. It has been a gift. Thank you so much."

Debicki is one of a whopping 18 nominations The Crown earned this year, and the actress told PEOPLE that it was the perfect "cherry" on top to end the show.

"I was so thrilled that so many of us have been nominated. That just feels like the cherry on the cake, really, of such a nice thing," she said. "The show's been running for a long time, and my cast and I have been kind of on this ride for nearly three years in a way, in terms of prep and then shooting and press, and so it's just a lovely end to a long and beautiful — but sometimes really challenging — chapter as actors."

The Australian actress was also nominated last year for her portrayal of the late royal in season 5 of The Crown, which marked her first-ever Emmy nomination.

The Morning Show dominated the category this year, with four of its starring women earning nods including Greta Lee, Holland Taylor, Nicole Beharie and Karen Pittman. The Crown also picked up two nominations, for Debicki and Lesley Manville, while Christine Baranski held the torch for The Gilded Age in the category.

Related: The Bear and Shōgun Lead 2024 Emmy Nominations: See the Full List

This year's nomination marks Baranski's 16th time being recognized at the Emmys, but her first nod for her role in The Gilded Age, in which she stars as Agnes van Rhjin, the widowed matriarch of the elite New York family.

Despite her numerous nominations, the actress, 72, has only collected a win once — in 1995, when she earned her first nomination for Maryann Thorpe in Cybil. She's since been nominated for Frasier, four times for her guest-starring role as Beverly Hofstadter on The Big Bang Theory and six times for The Good Wife, in which she played big-shot women's rights lawyer Diane Lockhart for all seven seasons.

The Gilded Age wracked up six nominations at this year's Emmys, including outstanding drama series and an outstanding leading actress in a drama nod for Carrie Coon.

Related: The Crown’s Elizabeth Debicki Says She Kept Emulating Princess Diana After Filming: 'I Had to Unwind the Wheel' (Exclusive)

Lee earned her first-ever Emmy nomination this year for her role as Stella Bak on The Morning Show. Lee, 41, has been praised by her costar Jennifer Aniston as "an absolute joy to have on set" and "so great at what she does."

Last year, Aniston told PEOPLE of the Past Lives star, "I love her more than anything. I don't even know how to put words to it."

Aniston is also up for an Emmy at this year's awards show, alongside her counterpart Reese Witherspoon. Both the actresses are up for outstanding lead actress in a drama series, while Lee is joined by three of her costars in her category: Holland Taylor, Nicole Beharie and Karen Pittman.

The Apple TV+ series is also up for outstanding drama series, along with nods for Billy Crudup and Mark Duplass.

Related: The Morning Show's Showrunner Says Season 4 Will Air After the U.S. Presidential Election

Like her costar Lee, Taylor was recognized this year for her work on The Morning Show. The 81-year-old has been nominated nine times previously, for her work on Hollywood, Two And A Half Men, The Lot and The Practice — the latter of which earned her a win in 1999 for her role as Judge Roberta Kittleson.

She told PEOPLE she was "surprised" to be nominated for her role as TV network board president Cybil Richards on the Apple TV+ series, as she celebrated the recognition for the show in the category. "Four women were nominated just from The Morning Show, so I was lucky to be among them."

Related: These 2024 Emmy Nominees Are at the Top of Their Game! See PEOPLE's Exclusive Portfolio

Manville is another first-time Emmy nominee in the category, and joins her costar Debicki representing The Crown. The British actress, 68, joined the Netflix series for its final two seasons as Princess Margaret, the younger sister to Imelda Staunton's Queen Elizabeth, taking over for Helena Bonham Carter, who played the role for seasons 3 and 4.

At the time of her casting, she said in a statement she "could not be happier" to step into the role.

"The baton is being passed on from two formidable actresses and I don't really want to let the side down," she said, referring to Carter and Vanessa Kirby from seasons 1 and 2. "Furthermore, to play siblings with my dear friend Imelda Staunton will be nothing short of a complete joy."

Related: Ryan Murphy's Grotesquerie Sets Premiere Date – but Travis Kelce's Character Remains Under Wraps!

Beharie is also a first-time nominee and earned the nod for her role as Christina Hunter, a morning news anchor who joins the crew on The Morning Show.

The 39-year-old called the nomination an "honor" in a post on Instagram, writing, "Whoa whoa wow wow wow!" before shouting out her fellow nominees and the show. "Such incredible company! The whole crew!!!"

Beharie and her costar Holland Taylor had one of the season's most poignant scenes, when their characters Christina (Beharie) and Cybil (Taylor) sat down on live TV to discuss a racially insensitive email Cybil had sent. Taylor told PEOPLE that she and her costar "wanted to get it right."

"We both wanted to be alive in the moment and have a risky conversation that really was risky for the actors. And we were apprehensive about it before and sort of sweated through it, kind of clung to each other."

Related: Holland Taylor Talks Filming Pivotal, 'Risky' Morning Show Racism Scene with Nicole Beharie: 'We Clung to Each Other' (Exclusive)

Pittman is the fourth nominee representing The Morning Show in the category and, like Lee, Manville and Beharie, is a first-time nominee.

Following her nomination, the 38-year-old actress said, "I am incredibly grateful and humbled by this moment. I'm proud to be nominated alongside so many on the show, fellow actors, directors and artists. And I'm so proud of our show's nomination as well."

Related: Karen Pittman Promises a Post-Pandemic 'Morning Show' and Wonders What's 'in Store' for Jon Hamm

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

See PEOPLE's full coverage of the 76th annual Primetime Emmy Awards as they're broadcasting live on ABC from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.