Meridian's Ward wins second Emmy!
With great disbelief and much excitement, Meridian native Sela Ward accepted her second Emmy Sunday during the 52nd Annual Emmy Awards. Ward, who won Best Actress in a Drama for her show, "Once and Again," was clearly shocked when her name was called as the category winner.
"Can I tell you how excited I am?" she said as she clutched the coveted award. Pushed for time, the actress quickly thanked her producers, cast and a host of other people, making sure to not leave out her family, many of whom were in the audience.
"They're all out there with her," said her father, Granberry Ward from his Meridian home several hours before the awards show broadcast. "We (he and his wife, Annie) are going to watch it on TV like everybody else.
In "Once and Again," Ward portrays a mother of two in the middle of a divorce who has fallen in love with a divorced father of two. The actress has been praised for making the character one women can relate to, and several TV critics had predicted her as the likely winning in the Emmy category.
Ward also won a Golden Globe as Best Actress in ‘‘Once and Again.’’ The award was made by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
In 1994, Ward won an Emmy in the same category for her portrayal of Teddy in the drama series "Sisters".
This has been a banner year for the actress, who produced a documentary for Lifetime Television titled "Beauty and Ageism." Sela described the project as "a very relative topic in this youth-obsessed culture." She also has gained much recognition for a series of commercials she's done for US Sprint.
Always the champion for her hometown she mentions Meridian in every interview. Ward has "given back" by lending her support to several local causes, the restoration of The Grand Opera House of Mississippi, and most recently, Meridian Hope for Children, a home for abused children.