Jessica Lee Gagné made history at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Saturday night by becoming the first woman to win the award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (One Hour), thanks to her work on Severance.
Jessica Lee Gagné had already broken new ground earlier by being the first woman ever nominated in both the cinematography and directing categories for the same drama series in a single year.
Following her historic win, Jessica Lee Gagné reflected on the broader lack of female representation in cinematography—highlighting the fact that no woman has ever won an Oscar in the category. She shared that her determination to succeed was fueled by early career discrimination. “I once worked with a man who told me there were two things women couldn’t do: drive Formula 1 cars or be cinematographers. That really pushed me to prove him wrong,” she said.