America Ferrera didn’t enjoy her Emmy win for ‘Ugly Betty’

Los Angeles May 13: America Ferrera has revealed that she couldn’t savour the moment when she won an Emmy for her performance in hit TV series “Ugly Betty” as the actor felt she wasn’t “deserving” enough for the award.

In 2007, the actor created history after she became the first Latina woman to bag the best lead actress Emmy trophy for the ABC show.

Talking to actor Dax Shepard on his “Armchair Expert” podcast, Ferrera said when she was on stage accepting the trophy, she thought everyone didn’t think she had “earned” the win.

“When I won the Emmy, I can’t bring myself to watch that because the only thing I remember about being on that stage, accepting that Emmy, was the feeling that no one in the room thought I deserved it. And that’s a shame.

“(I was thinking) ‘She doesn’t really deserve that. What is she really doing in that role? That role is not interesting enough, it’s not dark enough, it’s not edgy enough.’ You know, all of the bullsh**t,” the 36-year-old actor said.

Ferrera said such thoughts didn’t enter her mind “on its own” as there were people in her life who were “perpetuating those narratives and making me feel like I hadn’t earned this moment”.

“When I look back at that time, my heart aches for that 22-year-old girl, who didn’t get to really enjoy those moments,” the actor added.

“Ugly Betty”, which ran from 2006 to 2010, featured Ferrera as Betty Suarez, who despite her lack of style, lands a job at a prestigious fashion magazine.

She said the character still holds a special place in her heart.

“I loved this character, loved this world… to have a feeling of this character and this story so needed in the culture right now. I just have a gut instinct that’s it’s going to speak so strongly to so many people, myself included, and to see that happen? That’s the best win ever.

“It was maybe the hardest work I’ll ever do in my life but I loved it. The hoopla and the whirlwind that happened around it was challenging and exhausting. My whole life changed… On one hand, it’s what an amazing experience… but there was so much drama and so many challenging things happening in my personal life,” Ferrera said.

The actor recently welcomed daughter Lucia with writer-husband Ryan Piers Williams.