| Year | Actress | Program | Role | Submitted episode(s) | Network | Ref. |
|---|
1999–2000
(52nd) |
| Allison Janney | The West Wing | C. J. Cregg | “Celestial Navigation” + “Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics” | NBC | [35] |
| Stockard Channing | The West Wing | Abbey Bartlet | “The State Dinner” + “He Shall, from Time to Time...” | NBC |
| Tyne Daly | Judging Amy | Maxine Gray | “Shaken, Not Stirred” + “Gray vs. Gray” | CBS |
| Nancy Marchand (posthumous) | The Sopranos | Livia Soprano | “Do Not Resuscitate” + “Funhouse” | HBO |
| Holland Taylor | The Practice | Roberta Kittleson | “Legacy” + “Oz” | ABC |
2000–2001
(53rd) |
| Allison Janney | The West Wing | C. J. Cregg | “In the Shadow of Two Gunmen” (Part 2) + “Galileo” | NBC | |
| Stockard Channing | The West Wing | Abbey Bartlet | “Bartlet’s Third State of the Union” + “The War at Home” | NBC |
| Tyne Daly | Judging Amy | Maxine Gray | “Unnecessary Roughness” + “Water World” | CBS |
| Maura Tierney | ER | Abby Lockhart | “Fear of Commitment” + “Where the Heart Is” | NBC |
| Aida Turturro | The Sopranos | Janice Soprano | “Proshai, Livushka” + “Employee of the Month” | HBO |
2001–2002
(54th) |
| Stockard Channing | The West Wing | Abbey Bartlet | “Dead Irish Writers” + “Gone Quiet” | NBC | |
| Lauren Ambrose | Six Feet Under | Claire Fisher | “The Trip” + “The Plan” | HBO |
| Tyne Daly | Judging Amy | Maxine Gray | “Come Back Soon” | CBS |
| Janel Moloney | The West Wing | Donna Moss | “On the Day Before” + “War Crimes” | NBC |
| Mary-Louise Parker | Amy Gardner | “The Women of Qumar” + “H. Con-172” |
2002–2003
(55th) |
| Tyne Daly | Judging Amy | Maxine Gray | “Maxine, Interrupted” + “Requiem” | CBS | |
| Lauren Ambrose | Six Feet Under | Claire Fisher | “Nobody Sleeps” + “Twilight” | HBO |
| Stockard Channing | The West Wing | Abbey Bartlet | “Privateers” + “Twenty Five” | NBC |
| Rachel Griffiths | Six Feet Under | Brenda Chenowith | “Timing & Space” + “The Opening” | HBO |
| Lena Olin | Alias | Irina Derevko | “A Dark Turn” + “Passage” (Part 2) | ABC |
2003–2004
(56th) |
| Drea de Matteo | The Sopranos | Adriana La Cerva | “Irregular Around the Margins” + “Long Term Parking” | HBO | |
| Stockard Channing | The West Wing | Abbey Bartlet | “7A WF 83429” + “No Exit” | NBC |
| Tyne Daly | Judging Amy | Maxine Gray | “Ex Parte of Five” + “Roadhouse Blues” | CBS |
| Janel Moloney | The West Wing | Donna Moss | “No Exit” + “Gaza” | NBC |
| Robin Weigert | Deadwood | Calamity Jane | “Deep Water” + “No Other Sons or Daughters” | HBO |
2004–2005
(57th) |
| Blythe Danner | Huff | Isabelle “Izzy” Huffstodt | “Christmas is Ruined” + “Is She Dead?” | Showtime | |
| Stockard Channing | The West Wing | Abbey Bartlet | “Third-Day Story” + “The Wake Up Call” | NBC |
| Tyne Daly | Judging Amy | Maxine Gray | “Early Winter” + “Too Little Too Late” | CBS |
| Sandra Oh | Grey's Anatomy | Dr. Cristina Yang | “Save Me” + “No Man’s Land” | ABC |
| C. C. H. Pounder | The Shield | Claudette Wyms | “Dog House” + “Tar Baby” | FX |
2005–2006
(58th) |
| Blythe Danner | Huff | Isabelle “Izzy” Huffstodt | “Maps Don’t Talk” (Part 2) + “So… What Brings You to Armageddon” | Showtime | |
| Candice Bergen | Boston Legal | Shirley Schmidt | “Ass Fat Jungle” + “Live Big” | ABC |
| Sandra Oh | Grey's Anatomy | Dr. Cristina Yang | “Deny Deny Deny” + “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” |
| Jean Smart | 24 | Martha Logan | “Day 5: 5:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m.” + “Day 5: 6:00 a.m. – 7:00 a.m.” | Fox |
| Chandra Wilson | Grey's Anatomy | Dr. Miranda Bailey | “Deny Deny Deny” + “As We Know It” | ABC |
2006–2007
(59th) |
| Katherine Heigl | Grey's Anatomy | Dr. Isobel “Izzie” Stevens | “Time After Time” | ABC | |
| Lorraine Bracco | The Sopranos | Dr. Jennifer Melfi | “The Blue Comet” | HBO |
| Rachel Griffiths | Brothers & Sisters | Sarah Walker | “Bad News” | ABC |
| Sandra Oh | Grey's Anatomy | Dr. Cristina Yang | “From a Whisper to a Scream” |
| Aida Turturro | The Sopranos | Janice Soprano | “Soprano Home Movies” | HBO |
| Chandra Wilson | Grey's Anatomy | Dr. Miranda Bailey | “Oh, the Guilt” | ABC |
2007–2008
(60th) |
| Dianne Wiest | In Treatment | Dr. Gina Toll | “Week 1: Paul and Gina” | HBO | |
| Candice Bergen | Boston Legal | Shirley Schmidt | “The Mighty Rogues” | ABC |
| Rachel Griffiths | Brothers & Sisters | Sarah Walker | “Domestic Issues” |
| Sandra Oh | Grey's Anatomy | Dr. Cristina Yang | “The Becoming” |
| Chandra Wilson | Dr. Miranda Bailey | “Lay Your Hands with Me” |
2008–2009
(61st) |
| Cherry Jones | 24 | Allison Taylor | “Day 7: 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.” | Fox | |
| Rose Byrne | Damages | Ellen Parsons | “Trust Me” | FX |
| Hope Davis | In Treatment | Mia Nesky | “Week 6: Mia” | HBO |
| Sandra Oh | Grey's Anatomy | Dr. Cristina Yang | “Elevator Love Letter” | ABC |
| Dianne Wiest | In Treatment | Dr. Gina Toll | “Week 6: Gina” | HBO |
| Chandra Wilson | Grey's Anatomy | Dr. Miranda Bailey | “Stairway to Heaven” | ABC |
