At long last, Sarah Paulson received an Emmy Sunday night.
After walking the 2016 Emmys red carpet in a Prada dress, Brian Atwood heels and Wilfredo Rosado earrings, Paulson accepted the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her role in FX's The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story. The actress attended the event with prosecutor Marcia Clark, whom she portrayed in the series.
"The responsibility of playing a real person is an enormous one. You want to get it right—not for you, but for them. And the more I learned about the real Marcia Clark, not the two-dimensional cardboard cutout I saw on the news, but the complicated, whip-smart, giant-hearted mother of two who woke up every day, put both feet on the floor and dedicated herself to righting an unconscionable wrong, the loss of two innocents—Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown—the more I had to recognize that I, along with the rest of the world, had been superficial and careless in my judgment," she said during her acceptance speech, moving Clark to tears. "I'm glad to be able to stand here today in front of everyone and tell you I'm sorry." After leaving the stage, Paulson had her Emmy engraved with her own name, as well as Clark's.
Paulson sat down with E! News' Catt Sadler after collecting her award, and nothing could dull the star's shine—not even an uncomfortable dress. "I'm sitting on a bunch of crystals," the American Horror Story: Roanoke star joked, "but everything hurts a lot less once you've won!"
Though she was "really excited," she also felt "separation anxiety," as Clark was still in her seat. "I feel like my other half is missing," Paulson said. "She's a wonderful, wonderful person. I'm very, very happy to have her here and I was able to say what I was able to say from the stage."
Many people—including some of her fellow nominees—believed Paulson was a shoo-in to win. But the actress "never believed" she was a lock. "This was my sixth nomination and I've never won, and I'd heard things like that before. I just thought, 'I'm not going to count my chickens [before they hatch],' so I didn't," she said. "[But] I did write my speech for the first time ever."
Paulson and Clark planned to party well into the night in honor of the actress' victory. "We're going everywhere!" she said. "Oh, yeah! I will see the sun come up today if I'm doing it right."
"I wanted to offer you champagne and shots when you walked in," Sadler said. "All we have is water." Feigning disappointment, Paulson joked, "I don't even know what I'm doing here then!"
With Clark by her side, Paulson said, "We'll have a celebratory drink, for sure."
Though some might frown at the idea of heading back to work after a night of revelry, Paulson was actually looking forward to it. "I'm working tomorrow on American Horror Story, but that's my home and I love working there," the actress admitted. "It'll be a nice day to go to work with all of my family and friends. I know they'll be celebrating with me. That's actually a good thing."