Cherry Hill Native Wins Her First Emmy Award

LOS ANGELES, CA — Cherry Hill native Cristin Milioti secured her first Emmy Award on Sunday.

Milioti won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited of Anthology Series or Movie for her work in HBO's "The Penguin."

Milioti, 40, was born and raised in Cherry Hill. In 2003, she graduated from Cherry Hill East High School, where she got started in theater through school plays, portraying the Artful Dodger in "Oliver!" and Eponine in "Les Misérables," according to The Star-Ledger.

In "The Penguin," Milioti portrayed Sofia Falcone — the daughter of crime boss Carmine Falcone and a presumed serial killer. After being released from Arkham State Hospital, she fights Oswald "Oz" Cobb (Colin Farrell) for control of Gotham City's criminal underworld.

It was not only Milioti's first Emmy Award, but her first nomination.

"Sorry, I wrote this on the back of notes I took in therapy the other day, so don’t look at the back," she said while accepting her award. "It’s very hard to make sense of being alive right now in this world, so I’m deeply grateful for the bright spot. Making this show with our incredible cast and crew, and getting to inhabit this woman was a bright spot for me. Despite it being very grisly, playing her felt like flying."

Milioti also thanked her family.

"Thank you for supporting your strange kid and showing the movies that were very inappropriate for my age," she said.

Watch her speech below:

Her past roles include playing "The Mother" (Tracy McConnell) in sitcom "How I Met Your Mother" and starring in "The Wolf of Wall Street," FX series "Fargo" and HBO Max series "Made for Love."

Milioti has also appeared in several theater productions, earning a Grammy Award in 2013 for "Once."

Her work in "The Penguin" also netted her a Critics' Choice Award for Best Acress in a Superhero Series, Limited Series or TV Movie.