Claire Danes can't be beat. The "Homeland" star won her fourth statuette at Sunday night's 70th annual Golden Globes ceremony, beating out Connie Britton ("Nashville"), Glenn Close ("Damages"), Michelle Dockery ( "Downton Abbey"), and Julianna Margulies ("The Good Wife").
Danes's win wasn't exactly a shocker. "Homeland" was collecting awards all night (the show won three out of its four nominations), and she was the favorite in her category. But here's the stunning part: It was the star's fourth win out of four nominations -- and her winning streak started back when she was a teen on a TV series that only lasted for 19 episodes!
In 1995, Danes won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Angela Chase on the short-lived (but later cult hit) series "My So-Called Life." The then-teen star beat out Kathy Baker, Jane Seymour, Angela Lansbury, and Heather Locklear -- not too shabby!
In 2011, an all-grown-up Danes won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film for her performance in the HBO biopic "Temple Grandin," and in 2012, she nabbed her first of two Globes for Best Actress in a Television Series for her role as CIA agent Carrie Mathison in the Showtime series "Homeland."
The actress was a winner on the red carpet, too. For her 2013 win, she showed up in a slinky red Versace gown just one month after giving birth to son Cyrus. While she joked on the red carpet, "I hope I don't leak," she revealed that she had tried the dress on for the first time only one day before.
While Danes was sure to mention that her parents were watching baby Cyrus as she accepted her most recent award, back in 1995, the less-seasoned award recipient made a major faux pas when she forgot to give a shout out to her 'rents during her very first Globes acceptance speech.
During her Globes acceptance speech last year, she said, "I first won this award when I was 15 for 'My So-Called Life,' and I was utterly stunned and overwhelmed, as one is. And the first thing I did is when I left the stage was burst into tears, because I realized I had forgotten to thank my parents." (Her bad, but she made up for it that night by bringing mom Carla to the ceremony with her and thanking her folks for their love and support.)
Sixteen years after her first win, Danes was moved to tears when she accepted the award for "Temple Grandin," with the real Temple Grandin in the house. She remembered to thank Grandin for her work in the field of autism advocacy and animal behavior, speaking on behalf of the millions of lives that the autism activist changed.
One year later, she was the woman of the hour again -- that time for "Homeland" and ditto for this year. Should we just pencil her in for next year, too? The show has been picked up for a third season.
Meanwhile, anyone who's been following Danes's career since her "My So-Called Life" days can truly say they knew her way back when. And my, how those speeches have improved.
