Aduba recently told NPR’s Michel Martin that her full first name, Uzoamaka, means, "the road is good" in her mother tongue, Igbo.
Uzo Aduba, 33, who plays “Crazy Eyes” on the highly admired Netflix series “Orange Is the New Black (2013)” made history after taking home the Show's first award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy on Saturday, August 16 at the 2014 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.
"I'm stuffed really,” Aduba said. “I'm beyond full. My cup runneth over right now.”
The Massachusetts-raised actress beat out five other women for the award, including co-stars Laverne Cox and Natasha Lyonne.
"I'm speechless," Aduba added, as she accepts the golden trophy. "I don't know how to say how incredibly impressed I am to be a part of this show."
Aduba’s depiction of Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren has been one of the most applauded on the show, attesting that the role is more fitting for her, though not the one she originally auditioned for.
Aduba’s recognition as an actress started in 2003 for Translations of Xhosa at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, winning her a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Play. She made a Broadway debut in 2007 as Toby in Corum Boy. She was also a member of the original revival cast of Godspell at the Circle in the Square Theatre from 2011 through 2012, among other acting roles. Prior to her part as “Crazy Eyes” Aduba appeared on the TV Series "Blue Bloods" in 2012.
Aduba’s admission on being captivated by actor Morgan Freeman, who also presented the award to her, shows just how much of a humble person she’s remained after being in the business for over a decade.
She recanted her feelings leading to her accepting the award.
"It's like you're walking and you're aware that you're walking toward Morgan Freeman, but you're fairly certain you should still be sitting on your seat," she said in the press room. "You're like, 'Maybe I'm embarrassing myself, maybe they didn't call my name, maybe somebody else's name. I don't know what's happening.' "
Aduba recently told NPR’s Michel Martin that her full first name, Uzoamaka, means, "the road is good" in her mother tongue, Igbo.
Her mother, of Nigerian descent is said to have fled from then war-torn Nigeria, in hopes of giving her children a better life.
So it was only fitting for her to celebrate her victory with her family.
"We all kind of had a dance party, my mom was dancing across the hotel room, just getting excited," she told reporters. "It didn't really hit me until we were getting ready to come here ... I just started to take it in."
“Orange Is the New Black (2013)” has earned nominations in nine award categories of the prestigious Emmy Awards scheduled to take place on August 25, 2014.
I feel absolutely all of those things: I feel full of joy, like a fountain,” Aduba said. “Mission accomplished."
Adapted from stories previously published in People and US Magazine.