Julia Louis-Dreyfus paid tribute to her late father as she picked up her Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series at the Emmy Awards on Sunday (18.09.16).

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

The 55-year-old actress - who plays politician Selina Meyer in 'Veep' - revealed her beloved dad had passed away just two days before the ceremony in an emotional acceptance speech.

Visibly shaking, Julia said: "I'd like to dedicate this to my father, William Louis-Dreyfus, who passed away on Friday. And, I'm so glad that he liked 'Veep' because his opinion was the one that really mattered."

On a lighter note in her speech, Julia - whose win was her record-breaking sixth in the category - sparked laughs as she compared the current US political landscape to that shown in her satirical TV show.

She said: "I'd also like to take this opportunity to personally apologize for the current political climate.

"I think that 'Veep' has torn down the wall between comedy and politics. Our show started out as a political satire but it feels now like sobering documentary. So I certainly do promise to rebuild that wall and make Mexico pay for it."

Julia's speech caused panic amongst Twitter users, who thought veteran actor Richard Dreyfuss had passed away, but he quickly sought to reassure his fans.

He posted: "I'm actually not Julia Louis-Dreyfus' father. But I really appreciate all the concerned tweets."

Elsewhere at the ceremony, which was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, 'Veep' was also named Outstanding Comedy Series.

'Game of Thrones' scooped an impressive 12 awards, including the coveted Outstanding Drama Series prize, while Rami Malek picked up his first Emmy, with his turn in 'Mr. Robot' seeing him recognised with the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series prize. 'Orphan Black' actress Tatiana Maslany scooped Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and 'Transparent' star Jeffrey Tambor picked up Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

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