Julianne Nicholson wins Emmy for Guest Actress in a Comedy in ‘Hacks’; all about her family, career and net worth

Julianne Nicholson was among the early winners on Saturday night (September 6, 2025) at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. She trumped Oscar winners Jamie Lee Curtis and Olivia Colman to win her first Emmy for best guest actress in a comedy, for playing a character known only as Dance Mom on “Hacks."

“I love ‘Hacks,’” Nicholson said from the stage at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. “I loved playing Dance Mom so much.” Nicholson, who is a double nominee in 2025, is also nominated for best supporting actress in a comedy at the main Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony, which will air live on CBS on Sept. 14. Besides the one for “Hacks,” she also scored an Emmy nomination for her haunting turn in Hulu’s post-apocalyptic political thriller “Paradise.”

The Creative Arts Emmys, a precursor to next weekend's bigger Emmys show, hands out nearly 100 trophies over two nights, most of them focused on behind-the-scenes crew. On “Hacks,” Nicholson played the memorable Mary Alice, aka “Dance Mom.” Speaking about the role, Nicholson said, “I came in as a huge fan of the show. So it’s a bit surreal to suddenly be sort of under Jimmy and Kayla,” as quoted by Variety.

Julianne Nicholson: Family, career and net worth

Born and brought up in Medford, Massachusetts (outside Boston), Nicholson is the eldest of four siblings. According to IMDb, she is the daughter of Kate (Gilday) and James O. Nicholson, Jr., and is of Irish heritage.

Nicholson moved to New York and entered the world of modeling in Paris. She attended Hunter College as a General Studies Major. She is married to British actor Jonathan Cake. The couple met playing a couple in an HBO pilot "Marriage" directed by Michael Apted. They have two children Iggy Cake and Phoebe Cake. Nicholson started her acting career with Television in 1997 when she got a guest role on the ABC series "Nothing Sacred."

According to Celebrity Net Worth, after appearing in episodes of "Dellaventura" and "New York Undercover" in 1998, she was in the Stephen King ABC miniseries "Storm of the Century" in early 1999. Nicholson got her first major assignment on television in 2000, on the short-lived NBC supernatural thriller series "The Others." Later she went on to play the main role of Jenny Shaw on the fifth and final season of the Fox series "Ally McBeal," and played the main role of Dr. Jules Keating on the short-lived CBS series "Presidio Med."

As far as her film career is concerned, Nicholson debuted on the big screen in 1998 and appeared in a few films that year, including the drama "One True Thing" and the romantic comedy "Curtain Call." Her film breakthrough came in 1999, in the romantic comedy "The Love Letter," based on the novel by Cathleen Schine. At the dawn of the new millennium, Nicholson appeared in the short film "Hero" and the feature films "Passion of Mind" and "Tully."

For "Tully," she received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Female. Over the subsequent years, Nicholson acted in such films as "I'm with Lucy," "Seeing Other People," "Little Black Book," and "Kinsey." In 2006, she starred opposite Justin Kirk in "Flannel Pajamas" and had supporting roles in "Puccini for Beginners" and "Two Weeks." Nicholson has a net worth of $3 million, according to Celebrity net worth.