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June Squibb poses at the opening night of the 2ndStage Theater production of the play ‘Marjorie Prime’ at The Hayes Theater on Dec. 8, 2025 in New York City.
June Squibb has made Tony Awards history.
The 96-year-old actress earned a 2026 Tony nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play on Tuesday, May 5, for her turn in Marjorie Prime — officially becoming the oldest acting nominee in the ceremony’s history.
“I’m thrilled with what this nomination will do for my career,” Squibb tells PEOPLE in a statement.
She went on to shout out her costar Danny Burstein, whose work in Marjorie Prime also earned him a nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play — and a spot in the record books. His career total is now nine, the most for any male actor in Tony Awards history.
“Over the moon for Danny as well!” Squibb said. “I share this nomination with everyone who worked so hard to bring Marjorie Prime back to life.”
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Squibb surpasses a record previously held by Lois Smith, who was 89 when she was nominated in 2020 for The Inheritance. Before that, Cicely Tyson held the distinction with an 88-year-old nomination for The Trip to Bountiful in 2013.
Both Smith and Tyson went on to win in their respective categories. To win hers, Squibb will have to triumph over fellow nominees Betsy Aidem (Liberation), Marylouise Burke (The Balusters), Aya Cash (Giant) and Laurie Metcalf (Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman).
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Marjorie Prime began performances in November 2025 and concluded its limited run in February 2026.
Directed by Tony Award nominee Anne Kauffman, the science fiction drama follows Squibb as a woman with dementia who forms a bond with a holographic companion modeled after her late husband.
At 96, Squibb was also the oldest performer to open in a Broadway show in history.
It’s not her first time on the boards, either. The actress, beloved for her role in Nebraska, made her Broadway debut in 1959 as the stripper Electra in the original production of Gypsy opposite Ethel Merman.
“I moved a lot differently then,” Squibb told PEOPLE at the New York City premiere of Eleanor the Great on Sept. 24, laughing as she recalled her Gypsy days. “I was doing a lot of bumps and grinds every night… Not so many bumps and grinds now.”
In addition to Squibb and Burstein, the Second Stage Theater’s revival of Jordan Harrison’s Pulitzer Prize-finalist play also featured two-time Tony winner Cynthia Nixon and Promising Young Woman breakout Christopher Lowell.
As for Burstein, with his milestone this year, he joins Kelli O’Hara (another nominee this year) and Rosemary Harris among the most-nominated performers in Tony acting categories.
The actor won a Tony in 2020, for his featured work in Moulin Rouge! The Musical.
Presented by The American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League, the Tony Awards are considered the most prestigious honors in theater, recognizing excellence across acting, directing, design and more. They’re also the “T” in EGOT — the grand slam of show business that represents the top awards in television (Emmy), music (Grammy), film (Oscar) and theater.
Winners of the 2026 Tony Awards will be divulged on Sunday, June 7, in a telecast hosted by Pink from the legendary Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The broadcast will air live to both coasts on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+* (8:00 – 11:00 p.m. ET/5:00 – 8:00 p.m. PT).
CBS and Pluto TV will present The Tony Awards: Act One, a pre-show of live, exclusive content leading into the 79th annual Tony Awards. Additional details will be available at a future date.
