# Children's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Performer

The Children's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Preschool, Children's or Young Teen Program is an award which honors performances in both television series and made-for-television/streaming films. The category was established at the 1st Children's and Family Emmy Awards in 2022, and is open to performers of all genders. The current holder of the award is Christian Slater, who won at the 3rd Children's and Family Emmy Awards for his role as Mulgarath in The Roku Channel series The Spiderwick Chronicles.

## Background

On November 17, 2021, the NATAS announced the creation of the Children's and Family Emmy Awards to recognize the best in children's and family television. The organization cited an "explosive growth in the quantity and quality of children’s and family programming" as justification for a dedicated ceremony. Many categories of the awards were previously presented at the Daytime Emmy Awards. Performers in programming aimed towards children and young people were previously honored with the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming, which was presented under various names however, following the announcement of the establishment of the Children's and Family Emmy Awards, these categories were discontinued.
The original name for the category was Outstanding Lead Performance in a Preschool, Children's or Young Teen Program, and the award received its current name as of the 3rd Children's and Family Emmy Awards.

## Winners and nominations
### 2020s

| Year | Actor | Role | Program | Network |
| 2022 (1st) |
| 2022 (1st) | Kit Connor | Nick Nelson | Heartstopper | Netflix |
| 2022 (1st) | Loretta Devine | M'Dear | Family Reunion | Netflix |
| 2022 (1st) | Mark Feuerstein | Watson Brewer | The Baby-Sitters Club | Netflix |
| 2022 (1st) | Joe Locke | Charlie Spring | Heartstopper | Netflix |
| 2022 (1st) | Alicia Silverstone | Elizabeth Thomas-Brewer | The Baby-Sitters Club | Netflix |
| 2022 (1st) | Rueby Wood | Nate | Better Nate Than Ever | Disney+ |
| 2023 (2nd) | | | | |
| 2023 (2nd) | Tony Hale | Mr. Benedict | The Mysterious Benedict Society | Disney+ |
| 2023 (2nd) | Tim Allen | Scott Calvin/Santa | The Santa Clauses | Disney+ |
| 2023 (2nd) | Ella Bright | Darrell Rivers | Malory Towers | BYU TV |
| 2023 (2nd) | Veda Cienfuegos | Emily | Circuit Breakers | Apple TV+ |
| 2023 (2nd) | Gina Rodriguez | Momma | Lost Ollie | Netflix |
| 2024 (3rd) |
| 2024 (3rd) | Christian Slater | Mulgarath | The Spiderwick Chronicles | The Roku Channel |
| 2024 (3rd) | Lola Blue | Addie Darrow | A Kind of Spark | BYU TV |
| 2024 (3rd) | Ella Bright | Darrell Rivers | Malory Towers | BYU TV |
| 2024 (3rd) | Justin Long | Mr. Bratt | Goosebumps | Disney+ |
| 2024 (3rd) | Raven-Symoné | Raven Baxter | Raven's Home | Disney Channel |

## Performers with multiple nominations
### 2 nominations

* Ella Bright

## Programs with multiple nominations
### 2 nominations

* The Baby-Sitters Club
* Heartstopper
* Malory Towers

## Networks with multiple nominations
### 6 nominations

* Netflix

### 4 nominations

* Disney+

### 3 nominations

* BYUtv

## Superlatives

| Superlative | Performer | Program | Year | Age |
| Oldest Nominee | Loretta Devine | Family Reunion | 2022 | 73 |
| Youngest Nominee | Rueby Wood | Better Nate Than Ever | 2022 | 15 |