Quinta Brunson Praises Husband Kevin Jay Anik for Being Her 'Support System' (Exclusive)

The 'Abbott Elementary' creator and star caught up with ET backstage after her big SAG Awards win.

Quinta Brunson and Abbott Elementary continued their awards season success on Sunday with a big win at the 2023 SAG Awards!

The cast of the ABC comedy won Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, the first network comedy to do so since Modern Family in 2013, and Brunson told ET's Denny Directo backstage that receiving the award from the Screen Actors Guild "just hits different."

"These are our peers, these are people who do the same work that we do as actors. For them to think that we're deserving of this award, it just hits different, it really does," she noted.

Brunson shared a sweet moment with husband Kevin Jay Anik after the win was announced, and the actress and producer couldn't help but gush about her hubby being the best "support system" during Abbott's breakout success.

"I mean, a partner during all of this, you can't buy that kind of support," she gushed. "Someone willing to go through what it takes to make Abbott and be a part of Abbott, it's priceless. I don't know what to say. I'm so grateful."

"I feel like I should have did the thank you up there, but I don't know, I was overwhelmed y'all!" she said of her acceptance speech.

Brunson and co-star Janelle James also opened up about how special it was to have longtime friend and The Bear star Ayo Edebiri appear in Abbott season 2 as the sister of Brunson's character.

"Ayo's been a friend of ours for years, so to be able to work with your friends on something like this is amazing," James shared. 

"That was a wonderful day on set," Brunson agreed. "The three of us, that was real special. I have a picture in my phone of us that's so cute."


The 2023 SAG Awards will take place on Sunday, Feb. 26 at Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. The ceremony will stream live on Netflix's YouTube channel. See the full list of winners here and stay tuned to ETonline.com for complete SAG Awards coverage.

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