Kara Young has made history.
On Sunday night, Young won her second Tony Award for best actress in a featured role in a play for the show Purpose, which she plays Aziza, a social worker from Harlem. The victory marked the first time that a Black performer has won a Tony Award two years in a row. Young has been nominated for four years in a row.
In her acceptance speech, she spoke about what the theater community means to her. “In this world that [is] so divided, theater is … a safe, a sacred space that we have to honor and cherish and it makes us united,” she said.
Last year, Young won her first Tony, in the same category, for Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch. She’s also previously been nominated for Clyde’s and Cost of Living.
This year, she beat out Tala Ashe (English), Jessica Hecht (Eureka Day), Marjan Neshat (English) and Fina Strazza (John Proctor Is the Villain).
While Young was speaking to reporters in the press room, Purpose also won best play. Young mentioned how honored she feels to have made history. “I truly feel like we are so divided out here in the world that we can literally sit in the theater and nothing else matters but the story and our heartbeats and our listening ears, or eyes, for those who need access, access to that. I feel incredibly grateful and overwhelming amount of gratitude,” she said. “Diversity literally equals humanity.”
View all of the 2025 Tony winners here. See the red carpet arrivals here.
