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22 Emmy Winners Who Didn't Win for What They're Best Known For

At least they won

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Joyce Eng

You've probably come across the phrase "Emmy-winning American Idol host" about Ryan Seacrest over the years.

That's both right and wrong. It's a matter of semantics: Seacrest, obviously, hosted Idol, and he is an Emmy winner. But he won that Emmy as a producer on Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. That means he has never won for the show with which he's most synonymous -- the one that has him rhetorically asking, "Who am I if not the American Idol guy?"

Seacrest is not the only person whose Emmy win did not come for his or her most well-known project. It's kind of like people who've won Oscars; but not for their best performance. Sometimes it's a case of playing catch-up, sometimes it's a matter of timing, sometimes it's a lack of competition, sometimes it's placement in an "easier" category and sometimes it's just plain luck.

But at least these people below have won Emmys, right? Who cares what they're for? Angela Lansbury, at 0-18, is probably green with envy.
And hey, Seacrest can still win for Idol.

Check out the gallery below, for all the winners!