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See Peter Gallagher & Daughter Kathryn on the Tony Awards Red Carpet

The pair were nominated for similar awards, 35 years apart.

On Sunday night, Kathryn Gallagher was up for her first Tony Award. So, naturally, she invited a date who has some familiarity with the experience: her dad. Kathryn is actor Peter Gallagher's daughter, and they've both been nominated for their stage work, 35 years apart. In 1986, Peter was nominated for Best Featured Actor in a Play. At this year's show, Kathryn was nominated for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.

The father-daughter pair walked the red carpet together before taking in the show, and it looks like they had a great time. Kathryn might not have won her award, but according to a post on her Instagram, it was still a fun night. Read on to see Kathryn and Peter at the Tonys and to find out more about their theater careers and their relationship.

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Kathryn was nominated for her performance in Jagged Little Pill.

Kathryn and Peter Gallagher at the 2021 Tonys on September 26, 2021
Bruce Glikas/WireImage via Getty Images

Kathryn's nomination was for her role as Bella Fox in the musical Jagged Little Pill, which features songs from Alanis Morissette's 1995 album of the same name. The 28-year-old previously appeared on Broadway in Spring Awakening and was also in the Off-Broadway play Dust Can't Kill Me. Like her father, she's worked on TV, too, appearing on You and The Flash. She and her Jagged Little Pill co-stars won the 2021 Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album.

Kathryn lost out to one of her co-stars.

Kathryn and Peter Gallagher at the Tonys on September 26, 2021
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions

Kathryn was nominated for Best Featured Actress in a Musical alongside her Jagged Little Pill co-stars Lauren Patten and Celia Rose Gooding, Moulin Rouge!'s Robyn Hurder, and Tina's Myra Lucretia Taylor. Patten ended up taking home the award, and in her speech referenced an ongoing controversy regarding the gender identity of her character. In an earlier form of the show, the character was non-binary but is now depicted as a cis woman. Patten is also cisgender. Ahead of the Tonys, nominee Gooding, who isn't returning to the show when it resumes post-shutdown, released a statement saying that Jagged Little Pill has harmed "the trans and non-binary community."

Meanwhile, there were no hard feelings from Kathryn regarding her loss. Along with some photos of herself posting in her red Derek Lam gown, she wrote on Instagram, "The last time I got a solo nomination for anything was most improved player for The Moonlights AYSO soccer team Circa 1998, losing this one was a lot more fun. Thank you for a special night, @TheTonyAwards."

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Peter celebrates his daughter's success.

Peter Gallagher, Kathryn Gallagher, and Paula Harwood at the after party for the opening night of "Jagged Little Pill" in December 2019
Daniel Zuchnik/Getty Images

In addition to supporting her at the Tonys, Peter has been cheering for his daughter throughout her career. In December 2019, the O.C. actor posted on Instagram about the opening night of Jagged Little Pill and shared a photo of Kathryn when she was little. He wrote, "Sitting here with fingers and everything else crossed, a full heart and grateful for life's grand adventure that should bring this little girl's parents to her opening night tonight on Broadway in the truly wonderful new musical Jagged Little Pill!"

The next day, he also shared a photo of himself and wife Paula Harwood after the show's premiere with their daughter. In addition to Kathryn, the couple also have a son named James.

He was nominated for his Tony 35 years ago.

Kathryn and Peter Gallagher at the Tonys on September 26, 2021
Jenny Anderson/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions

Peter was nominated for the Tony for Best Featured Actor in a Play in 1986 for his role as Edmund Tyrone in Long Day's Journey Into Night. The winner that year was John Mahoney for The House of Blue Leaves. Since then, 66-year-old Gallagher has continued to appear on stage in between his film and TV work, including in the musicals Guys and Dolls and On the Twentieth Century.

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Lia Beck
Lia Beck is a writer living in Richmond, Virginia. In addition to Best Life, she has written for Refinery29, Bustle, Hello Giggles, InStyle, and more. Read more
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