January 11, 2015 9:12 PM EST
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has a history of honoring fresh, new talent during the Golden Globes, so it’s not a total surprise that star of one of television’s most promising new shows, Jane the Virgin’ s Gina Rodriguez , won the award for Best Actress, Musical or Comedy.
But in a competitive category going up against Edie Falco and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Rodriguez wasn’t a shoe-in — which makes her emotional acceptance speech all the more endearing.
READ: TIME’s profile of Gina Rodriguez from last fall .
Golden Globes 2015: Red Carpet Photos Jessica Chastain arrives to the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015. Christopher Polk—NBC/Getty Images Anna Kendrick attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Jason Merritt—Getty Images Salma Hayek Pinault attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Jason Merritt—Getty Images Jessica Chastain attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Jason Merritt—Getty Images Emily Blunt arrives to the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Kevork Djansezian—NBC/Getty Images George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin Clooney attend the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Jason Merritt—Getty Images Amy Adams attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Jason Merritt—Getty Images Eddie Redmayne attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty Images Julianne Moore attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Jeff Vespa—WireImage/Getty Images Tina Fey attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Jason Merritt—Getty Images Amy Poehler attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Jason Merritt—Getty Images Kevin Spacey attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Frazer Harrison—Getty Images Emma Stone attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Jason Merritt—Getty Images Lorde attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty Images Jeffrey Tambor attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Jeff Vespa—Getty Images Quvenzhane Wallis attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Jason Merritt—Getty Images Lena Dunham arrives to the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Kevork Djansezian—NBC/Getty Images Adrian Grenier arrives to the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Christopher Polk—NBC/Getty Images Julia Louis-Dreyfus arrives to the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Kevork Djansezian—NBC/Getty Images Allison Williams attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Jason Merritt—Getty Images Keira Knightley arrives to the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Kevork Djansezian—NBC/Getty Images Patti Smith attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Frazer Harrison—Getty Images James Corden attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Frazer Harrison—Getty Images Bill Hader attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty Images Diane Kruger attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Frazer Harrison—Getty Images Chrissy Teigen and John Legend attend the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Jason Merritt—Getty Images Kate Mara attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Jeff Vespa—WireImage/Getty Images Lana Del Rey attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Jason Merritt—Getty Images Kit Harington arrives at the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Kevork Djansezian—NBC/Getty Images Giuliana Rancic attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Jeff Vespa—WireImage/Getty Images Pedro Pascal attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Frazer Harrison—Getty Images Conchita Wurst attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Frazer Harrison—Getty Images Kelly Osbourne attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty Images Naomi Watts attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Kevork Djansezian—NBC/Getty Images Gina Rodriguez attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Frazer Harrison—Getty Images Katherine Heigl attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Jason Merritt—Getty Images Uzo Aduba attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Frazer Harrison—Getty Images Felicity Jones attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Steve Granitz—WireImage/Getty Images Reese Witherspoon ttends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Jason Merritt—Getty Images More Must-Reads from TIME Donald Trump Is TIME's 2024 Person of the Year Why We Chose Trump as Person of the Year Is Intermittent Fasting Good or Bad for You? The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024 The 20 Best Christmas TV Episodes Column: If Optimism Feels Ridiculous Now, Try Hope The Future of Climate Action Is Trade Policy Merle Bombardieri Is Helping People Make the Baby Decision