Julianna Margulies won the best actress laurel at the Screen Actors Guild Awards [SAGs] in Los Angeles on Saturday night.

The award recognised the former ER star for her work on The Good Wife.

Margulies thanked co-stars and writers on the show before she said: “My mother and father call me after every single episode. They’ve been so supportive of me and have such interest in my life and every role I take – except for Snakes On A Plane. They weren’t so proud of that one, but they are proud of this one.”

In The Good Wife she plays Alicia Florrick, the loyal wife of a politician played by Chris Noth of Sex and The City fame. Noth’s character is exposed in a sex and corruption scandal.

Margulies’ gritty role sees her supporting her children while Noth goes to jail. Her six-year role in ER as an embattled and unforgettable nurse was no laughing matter, either.

The elegant 43-year-old brunette said: “I’m not someone who has to go home and slit my wrists after a day’s work because my character did. I love acting because I also love to put on someone else’s shoes and feel what they are feeling. But you have to be able to separate. It’s one of the reasons I don’t live with an actor – life is hard enough.”