fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Sheryl Lee Ralph, OJ,[1] is an American actress and singer. She made her screen debut in the 1977 comedy film A Piece of the Action, before landing the role of Deena Jones in the Broadway musical Dreamgirls (1981), for which she received a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical nomination. She is starring as Barbara Howard on the ABC mockumentary sitcom Abbott Elementary, for which she won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards, and became the first Black woman to win the award in 35 years.[2]

Sheryl Lee Ralph
Ralph attending Philadelphia BME Leadership Awards 2012
Born	December 30, 1956 (age 65 years) Waterbury, Connecticut, U.S.
Other names	Sheryl L. Ralph
Education	Rutgers University, New Brunswick (BFA)
Occupation	Actress singer
Years active	1977–present
Known for	Dreamgirls (Broadway; 1981) Moesha Motherland: Fort Salem Abbott Elementary
Spouse(s)	Eric Maurice ​ ​ (m. 1990; div. 2001)​ Vincent Hughes ​ (m. 2005)​
Children	2
Website	sherylleeralph.com

Ralph has appeared in a number of films during her career. She starred alongside Denzel Washington in the film The Mighty Quinn (1989). In 1991, she won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female for her performance in the 1990 drama film To Sleep with Anger. Ralph starred in the 1992 films Mistress and The Distinguished Gentleman. She later played the role of Florence Watson in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993).

Ralph has also starred in the syndicated television sitcom It's a Living (1986–1989), the short-lived ABC sitcom New Attitude (1990), the Nick at Nite sitcom Instant Mom (2013–2015), and portrayed Madame Morrible in the 2016 Broadway musical Wicked. Her role as Dee Mitchell, in the UPN sitcom Moesha, (1996–2001), earned her five nominations for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

Early life

Ralph was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, the daughter of Stanley Ralph, a college professor, and Ivy Ralph O.D., a Jamaican fashion designer and the creator of the kariba suit.[3][4] She has a younger brother, actor and comedian Michael Ralph. According to a DNA analysis, she descends partly from the Tikar people of Cameroon.[5] She was raised between Mandeville, Jamaica, and Long Island.[6][7] Ralph attended Uniondale High School in Uniondale, New York. She starred in a high-school production of the musical Oklahoma!, portraying Ado Annie. Sheryl graduated in 1972. Earlier that year, she was crowned Miss Black Teen-age New York. At 19, Ralph was the youngest woman to ever graduate from Rutgers University; during her time at Rutgers, Ralph was one of the earliest winners of the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarships awarded by the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.[8] Also that year she was named one of the top ten college women in America by Glamour magazine. Initially she hoped to study medicine, but after dealing with cadavers in a pre-med class and winning a scholarship in a competition at the American College Theater Festival, she gave up medicine for the performing arts.[9] Many years later, she served as the commencement speaker at Rutgers for the Class of 2003.

Career

Ralph began her career in the 1970s, starring in the 1977 American crime comedy film A Piece of the Action directed by Sidney Poitier. She also made several appearances in television shows, such as Good Times, Wonder Woman and The Jeffersons. Ralph then landed a role in the Broadway production Reggae (1980),[10] before portraying Deena Jones in the original Broadway musical Dreamgirls (1981).[11] On television, she was in the cast of the CBS daytime soap opera Search for Tomorrow while starring on Broadway in Dreamgirls. For her performance in Dreamgirls, Ralph was nominated in 1982 for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.[12] Afterwards, she signed with Sid Bernstein's music label, and released her only studio album In the Evening in 1984. The album's title track peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart and No. 64 on the UK Singles Chart that same year.[13] Ralph landed the leading role of Ginger St. James on the television series It's a Living. In 1988 she starred in the Disney movie Oliver & Company, providing the voice of Rita, a sassy Afghan Hound. Her first leading role in a film came as Denzel Washington's wife in The Mighty Quinn, released in 1989.

In 1990, she was cast as Vicki St. James in the ABC sitcom New Attitude. The following year, Ralph won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female for her performance in the 1990 drama film To Sleep with Anger. In 1992, she starred with Robert De Niro in the title role in Mistress. That same year, she played Etienne Toussaint-Bouvier on Designing Women, and co-starred with Eddie Murphy in The Distinguished Gentleman. She also played Florence Watson, the mother of Rita Louise Watson (Lauryn Hill) in the 1993 film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. Her role as Dee Mitchell on Moesha (1996–2001), earned her five nominations for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

During the 1990s she also had roles in The Flintstones, Deterrence, and Unconditional Love. She provided the voice of Cheetah in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. Ralph produced Divas Simply Singing, which has become an important AIDS fundraiser. She also appeared on the Showtime series Barbershop as Claire. Sheryl brought a new face to the sufferings of war in the NBC hit series ER. Ralph's 2002 project Baby of the Family concerns a young child who is born with a caul over her head, which enables her to see ghosts and the future. Ralph was also featured with son Etienne on MTV's My Super Sweet 16 and BET's Baldwin Hills, as well as an episode of Clean House that also featured her two children, Etienne and Ivy-Victoria (aka Coco), named after Ralph's mother.

On June 16, 2009, it was announced that Ralph would join the cast of the Broadway-bound musical The First Wives Club as Elyse. She replaced Adriane Lenox, who withdrew from the show due to health concerns.[14] In 2011, Ralph guest-starred in the Young Justice episode "Terrors" as Amanda Waller. In 2013, Ralph appeared in the NBC television show Smash as Cynthia, the mother of Jennifer Hudson's character.[15] On February 9, 2013, Ralph appeared at the 2013 Columbus Middle School youth rally in Columbus, Mississippi. In August 2014, she appeared on KTLA Los Angeles Morning News as a fill-in entertainment reporter. In November 2014, Ralph appeared on Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn as the rich lady who claims her dog from Nicky, Ricky, Dicky, and Dawn.

Some of her recent TV appearances include the TNT dramedy Claws, and on the Nickelodeon sitcom Instant Mom as Stephanie's (Tia Mowry-Hardrict's) mother.

From January 10 to April 11, 2019 Ralph appeared as one of the main characters, Rose, in the television series Fam which ran for one season and was canceled in May 2019. In 2022, Ralph joined the new hit sitcom Abbott Elementary, portraying a 30-year veteran elementary school teacher.[16] For her role, Ralph won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, becoming the second Black actress to win in the category after Jackée Harry, who won in 1987 for 227. In October 2022, Ralph became the recipient of the Order of Jamaica.[17]

Personal life

Ralph was married to French businessman Eric Maurice from 1990 to 2001, and they have two children, a son born in 1995 and daughter in 1997. She has been married to Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Hughes since July 30, 2005.[18]

In July 2004, Ralph was inducted as an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority at the 47th National Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.[19]

In May 2008, Ralph was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Tougaloo College after giving the commencement address.^{[citation needed]}

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1977	A Piece of the Action	Barbara Hanley
1988	Oliver & Company	Rita (voice)
1989	The Mighty Quinn	Lola Quinn
	Skin Deep	Rose the Receptionist
1990	To Sleep with Anger	Linda
1992	Mistress	Beverly
	The Distinguished Gentleman	Miss Loretta
1993	Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit	Florence Watson
1994	The Flintstones	Mrs. Reneè Pyrite
1995	White Man's Burden	Roberta Wellison
	Lover's Knot	Charlotte Lee
1996	Bogus	Ruth Clark
1997	Jamaica Beat	Sylvia Jones
1998	The Easter Story Keepers	Risa (voice)	Video
	Secrets	-	Short
1999	Personals	Chantal Jones
	Unconditional Love	Linda Cray
	Deterrence	Gayle Redford
2000	Lost in the Pershing Point Hotel	Nurse Betty Redford
2002	Baby of the Family	Mamie
2007	Frankie D	Mama D
2010	Pastor Jones: The Complete First Season	Mother Kelly	Video
	The Cost of Heaven	Paulette Randolph
	Blessed and Cursed	Lady Elise Wright
2012	Christmas in Compton	Abuta
	He Knows My Heart	First Lady Jameson	Short
2017	Just Getting Started	Roberta
	Christmas at Holly Lodge	Nadine
2018	Step Sisters	Yvonne Bishop
2020	The Comeback Trail	Bess Jones
2021	Prepared	Dr. Richards	Short

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	Baa Baa Black Sheep	Elizabeth	Episode: "A Little Bit of England"
	A.E.S. Hudson Street	Nurse	Episode: "Shut Down"
	Husbands, Wives & Lovers	Joelle	Episode: "Murray Gets Sacked and Paula Gets Hired"
	The Krofft Comedy Hour	Various characters	TV movie
	Good Times	Vanessa Blake	Episode: "J.J and the Plumber's Helper"
1979	Wonder Woman	Bobbie	Episode: "The Starships Are Coming"
	The Jeffersons	Jeanie	Episode: "Louise's Convention"
1982	The Neighborhood	Doris Campbell	TV movie
1983	Search for Tomorrow	Laura McCarthy	Regular cast
1984	V: The Series	Glenna	Episode: "The Overload"
1985	Code Name: Foxfire	Maggie Bryan	Main cast
1986	Hunter	Josie Clifford	Episode: "The Return of Typhoon Thompson"
	Pros and Cons	Roberta	TV movie
1986–89	It's a Living	Ginger St. James	Main cast (season 4-6)
1987	Sister Margaret and the Saturday Night Ladies	Corelle	TV movie
	L.A. Law	Renee Quintana	Episode: "Beef Jerky"
	Amazing Stories	Show Singer	Episode: "Gershwin's Trunk"
1990	Falcon Crest	Mooshy Tucker	Episode: "Dark Streets" & "Crimes of the Past"
	New Attitude	Vicki St. James	Main cast
1991	The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw	Miss Rosalee	TV movie
1992–93	Designing Women	Etienne Toussaint Bouvier	Recurring cast (season 7)
1993	No Child of Mine	Marjorie Duncan	TV movie
1993–94	George	Maggie Foster	Main cast
1994	Witch Hunt	Hypolyta Kropotkin	TV movie
1995	Street Gear	Sarah Davis	Main cast
1996–01	Moesha	Deidra "Dee" Mitchell (née Moss)	Main cast (season 1-5), recurring cast (season 6)
1998	The Wild Thornberrys	Lioness #2 (voice)	Episode: "Flood Warning"
1999	Sabrina, the Teenage Witch	Zsa Zsa Goowhiggie	Episode: "What Price Harvey?"
	The Parkers	Dee Mitchell	Episode: "Daddy's Girl"
2000	Recess	Mrs. Lasalle (voice)	Episode: "Me Know No"
2000–01	The District	Lt. Dee Banks	Recurring cast (season 1)
2001	The Jennie Project	Dr. Pamela Prentiss	TV movie
2002	Justice League	Cheetah/Barbara Ann Minerva (voice)	Episode: "Injustice for All: Part I & II"
	The Proud Family	Aunt Dee/Diana (voice)	Episode: "Romeo Must Wed" & "Behind Family Lines"
2002–03	Static Shock	Trina Jessup (voice)	Episode: "Pop's Girlfriend" & "Consequences"
2003	Whoopi	Florence	Episode: "She Ain't Heavy, She's My Partner"
	Las Vegas	Janet Ellis	Episode: "Luck Be a Lady"
2004	Justice League Unlimited	Cheetah/Barbara Ann Minerva/Teacher (voice)	Episode: "Kids' Stuff"
	Da Kink in My Hair	Novelette	TV movie
2005	Barbershop	Claire	Recurring Cast
2006	7th Heaven	Nurse Yvonne Rockwell	Episode: "And Baby Makes Three"
	ER	Gloria Gallant	Episode: "Strange Bedfellows" & "Twenty-One Guns"
2007	Odicie	Aunt Amy	TV movie
	Exes and Ohs	Reverend Ruby	Episode: "There Must Be Rules..."
2008	Hannah Montana	Clarice Johnson	Episode: "We're All on This Date Together"
2010	Zevo-3	Grams (voice)	Episode: "Control"
2011	Young Justice	Amanda Waller (voice)	Episode: "Terrors"
2013	Smash	Cynthia Moore	Episode: "The Song"
	JD Lawrence's Community Service	Carolyn	Main cast
2013–20	Ray Donovan	Claudette Boone	Recurring cast (season 1–2 & 7)
2014	2 Broke Girls	Genét Bromberg	Episode: "And the Not Broke Parents"
	One Love	Carolyn Winters	Main cast
	See Dad Run	Vanessa Ralph	Episode: "See Dad Run Until He Drops" & "See Dad Watch Janie Run Away"
	Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn	Ms. Edin Dumont	Episode: "The Sad Tail of Gary-Chip-Tiny-Elvis-Squishy-Paws"
2013–15	Instant Mom	Maggie Turner	Main cast
2016	Criminal Minds	Hayden Montgomery	Recurring cast (season 11)
	Crushed	Bella Black	TV movie
2017	H.E.I.R.	Herself	TV series
	One Mississippi	Felicia Hollingsworth	Recurring cast
2017–19	MacGyver	Mama Emma Colton	Recurring cast (season 1-3)
2018	The Quad	Ula Pettiway	Recurring cast (season 2)
	Claws	Matilde Ruval	Recurring cast (season 2)
2019	Fam	Rose	Main cast
	Young Justice	Amanda Waller (voice)	Episodes: "Leverage"
	A Black Lady Sketch Show	MaryAnne	Episode: "3rd & Bonaparte Is Always in the Shade"
	Christmas Hotel	Marnie	TV movie
2020	Fashionably Yours	Janet	TV movie
	Christmas Comes Twice	Miss Nelson	TV movie
2020–22	Motherland: Fort Salem	President Kelly Wade	Recurring cast
2021–present	Abbott Elementary	Barbara Howard	Main cast

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	BioShock 2	Grace Holloway	Voice role

Stage work

Broadway

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1980	Swing	Helen
	Reggae	Faith	Original Broadway production
1981	Dreamgirls	Deena Jones	Original Broadway production
2002	Thoroughly Modern Millie	Muzzy Van Hossmere	Original Broadway production
2016–2017	Wicked	Madame Morrible	Replacement
2021	Goosebumps The Musical	Miss Walker	Original studio cast recording
	Thoughts of a Colored Man	Producer	Original Broadway production

Discography

Album

In the Evening (1984, The New York Music Company)

1. "You're So Romantic" (4:38)
2. "In the Evening" (3:50)
3. "Give Me Love" (3:34)
4. "Evolution" (4:02)
5. "Back to Being in Love" (3:01)
6. "Be Somebody" (3:35)
7. "I'm Your Kind of Girl" (3:55)
8. "B.A.B.Y." (3:15)
9. "Ready or Not" (3:46)
10. "I'm So Glad That We Met" (3:56)

Produced and arranged by Trevor Lawrence

Singles

Title	Year	Peak chart positions						Album
		US Dance [20]	US R&B [20]	AUS [21]	BEL (FL) [22]	NLD [23]	UK [24]
"When I First Saw You"[25]	1983	—	50	—	—	—	—	Non-album single
"In the Evening"[26]	1984	6	—	—	16	18	64	In the Evening
"You're So Romantic"[27]	1985	37	84	—	—	—	—
"In the Evening (Remix)"[28]	1997	—	—	17	—	—	—	Non-album singles
"Evolution (Remix)"[28]	1998	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Here Comes the Rain Again"[28]	1999	37	44	—	—	—	—

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
1982	Tony Award	Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical	Dreamgirls	Won
	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Actress in a Musical		Nominated
1989	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture	The Mighty Quinn	Nominated
1990	Independent Spirit Awards	Best Supporting Female	To Sleep with Anger	Won
1998	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Moesha	Nominated
1999				Nominated
2000				Nominated
2001				Nominated
	Black Reel Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress	Deterrence	Nominated
2002	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Moesha	Nominated
2022	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Abbott Elementary	Won
	Creative Coalition[29]	TV Humanitarian Award	Herself	Won
	Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation[30]	Elizabeth Taylor Commitment to End AIDS Award		Won

References

External links

• Official website (archived)
• Sheryl Lee Ralph at IMDb 
• Sheryl Lee Ralph discography at Discogs
• Sheryl Lee Ralph at the Internet Broadway Database
• Works by or about Sheryl Lee Ralph in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

На других языках

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[de] Sheryl Lee Ralph

Sheryl Lee Ralph (* 30. Dezember 1956 in Waterbury, Connecticut) ist eine US-amerikanische Schauspielerin und Sängerin.

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- [en] Sheryl Lee Ralph

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[ru] Ральф, Шерил Ли

Шерил Ли Ральф (англ. Sheryl Lee Ralph; род. 30 декабря 1956 (1956-12-30)) — американская актриса и певица.

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