Who Is Sheryl Lee Ralph? First-Time Emmy Nominee Wins Best Supporting Actress Honour

Veteran actor Sheryl Lee Ralph, on Monday, won an Emmy as a first-time nominee at the age of 66. Ralph relished in her victory by bellowing powerful lyrics about being an “Endangered Species,” and imploring others to never give up on themselves no matter how long it takes to be seen.

Ralph was nominated for her role as a tough but loving kindergarten teacher on the comedy series Abbott Elementary. She won the best supporting actress in a comedy for her role as Barbara Howard, a beloved, matriarchal teacher on the ABC “mockumentary” sitcom about high-spirited teachers in a woefully underfunded Philadelphia public school.

Who Is Sheryl Lee Ralph

Ralph got her first big break in the 1977 Sidney Poitier film A Piece of the Action, and an even bigger break came in 1981 when she starred in the hit Broadway musical Dreamgirls. After the success of Dreamgirls, Ralph moved to Los Angeles, but found there were few roles available to Black actors, reports NPR.

However, Ralph kept pushing to find a place for herself in Hollywood, also recalled how decades ago, actor Robert De Niro advised her to keep going even though this industry was “not looking for the Black girls.”

“Thirty years later, I am seeing my nomination, and thank God I didn’t give up on me because it’s been a rough climb, but it’s worth every step,” Ralph said moments before her win.

Ralph's Emmy honour comes after multiple decades in the business, though she did win an Independent Spirit Award for her performance in the 1990 film To Sleep With Anger, and, from 1996 to 2001, played Brandy's stepmother on the sitcom Moesha.

In tears before gathering herself to accept the Emmy trophy, Ralph opened her acceptance speech with a powerful acapella version of the song “Endangered Species” by Dianne Reeves, belting: “I am a woman, I am an artist/And I know where my voice belongs.”

With the audience on their feet now, she continued with the speech, “To anyone who has ever, ever had a dream and thought your dream wasn’t, wouldn’t, couldn’t come true, I am here to tell you that this is what believing looks like,” Ralph said. “This is what striving looks like, and don’t you ever, ever give up on you. Because if you get a Quinta Brunson in your corner, if you get a husband like mine in your corner, if you get children like mine in your corner, and if you got friends like everybody who voted for me, cheered for me, loved me, thank you, thank you, thank you.”

In an interview to The Associated Press, the actor opened on being nominated for the first time, about the show and more. She said, “The fact that this is the first time since the 1980s that people in a majority Black cast have all been nominated, the first time in 40 years,” Ralph said. “The fact that it is my first nomination, my first invitation to the awards and guess what? Nothing before its time. Everything is right on time. And I’m happy to be here because I’m sailing, baby. I’m loving it.”

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