UB Black History Spotlight: Celebrating Pioneer Sheryl Lee Ralph

UB continues to celebrate Black History Month, with a spotlight on one of our favorites Sheryl Lee Ralph!

Emmy winner, Original “DREAMGIRL,” Sheryl Lee Ralph is an acclaimed veteran of film, television and the Broadway stage.

Born in Waterbury, Connecticut, the daughter of a college professor and Jamaican fashion designer, Ralph was raised between Mandeville, Jamaica and Long Island, New York.

In 1973, she was crowned Miss Black Teenage New York.

Two years later 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.

Also, that year, she was named as one of the top 10 College Women in America by Glamour Magazine.

Her award winning Hollywood body of work includes creating and originating the role of Deena Jones on Broadway in the landmark musical “Dreamgirls,” which earned her both a Tony and Drama Desk Award Nomination for Best Actress.

After “Dreamgirls,” Ms. Ralph turned her attention to music, television and film.

She scored a Billboard Top 10 selling dance hit in the mid-80s with the infectious anthem “In the Evening” and again in the 90s with her remake of the Eurythmics “Here Comes the Rain Again.”

On television, Sheryl Lee has starred in “It’s a Living,” her own series “New Attitude,” the George Foreman series “George” and in the hit comedy “Designing Women.”

She was also voted one of TV’s Favorite Moms for her portrayal of step-mom Dee on the #1 rated television series “Moesha.”

Starring alongside Grammy Award winner Brandy, Sheryl Lee received five NAACP Image Award nominations for her work in over 100 episode of UPN‘s “Moesha.”

She broke new ground In the SHOWTIME series, “Barbershop,” as the popular, post-operative transsexual, Claire.

Her extensive film credits include “Sister Act II” with Whoopi Goldberg, “The Flintstones” with Rosie O’Donell, “The Mighty Quinn” with Denzel Washington, “Mistress” with Robert De Niro, and Eddie Murphy‘s “Distinguished Gentleman.”

Sheryl Lee‘s performance with Danny Glover in “To Sleep with Anger” won her the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress.

As a producer, Ms. Ralph created the critically acclaimed “Divas Simply Singing!,” an evening of song and entertainment that has become one of the most highly anticipated AIDS benefits in Hollywood.

The organization’s first production was “Divas Simply Singing!,” a star-studded, fundraising extravaganza, produced by, and featuring Ms. Ralph and a host of committed Divas, the likes of Chaka Khan, Brandy, Miss Nancy Wilson, Loretta Devine, Jennifer Hudson, and Patti LaBelle.

This annual event has helped raised millions and put the Diva Foundation on the map as one of the pre-eminent AIDS-awareness organizations.

The Diva Foundation is a national not-for-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization founded by Sheryl Lee Ralph in 1990, as a memorial to the many friends she had lost to HIV/AIDS.

The organization focuses on generating resources and coordinating activities that create awareness about the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS on women.

The Diva Foundation uses music and entertainment as a vehicle to educate, and it is hoped, eventually erase the stigma attached to this deadly disease.

Following on the success of “Divas Simply Singing,” Ms. Ralph added a one-woman show “Sometimes I Cry,” to her list of credits.

Written, directed and performed by Ms. Ralph, the complex and thought-provoking play, illustrated the heartbreaking, yet inspiring real life stories of culturally diverse women whose lives unravel as they cope with their HIV/AIDS reality.

“Women’s voices have been silent for too long in the struggle against HIV/AIDS,” she says, “and their stories need to be told. Their health and well-being matter too.”

Met with an extraordinary outpouring of love and acceptance after its initial performance at the National Black Women and HIV/AIDS Conference in Los Angeles in 2005, “Sometimes I Cry,” continues to be performed in the US and abroad.

Sheryl Lee found new success in writing and directing with her award-winning film short “Secrets.”

With an all-star cast that included Oscar nominee Alfre Woodard, Tina Lifford, Victoria Rowell, La Tanya Richardson, Robin Givens and Sheryl herself.

“Secrets” was a finalist in the HBO Film Short Competition, Showtime Filmmakers Series, Acapulco Black Film Festival, Hollywood Film Festival, Pan African Film Festival, Urban World Film Festival and an audience favorite at Outfest Film Festival.

Not surprisingly, the accolades have poured in and Ms. Ralph has been recognized by many organizations for her outstanding contribution in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

In December 2005, she received the very first Red Ribbon Leadership Award, an honor conferred upon her by The National HIV/AIDS Partnership (NHAP) on World HIV/AIDS Day at the United Nations.

The award acknowledged her steadfast commitment and dynamic leadership in the effort to raise awareness and reduce the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS.

Ms. Ralph sits on the boards of several AIDS organizations including Project Angel Food, and the Black AIDS Institute.

She is also the national spokesperson for the National Minority AIDS council.

Ms. Ralph is a graduate of Rutgers University, and is a member of the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni.

She holds the distinct honor of being the first woman to graduate from Rutgers College, a once all-male institution, and an accomplishment she achieved within just three years at the age of nineteen.

In 2004, Ms. Ralph was inducted into Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. because of her steadfast commitment to arts, community and women’s well being.

On stage, Sheryl is well known for her award-winning work, creating the role of Deena Jones in the legendary Broadway musical “Dreamgirls.”

In 2002, She originated the role of Muzzy Van Hossmer in “Thoroughly Modern Millie” alongside Sutton Foster.

The show won six Tony Awards and five Drama Desk Awards, including the win for Best Musical at both.

Sheryl appeared as Madame Horrible in “Wicked,” becoming the first African American actress to take on the classic role.

She also holds the title of producer on Broadway‘s “Thoughts of a Colored Man” at The John Golden Theatre (October 2021 – March 2022) which explores a single day in the pulsing heart of Brooklyn, as seven Black men discover the extraordinary together.

Reuniting with Loretta Devine and Jennifer Holliday for a sold out, one-night-only, “Dreamgirls” reunion celebrating the 35th Anniversary.

In 2022 Sheryl Lee Ralph received the Outstanding Supporting Actress Emmy in a Comedy Series award for “Abbott Elementary” on stage during the 74th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards.

Sheryl Lee Ralph was honored with the 2,808th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 16th, 2025, in the television category

With an acclaimed career spanning over five decades, Emmy, Critics Choice, and Independent Spirit Award winner Sheryl Lee Ralph has become a staple in the entertainment industry.

Ralph can currently be seen starring on ABC’s hit comedy series “Abbott Elementary” opposite creator Quinta Brunson.

In 2023, she received her second Emmy nomination for her portrayal of “Barbara Howard,” Abbott‘s veteran Kindergarten teacher.

She also won the Critics’ Choice award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and landed the Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by An Actress in A Supporting Role in A Musical-Comedy or Drama Television Series, and the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards nomination for Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series for her work on the show.

Ralph is a mother of two and is happily married to State Senator Vincent Hughes of Pennsylvania.

She splits her time between Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

UB has had the wonderful pleasurer of speaking with Ms. Sheryl Lee Ralph.
The following is some of our favorite quotes!

UrbanBridgez.com: Did you ever feel the legacy of Dreamgirls would continue on decades later and actually be turned into a motion picture?
Sheryl Lee Ralph: Absolutely! In fact, it was very interesting. Tom Eyen who was the original visionary for this piece. The original writer and creator of Dreamgirls, I wanted so much to do the film if it ever came to be. I remember one day he looked at me and said Sheryl Lee, by the time this movie happens Deena will be a blonde girl. I didn’t understand what he meant, but here it was 30 years later and Deena was definitely blonde! Such a trip, but he was a man of vision.

UrbanBridgez.com: You’ve literally appeared on every TV show there is almost…
Sheryl Lee Ralph: I don’t know about that (laughs).

UrbanBridgez.com: Well a lot (laughs)!
Sheryl Lee Ralph: That’s true, a lot.

UrbanBridgez.com: What has been a few of your favorite roles?
Sheryl Lee Ralph: You know what, I will always love Moesha! I will always love Moesha because Moesha resonates till this day. I just really, really love that. That fact that we did something that lasted. Moesha is like my television Dreamgirls, because Dreamgirls is something that is going to last forever. I got an email today, saying it was coming to somewhere in Kentucky and to some little theater somewhere else. Where ever I turn now a days I can see that legacy living on and it feels so amazing. I knew it would happen, I knew it!

UrbanBridgez.com: Working with Brandy on Moesha, brought you a new audience, that show was full of stars and or created major stars during its run. What was the best part about filming with that cast?
Sheryl Lee Ralph: I think the fact that there was so much young and incredible talent. To be around them everyday and even though they did drive me crazy sometimes, it was just great. I think anytime you work, you’re trying to lay a foundation, the fact that I was now in this group with these young folks that were now going to walk on this road, it was like wow. I wanted to see where they would go, you always hope that your kids will do more than you did and it was great to see them succeed. It was also sad to see some of them pass away tragically but for the most part it was an amazing journey.

UrbanBridgez.com: I absolutely love your Divas Simply Singing! I think the concept is amazing and you have brought some of the absolute best to that stage. What do you have up your sleeve for this year’s event?
Sheryl Lee Ralph: You know what, I am really, really trying to find two or three just knock down give it all you’ve got divas. I don’t know about anyone else but I love Dianne Reeves, and we don’t really get to see enough of her. And she’s changed a bit, I love her and I love Alicia Keys. I want to see Alicia Keys in a unplugged situation. I also love Annie Lenox and I know it’s hard with the whole idea of bringing her over from London and all of that. That’s what I’m thinking about what do you think?

UrbanBridgez.com: Well you’ve had Shanice and Faith Evans already, so those would have been my picks.
Sheryl Lee Ralph: I love them! Let me tell you something, Faith is like a good friend and she just hangs in there, she just shows up and she shows out. I love Faith, that is someone who I would love to work with more. I think there is a lot more to Faith Evans than what people see. More to her than even herself sees you know.

UrbanBridgez.com: I would like that, so make it happen!
Sheryl Lee Ralph: I really would too, I just really like her. I think she’s a good person.

UrbanBridgez.com: Many people don’t realize you actually have an album and many singles out, what made you put singing on the back-burner to focus on acting?
Sheryl Lee Ralph: Oh my god, I don’t know. People ask me about that all the time and I just don’t know. As much as I love singing, it’s such an effort. It takes time and I’m bad at that. I’m not trying to sing and not have people really listen. If I’m going to sing dog gon it then you’re going to have to listen! Sometimes people sing and people are talking all in the background and I’m like that ain’t me. And when I say it takes effort, it takes effort at least for me. You have to clean up, you have to look great, you gotta do more. You just can’t get up there and sing. You have to give people something they’re not getting for the most part. And a lot of people are not getting a lot of show. Don’t ask me why, but a lot of people don’t put the effort into giving people shows!

UrbanBridgez.com: What type of a role have you yet to play, that you would love to?
Sheryl Lee Ralph: Wow, I like characters that have a little tragedy to them but are going to work it out. I know what I want to do but I don’t want to say it out loud. I really want to get it done.

The UB Interview: Sheryl Lee Ralph Talks “The Real Red Tails” (2024)

UrbanBridgez.com: Tell us how you actually got involved with the documentary, The Real Red Tells?

Sheryl Lee Ralph: It was through hearing my acceptance speeches over, I guess, the last a year or so, the producers heard the voice and someone decided that is the voice that we need to have to tell this story. So they got in touch with my reps, went through the details, and that was the magic, and we started.

UrbanBridgez.com: Okay. It makes a lot of sense, because you are the voice that we all listen to once you start speaking, so it makes sense.

Sheryl Lee Ralph: Oh, my gosh. Thank you very much. I hear that over and over, and I really have to thank my father for that. My dad was a lifelong learner as an educator, and he always said that the voice is a powerful thing. And that was leaning on the voice of a Paul Robison who was big in his time, his peer, Harry Belafonte. It was just so much to listen to my father speak with his voice. And I think that it just trickled down to me.

UrbanBridgez.com: But what is something about The Tuskegee Airmen, that you find astonishing?

Sheryl Lee Ralph: Oh, my gosh. I love the fact that they flew. They took through the skies, that they were winners, that against all odds, they did what so many others could not do or others did not think they could do. And even when they triumphed, people tried to act like it didn’t matter.

But here we are right now, and we know it matters with greatness. In fact, I would tell everybody, go visit that Smithsonian Museum, that African-American Museum in Washington, DC. You can actually see one of the planes right there in the museum. Once again, it was just laid to the side somewhere, and a gentleman found this plane that he thought, wow, who in the world flew this? And this is all true, and decided to put it all back together again. And I think he had to call the government because he needed some pieces once he found out it was a government issue. And they were like, wait a minute, what is it you’ve got? And they’re like, no, you couldn’t have that. And he was like, Not only do I have it, but I really want to fly it. And they had to work together.

Just imagine that, your history just thrown to the side and somebody says, What in the world is this and who flew this? Think about that.

Take A Trip Down Memory Lane with Sheryl Lee Ralph!

UB ReVisit: Sheryl Lee Ralph Talks Moesha, Divas and Dreamgirls

The UB Interview: Sheryl Lee Ralph Talks ‘The Real Red Tails’