Sheryl Lee Ralph

Sheryl Lee Ralph is a singer and actress best known for her role as Barbara Howard on ABC’s Abbott Elementary. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2022, becoming the first Black woman to win that award in 35 years. She graduated from Rutgers University at age 19 in 1977, the youngest woman to do so. Initially studying medicine, Ralph shifted her focus to performing arts.

Ralph made her screen debut in A Piece of the Action (1977), where she was mentored by Sidney Poitier. She went on to star alongside Denzel Washington in The Mighty Quinn (1989), Robert De Niro in Mistress (1992), Eddie Murphy in The Distinguished Gentleman (1992) and Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act II (1983). In 1990, she won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female Actress for To Sleep With Anger (1990) with Danny Glover. Her notable TV roles include Dee Mitchell in Moesha and Maggie in Instant Mom. She also appeared in shows like Barbershop, Criminal Minds, Smash, Two Broke Girls and Claws.

On Broadway, Ralph earned a Tony Award nomination for her role as Deena Jones in Dreamgirls (1981). She reunited with Loretta Devine and Jennifer Holiday for a sold-out 35th-anniversary performance of Dreamgirls in 2016. Ralph also portrayed Madame Morrible in Wicked, becoming the first Black actress to play the role, and is a producer of the Broadway show Thoughts of a Colored Man.

In 1998, Ralph directed her first short film, Secrets, starring Alfre Woodard and Robin Givens.

Ralph is married to Pennsylvania Senator Vincent Hughes, whom she wed in 2005. She frequently travels between Los Angeles and Philadelphia to see him. She has two children with her ex-husband Eric Maurice: Etienne Maurice (born in 1992) and Ivy Coco Maurice (born in 1995).