Caribbean Star: Sheryl Lee Ralph

nHEALTH nENTERTAINMENT nRELATIONSHIPS nRECIPES nSPORTS nHOROSCOPE

Sheryl Lee Ralph, Jamaica : Caribbean-American Woman of Influence

BY STEPHANIE KORNEY JAMAICANS.COM

Actress, singer, author, and activist Sheryl Lee Ralph was born in 1955 in Waterbury, Connecticut to Ivy Ralph, a Jamaican fashion designer, and Stanley Ralph, an American college professor. She was raised in Mandeville, Jamaica, and Long Island, New York. DNA analysis has shown that she is descended from the Tikar people of Cameroon. She attended Uniondale High School in New York, where she was the star of the school’s product of “Oklahoma!” In 1972, the year of her graduation, she was named Miss Black Teenage New York. When she was 19, Ralph became the youngest woman to graduate from Rutgers University. During her time at Rutgers, she won the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival and was also named one of the Top 10 College Women in the US by Glamour magazine. She had originally planned to study medicine, but after winning the theater festival scholarship decided to pursue a career in the performing arts. Ralph’s screen debut was in the 1977 comedy “A Piece of the Action,” but her breakthrough role was playing “Deena Jones” in the Broadway musical “Dreamgirls” in 1981. She was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance. Ralph has appeared in numerous television and film roles, being best known for portraying “Dee” in the television sitcom “Moesha.” This role led to her being named one of “TV’s Favorite Moms.” She won a Best Supporting Actress Award at the Independent Spirit Awards for her appearance in the film “To Sleep with Anger.” In 2003, she was the commencement speaker at her alma mater of Rutgers and was inducted as an honorary member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority at its 47th National Convention in 2004. She received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Tougaloo College in 2008. Ralph also authored a successful book “Redefining Diva: Live Lessons from the Original Dreamgirl” in 2012. l Sheryl Lee Ralph won her first Emmy for her role as teacher “Barbara Howard” on the ABC television network program “Abbott Elementary.” Ralph's win became one of the biggest highlights of the 2022 Emmy Awards ceremony after she delivered an emotional and inspiring acceptance speech that included singing a verse from jazz singer Diane Reeves' 1993 song "Endangered Species." While she may not have been expecting to win, she was certainly prepared. During her appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show on Monday, September 19 the Abbott Elementary star, 65, reflected on winning her first Emmy Award for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy. "You know what? Like many of you, I have had a speech prepared since I was 5 years old," she told Hudson. "I was ready, you know, ever since Tinker Bell came out of that steeple and was starting to make dreams come true, I've been practicing the speech." However, Ralph admitted things didn't go exactly as planned. "When they called my name, all of it went out of my head," she shared. "I could remember absolutely nothing." "And you know, center stage is my home so when I got there, it was like, 'Gather yourself, gather yourself because this is your moment!" she added. Congratulations, our Caribbean star!l

Caribbean Star Sheryl Lee Ralph. Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com

Ralph Wins First Emmy An Evening of Elegance with Beres Hammond & Friends

This promises to be a great event! UWI graduates in the New York and surrounding areas aim to take advantage of this opportunity and buy tickets to see this show. It is a great way to both connect, as well as reconnect, with fellow Caribbean folks and to enjoy wonderful music and see Reggae Superstar Beres Hammond and friends. Your support of this event will also benefit UWI students through the American Foundation for the UWI (AFUWI). l