Sheryl Lee Ralph hits high note
If there is one thing Sheryl Lee Ralph is not short of, it’s confidence. The ‘Jamerican’ actress showed that in September in Los Angeles when she won the Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in A Comedy Series.
After accepting her award from presenters Amy Poehler and Seth Myers, the 66-year-old Ralph sang a verse from Endangered Species, a song by jazz singer Dianne Reeves.
She then boldly declared: “I am an endangered species, but I sing no victim song. I am a woman, I am an artiste, and I know where my voice belongs.”
For her role as kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard in Abbott Elementary, Ralph became only the second black woman (after Jackee Harry in 227 in 1987) to win the category.
Ralph, who was born in the United States to an American father and Jamaican mother, has done the rounds in Hollywood since the late 1970s. She has appeared in movies (A Piece Of The Action, Sister Act 2), hit television shows and plays (Moesha and Dreamgirls) and had hit songs (In The Evening).
In October, Sheryl Lee Ralph was awarded the Order of Jamaica by the Jamaican Government.