Read about Sheryl Lee Ralph’s net worth, age, husband, children, height, family, parents, salary, movies, tv shows as well as other information you need to know.
Introduction
Sheryl Lee Ralph is an American actress and singer. She made her screen debut in the 1977 comedy film A Piece of the Action, before landing her breakthrough role as Deena Jones in the Broadway musical Dreamgirls (1981), for which she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.
Ralph has appeared in a number of movies during her career. In 1991, she received the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female for her role in the drama film To Sleep with Anger. Her other film credits include The Mighty Quinn (1989), The Distinguished Gentleman (1992), Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993), and Deterrence (1999).
On television, Ralph starred from 1986 to 1989 in the syndicated sitcom It’s a Living, and later had the leading roles in the short-lived ABC sitcom New Attitude (1990), and CBS medical drama Street Gear (1995). From 1996 to 2001, she starred as Dee Mitchell in the UPN sitcom Moesha, and from 2013 to 2015 as Maggie Turner in the Nick at Nite sitcom Instant Mom.
As of 2022, Sheryl Lee Ralph is starring as Barbara Howard on the ABC mockumentary sitcom Abbott Elementary, for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards, and became the first black woman to win the award in 35 years. Ralph’s autobiography, Redefining Diva: Life Lessons from the Original Dreamgirl, was published in 2012. In 2016, she played Madame Morrible in Wicked on Broadway.
Early life
| Name | Sheryl Lee Ralph |
| Net Worth | $5 million |
| Occupation | Actress, Singer |
| Age | 66 years |
| Height | 1.68m |
Sheryl Lee Ralph was born on December 30, 1955 (age 66 years) in Waterbury, Connecticut, United States. She is the daughter of Stanley Ralph, a college professor, and Ivy Ralph O.D., a Jamaican fashion designer and the creator of the Kariba suit. She has a younger brother, actor and comedian Michael Ralph. According to a DNA analysis, she descends partly from the Tikar people of Cameroon. She was raised between Mandeville, Jamaica, and Long Island.
Ralph attended Uniondale High School in Uniondale, New York. She starred in a high-school production of musical Oklahoma!, portraying Ado Annie. Sheryl graduated in 1972. Earlier that year, she was crowned Miss Black Teenage New York. 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.
In 1972, she was named one of the top ten college women in America by Glamour magazine. Initially, she hoped to study medicine, but after dealing with cadavers in a pre-med class and winning a scholarship in a competition at the American College Theater Festival, she gave up medicine for the performing arts. Many years later, she served as the commencement speaker at Rutgers for the Class of 2003.
Career
Sheryl Lee Ralph began her career on the stage and was nominated in 1982 for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Deena Jones in Dreamgirls. In 1984, Ralph released her only album In the Evening, in which the title track peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart that same year. In 1988 she starred in the Disney movie Oliver & Company, providing the voice of Rita, a sassy Afghan Hound.
Ralph’s first leading role in a film came as Denzel Washington’s wife in The Mighty Quinn, released in 1989. In 1992 she starred with Robert De Niro in the title role of Mistress. That same year, she co-starred with Eddie Murphy in The Distinguished Gentleman. During the 1990s she also had roles in The Flintstones, Deterrence, and Unconditional Love.
On television, Sheryl Lee Ralph was in the cast of the CBS daytime soap opera Search for Tomorrow while starring on Broadway in Dreamgirls. She is known for playing Ginger St. James on It’s a Living, Etienne Toussaint-Bouvier on Designing Women, and Dee Mitchell on Moesha. She provided the voice of the Cheetah in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.
She also played Florence Watson, the mother of Rita Louise Watson (Lauryn Hill) in the 1993 film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. Ralph produced Divas Simply Singing, which has become an important AIDS fundraiser. She also appeared on the Showtime series Barbershop as Claire. Sheryl brought a new face to the sufferings of war in the NBC hit series ER.
Her 2002 project Baby of the Family concerns a young child who is born with a caul over her head, which enables her to see ghosts and the future. Ralph was also featured with their son Etienne on MTV’s My Super Sweet 16 and BET’s Baldwin Hills, as well as an episode of Clean House that also featured her two children, Etienne and Ivy-Victoria (aka Coco), named after Ralph’s mother.
On June 16, 2009, it was announced that Sheryl Lee Ralph would join the cast of the Broadway-bound musical The First Wives Club as Elyse. She replaced Adriane Lenox, who withdrew from the show due to health concerns. In 2011, Ralph guest-starred in the Young Justice episode “Terrors” as Amanda Waller. In 2013, Ralph appeared in the NBC television show Smash as Cynthia, the mother of Jennifer Hudson’s character.
Sheryl Lee Ralph appeared at the 2013 Columbus Middle School youth rally on February 9, 2013, in Columbus, Mississippi. In August 2014, she appeared on KTLA Los Angeles Morning News as a fill-in Entertainment Reporter. In November 2014, Ralph appeared on Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn as the rich lady who claims her dog from Nicky, Ricky, Dicky, and Dawn. Some of her recent TV appearances include the TNT dramedy Claws, and the Nickelodeon sitcom Instant Mom as Stephanie’s (Tia Mowry-Hardrict’s) mother.
Ralph appeared as one of the main characters, Rose, from January 10 to April 11, 2019, in the television series Fam which ran for one season and was canceled in May 2019. In 2022, Ralph joined the new hit sitcom Abbott Elementary, portraying a 30-year veteran elementary school teacher. For her role, Ralph won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, becoming the second Black actress to win in the category after Jackée Harry who won in 1987 for 227.
Husband
Sheryl Lee Ralph is married to Vincent Hughes, they had their wedding on July 30, 2005. Her husband is a Pennsylvania State Senator. However, in July 2004, Ralph was inducted as an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority at the 47th National Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. In May 2008, Ralph was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Tougaloo College after giving the commencement address. Sheryl Lee Ralph was married to her ex-husband French businessman Eric Maurice from 1990 to 2001 and they have two children together. As of mid-2022, Ralph and her husband Vincent Hughes are still married.
Sheryl Lee Ralph’s net worth
What is Sheryl Lee Ralph’s net worth? Sheryl Lee Ralph’s net worth is estimated at around $5 million. Her main source of income is from her career as a singer and actress. Lee Ralph’s salary per month with other career earnings is over $1 million dollars annually. She is one of the richest and most influential actresses/singers in the United States. Her successful career has earned her some luxurious lifestyles and some fancy car trips. Sheryl Lee Ralph stands at an appealing height of 1.68m and has a good body weight which suits her personality.