Biography for
Sheryl Lee Ralph More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

Spouse

Trivia

One of the original Dreamgirls on Broadway.

Nominated (1982) for Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

She appeared in the music video and sang in the choir on the song "Voices That Care."

Studied medicine at Rutgers University.

Named Best College Actress in 1974.

1973 Miss Black Teen-Age New York

Filing 1 million dollar lawsuit against The National Enquirer for libel and invasion of property [June 2000]

Is half Jamaican.

Ex-husband was an art collector. They have two children, Etienne, born in 1992, and Ivy-Victoria born in 1995.

She was the first woman to graduate from Rutgers College at the age of 19. She missed her graduation to get a Skippy Peanut Butter commercial. She did get to wear a cap and gown on May 2, 2003 as the Commencement Speaker for the Class of 2003.

"Dreamgirls" is considered by many as a loosely-based account of the meteroic rise of the 1960s super girl-group The Supremes. Sheryl's Deena Jones' character closely follows the path taken by Diana Ross.

Played "Muzzy van Hossmere" in the original cast of the Broadway production "Thoroughly Modern Millie" (2002 Tony winner for Best New Musical). While in the stage show, Muzzy is a black character, in the film she was white, played by Carol Channing.

Sister of Michael Ralph.

July 2004: Inducted as an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. at the 47th National Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Was originally considered for a potential spin-off of the 1970s television series "The New Adventures of Wonder Woman" (1975) but the project never made it past the green-light phase. Her ties to the show continued though as, 25 years later, she portrays Wonder Woman's nemesis "The Cheetah" in the animated "Justice League" (2001) series.

Nominated for Broadway's 1982 Tony Award as Best Actress (Musical) for "Dreamgirls."

Married Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Hughes at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles on July 30, 2005.

She played a dog named "Rita" in Disney's Oliver & Company (1988) in 1988. In 1993, she co-starred with Lauryn Hill, whose name was "Rita" in the movie, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993).

Is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Personal Quotes

Theater is in my blood. When I began as an actress, you weren't really acting unless you were doing theater.