Sheryl Lee Ralph shares lessons for being a diva in new memoir

For Sheryl Lee Ralph, “DIVA” is an acronym. It stands for “divinely inspired, victoriously alive.”

The Emmy winner and star of ABC’s Abbott Elementary tells us how she settled on this definition in her new memoir, DIVA 2.0: 12 Life Lessons from Me for You!, published last week by online hybrid publisher Wordeee.

Ralph delivers her journey of growth and perseverance with the same sermon-like cadence she does in interviews and in award show acceptance speeches. She writes with raw emotion much like her performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the Black National Anthem, at Super Bowl LVII.

A diva is more than a self-centered 19th-century prima donna who stormed off the opera stage when she didn’t get what she wanted, Ralph explains in a paragraph punctuated with exclamation points. A diva is a woman of extraordinary gifts and talent, and the word is derived from the Latin word, divus, meaning goddess. “That’s right!” Ralph writes. “A diva is divine. She is, after all, a goddess!”

DIVA 2.0 is a primer for women — especially Black women — that teaches them to expect to be treated well, and to follow their gut. The book is filled with tips that help women build confidence. “Search for your JOY,” Ralph writes. “Because when you find it, you are doing what you love to do and everything will be alright.”

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Ralph, who has been married to State Sen. Vincent Hughes for nearly 18 years and is enjoying success as beloved teacher Mrs. Barbara Howard on Abbott, has had her struggles.

In a recent interview with Angela Yee on Way Up, Ralph revealed she was sexually harassed by a well-known television judge, who, she says, was not Greg Mathis.

“There was a famous TV judge,” Ralph said. “ I was handling my business for the television show I was on at that time. We were on the same network. The man walked in, grabbed me by the back of my neck, turned me around, and rammed his nasty tongue down my throat. And everyone at the network saw it.”

A diva would not sweep that story under the rug, but she wouldn’t dwell on it as she continued in her career. That is an important lesson Ralph learned on her way to diva status.

There is also a spiritual message. Ralph says a diva must believe strongly in God. “God can do in 60 seconds what you can do in a lifetime,” she writes. “Give God the wheel.”