Sheryl Lee Ralph: Being on the cover of People ‘feels like a divine affirmation’
Earlier this week, Ralph announced that she will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Sheryl Lee Ralph is having a fabulous year thus far.
The Abbott Elementary star and mother of two is gracing the Jan. 20 cover of People magazine with a bright smile, sparkling eyes, and a full heart.
“Don’t give up,” she said in the piece on newsstands now. “If you don’t make it at 20 or 30, so what? Hold on to your dreams, because you can make it at 40 or 50, and it ain’t over when you’re 60. The best is yet to come, and I’m here to receive it.”
Ralph revealed on Monday that she will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Jan. 29 at 11 a.m. The announcement came a day after she wowed America on the red carpet in a formfitting claret custom St. John.
“There are moments in life that remind you just how far you’ve come,” Ralph said in an email, “and this, my friends, is one those moments. To see my name etched into the Hollywood Walk of Fame — surrounded by so many incredible stars who paved the way — and then to look up and see myself smiling back on the cover of People magazine, it feels like a divine affirmation that every step of my journey, every high and low was leading me here and it has not been easy, but I wouldn’t change one step.”
Ralph got her big break in the 1980s in the role of Deena Jones, the leading lady in Dreamgirls on Broadway. Over the years, she’s acted in situation comedies, like It’s a Living, and in the 1990s, she starred as Brandy’s stepmother in Moesha.
However, after landing the role of kindergarten teacher Mrs. Barbara Howard in Quinta Brunson’s hilarious mockumentary, Abbott Elementary, she won an Emmy.
“This star isn’t just about me,” Ralph wrote. “It’s about all the little Black girls who are told they need to wait their turn or that their dreams are too big, or too bold. Honey, I’m here to tell you: you belong and my being here proves it!”
At 68 (not 69 as People reported), Ralph doesn’t take her success for granted.
“We live in a world that loves to place expiration dates on women, especially women in the entertainment industry,” Ralph said. “But here I am, not just thriving but soaring, proving that life isn’t about deadlines or limits — it’s about timing and trusting the journey.”