The star told as she thought about her decades-long career, "I think about everything they poured into me to make me who I am and wh...
The star told as she thought about her decades-long career, "I think about everything they poured into me to make me who I am and who I'm still becoming."
Sheryl Lee Ralph talked about what she thinks some of her famous show business teachers would tell her now if they were still alive.
Ralph just recently gave a speech at the Television Academy Hall of Fame in Los Angeles. During the conversation, the star with many skills said that over the course of her decades-long career, she had worked with some of the most famous artists in the world.
"Some of the best teachers I ever had were Mr. Sidney Poitier and my great acting teacher, Uta Hagen," Ralph, 68, said.
She also said, "I think about Virginia Capers, a stage actress who won a Tony Award for Raisin." I think about Rosalind Cash, who plays Rosalind in movies. I think about all the things they did to help me grow into the person I am now.
What would these actors and actresses who have died tell Ralph if they were still alive? "They would be telling you right now if they were still alive." "I told you," she said, adding, "And I think about it."
The Dreamgirls star then talked about her work and how proud she was of how far she's come. "I grew up watching TV. I was that kid who sat in front of that black-and-white 12-inch box. "Thank God, it didn't take long for it to turn color," she said.
„But I used to sit there and watch Tinker Bell come up and go around the speaker. And now I'm in the magic of TV and Hollywood, the magic that we dream about." Look at that, look at where I am. "That's me right now," she said.
Ralph got teary-eyed when she talked about the Emmy she won in 2022 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her part as Barbara Howard on ABC's Abbott Elementary. "When you bring it up, I get a lump in my throat because I was shocked when they called my name,"
The Tony-nominated actress talked to PEOPLE in January about another big moment in her career: getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
At the time, she told PEOPLE, "It's not like they give these things out like candy."
The star then talked about a time when another talented person told her she would be successful in the future. "Cicely Tyson told me on a plane one day, 'Many good things will happen to you.'" "Many, many, many," Ralph said. "The older people have been nice to me, so it wouldn't surprise them."