Sheryl Lee Ralph is now an Emmy winner.
Ralph, who plays no-nonsense veteran teacher Barbara Howard in ABC’s hit comedy Abbott Elementaryaccepted her Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series award at Monday’s ceremony with a powerful rendition of Dianne Reeves’ “Endangered Species.”
“I’m an endangered species, but I’m not singing a victim song,” the former Broadway star said as she opened her acceptance speech. In an elegant black and red dress and a bedazzled updo, Ralph caught the attention of the audience with her triumphant voice. “I’m a woman, I’m an artist and I know where my voice belongs.”
The song was followed by an equally powerful speech from Ralph, in which she thanked her family and support systems while also emphasizing the importance of never giving up on your dreams.
“To anyone who has ever – ever – had a dream and thought your dream wouldn’t, couldn’t, couldn’t come true. I’m here to tell you this is what faith looks like,” she said. “This is what striving looks like. And never, ever give up!”
Ralph talks about her own path: “I already feel like a winner”
The Abbott Elementary Star’s Emmy win was no easy feat. Ralph, who has been acting since 1977, says there was a time when she almost gave up on her dream.
Speaking to NPR ahead of the Emmys, Ralph shared that a chance meeting with a casting director at her daughter’s school when she changed her perspective when “things didn’t go as planned [she] thought she might.”
“It really took that moment to re-examine my career, to re-examine who was representing me and to go out and get a better representation, what I did with my current manager, Lisa Wright. And what she could do, with the The trajectory she was able to attract me to is right where I am, right where she told me I deserve to be.”
And this shift in perspective, Ralph says, has made her immensely grateful, regardless of the outcome of any given award ceremony.
“Whether I get that trophy in my hand or not, I already feel like a winner. The love I’ve been shown, showered on me, the flowers given to me, literally and figuratively. I feel like a winner,” she said. “And after this I’ll always be Tony-nominated, Emmy-nominated Sheryl Lee Ralph”
Season 2 of Abbott Elementary premiere Sept 21.