PHOENIX — Sheryl Lee Ralph is living a career dream: The “Abbott Elementary” star won her first Emmy last year and will lend her powerful vocals as a Super Bowl pregame performer this weekend.
With all her success, the veteran actor-singer only wishes her late parents were living to witness her recent accomplishments.
“I wish that my parents were still alive to see it and experience it with me,” Ralph said in a recent interview while promoting the Microban 24 sanitizing spray. Her father was a college professor, while her mother was a renowned Jamaican fashion designer.
“My parents always believed in me and my success,” she continued according to AP. “I know this would’ve been something they would love to have been a part of. I do miss them.
Ralph will hit this Sunday’s Super Bowl stage to sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” The other pregame performances include country music star Chris Stapleton, who will sing the national anthem, while R&B legend Babyface will perform “America the Beautiful.” Rihanna is the featured halftime performer.
Last year, the 66-year-old Ralph won an Emmy as a first-time nominee for best supporting actress in a comedy for her role as Barbara Howard on ABC’s “Abbott Elementary,” which also stars Quinta Brunson.
In her acceptance speech, she bellowed powerful lyrics about being an “Endangered Species” by Dianne Reeves to implore others to never give up on their dreams or aspirations.
