Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Abbott Elementary' Star Sheryl Lee Ralph's Reaction To Scoring Her First Emmy Nod Is Everything

Abbott Elementary' Star Sheryl Lee Ralph's Reaction To Scoring Her First Emmy Nod Is Everything
@walkgoodetienne/Twitter

With a 50-year career on Broadway, in film and on television, you might assume that legendary actor Sheryl Lee Ralph has been nominated for an Emmy before.

But you'd be wrong.


The actor nabbed her very first nomination today for her performance in the ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary—and her reaction is absolutely the most contagiously joyful thing you'll see this week.

Ralph has been nominated in the Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as the elder stateswoman among the teachers at the fictional Philadelphia school at the center of the runaway hit comedy series.

And the video of her reaction to the news, posted to Twitter by her son Etienne, has the internet cheering and applauding.

See Ralph's big moment below.

Ralph's son tweeted:

"with over 50 years of being in this thing we call showbusiness, today my mother became an Emmy nominated actress."
"i’m so proud of @thesherylralph. I’m so glad I could be here in Jamaica with you for this moment."

Seeing Ralph reduced to speechlessness is certainly a contrast to her character Barbara Howard on Abbott Elementary, a wise, been-there-done-that veteran teacher who's seen it all and always knows the right thing to say.

Her mystification isn't what you'd expect if you've followed her career either. Though she began in films in the 1970s, Ralph is best known for her barnstorming performance as Deena Jones in the original Broadway production of Dreamgirls in 1981.

But she's been a mainstay on stage, television and movie screens ever since, appearing in TV shows like Showtime's Ray Donovan, beloved films like Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit and Broadway hits like Wicked.

Her role on Abbott Elementary has introduced her to an entire new generation and they are absolutely in love with her and her castmates.

The show, which features an ensemble cast of mostly Black performers, was an immediate sleeper hit since practically the moment it premiered and has become a critical and ratings success—a rare trifecta in today's TV landscape and a boundary-breaking one for network television, a historically White-led medium.

Speaking with People magazine after learning of her nomination, Ralph somehow found the words that eluded her in the video of her getting the call about the honor.

She told the magazine:

"I am so deeply honored and completely overwhelmed with an abundance of gratitude that comes with this recognition."
"Thank you to the Television Academy for the delicious honor of being nominated in the Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series category, alongside the most talented and hilarious actors of today."

On Twitter, Ralph's awestruck joy and her son's contagious glee left people smiling ear to ear.







Ralph isn't the only Abbott Elementary cast member who might find her name engraved on a statue in September. She joins costars Tyler James Williams and breakout sensation Janelle James in the Supporting Actor and Actress categories.

And series creator Quinta Brunson has made Emmys history with her nominations—with acting and writing nods and an Outstanding Comedy Series nomination for the show itself.

Brunson is the first Black woman to be nominated for three Emmy awards in the comedy category in the same year.

More from Entertainment/celebrities

 Andrew Isker
Contra Mundum Podcast

Christian Podcaster Roasted After Claiming He Opts For TSA Pat-Down For Truly Bonkers Reason

Christian nationalist Andrew Isker from Tennessee avoids walking through an airport security scanner at all costs because he claims it makes people gay.

So what's the alternative method he prefers for security clearance? A full body pat down by male TSA agents, of course.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nancy Mace
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Nancy Mace Ripped After Raging Over 'Evil' Constituents Asking Her To Host Town Hall

In March, House Speaker Mike Johnson and other GOP leaders held a caucus meeting to instruct Republican members of Congress to cancel town halls and avoid their constituents for the foreseeable future. But South Carolina MAGA Republican Representative Nancy Mace decided to take things a bit further.

Mace posted three videos attacking her own constituents for sending her an invitation and repeatedly asking for a town hall.

Keep ReadingShow less
Back shot of five young, carefree female friends stand in a field of tall sunflowers clasp hands and raise their arms to the sky.
Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash

Unbothered People Explain How They Became Immune To A-Holes

Being able to walk away from toxic people is a skill.

Too many of us have wasted too much time in life on people who drag us down.

Keep ReadingShow less
parents holding child's hands
Nienke Burgers on Unsplash

Times People Realized Their Parents Weren't Who They Thought They Were

Some kids grow up with an inflated perception of their parents. They see them as infallible heros.

These kids are usually in for a very rude awakening.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov
10 News First/YouTube

American YouTuber Arrested After Sneaking Onto Remote Island And Leaving Diet Coke For Uncontacted Tribe

24-year-old YouTuber Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov was arrested after making contact with one of the world's last uncontacted tribes, making the perilous and ill-advised journey to North Sentinel Island and leaving a coconut and a can of Diet Coke on the beach as a gift to the Sentinelese.

Polyakov, 24, arrived at the northeastern shore of North Sentinel Island at 10 a.m. on March 29, according to police reports. He used binoculars to survey the land but saw no one. He then climbed ashore, leaving behind a Diet Coke and a coconut, took sand samples, and recorded a video, the authorities said.

Keep ReadingShow less