It's always a special moment when a seasoned veteran gets their flowers while they're still alive, well and working. While stars like Jennifer Hudson and John Legend can boast about being EGOT winners, actresses like Sheryl Lee Ralph who've been in the game nearly 40 years are finally getting their just due. On Monday, the 65-year old Abbott Elementary actress took home her first ever Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
Ralph serenaded the crowd with a song and tearful speech as she accepted the prestigious award. “I am an endangered species. I am a woman. I am an artist. And I know where my voice belongs," she sang. The star also encouraged fans to continue to follow their dreams, even when it seems unlikely. "To anyone who has ever had a dream, and thought your dream wasn’t, wouldn’t, couldn’t come true, I am here to tell you that this is what believing looks like,” she shared.
The former Dreamgirls actress made history on Monday night as the second ever black woman to win this category after Jackee Harry’s win for NBC’s “227” in 1987. Closing out her now infamous moment, Sheryl shared, “This is what striving looks like. And don’t you ever, ever give up on you. Because if you get a Quinta Brunson in your corner, if you get a husband like mine in your corner, if you get children like mine in your corner and if you’ve got friends like everybody who voted for me, cheered for me, loved me.”
Harry, who won the same award 35 years prior, took to Twitter to congratulate the Emmy Award winning actress. “For 35 years I’ve been the only black woman to win Outstanding Supporting Actresses in a Comedy Series. But that all changes tonight… and it’s come full circle! #Emmys.”
Congrats, Ms. Ralph on your award. Well overdue.