The Philly Mag Interview: Abbott Elementary’s Sheryl Lee Ralph

Sheryl Lee Ralph of Abbott Elementary / Styling by Ivy Coco Maurice / Makeup by Marquis Ward for Exclusive Artists / Hair by Sharif Poston at The Visionaries Agency / Photograph by Dylan Coulter

Singer and actor Sheryl Lee Ralph, who happens to be married to longtime Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Hughes of Wynnefield, has been on stage and screen since the late ’70s. But it took a little sitcom about the fictional Abbott Elementary School in West Philadelphia to catapult her to household-name status. With Abbott Elementary embarking on its fourth season on October 9th, Abbott Elementary co-star Ralph talks about her kindergarten-teaching character and how Hollywood has changed for women, and through it all somehow manages to break into song only twice.

Before we get started, how does one address you? Sheryl?­ Sheryl Lee? Miss Ralph? The incomparably talented and stunningly beautiful Sheryl Lee Ralph?
[laughs] That’s the one right there. That’s it. That last one. I’ll go with that. Or, should you choose, you can always say “Goddess.”

Goddess it is. Now, when I landed on your Wikipedia page a few weeks ago, I noticed there’s an O.J. after your name, and I have to assume that does not refer to one Orenthal James.
Actually, there should be a T.H. before Sheryl. All together, it should be “T.H. Sheryl Lee Ralph, O.J.,” which stands for “The Honorable Sheryl Lee Ralph, Order of Jamaica.” It’s pretty much like being a duchess or a lady.

How does one attain such status in Jamaica?
Unlike the English way, you actually have to earn it in Jamaica. You have to have done something for the island. Jamaica is the land of my mother’s birth, and it’s always in my heart. I grew up there, in addition to Long Island and Connecticut. I’ve done a lot of work for the country­ and have also tried to bring a lot of awareness about the island, even just by mentioning it in the shows I’m in. They conferred this title on me two years ago.

I almost took my family in December but then realized our passports had expired, so we went to Puerto Rico.
Oh. My. God. You are really missing out. Just whatever you do, don’t stay at one of those big resorts. Stay at someplace small and lovely. You have to meet the people. But you also have to remember that Jamaica is one big metropolis. Don’t go getting buck wild! Be aware!

I’m so glad this interview finally worked out. I’d been trying for a while, but you’ve been so busy, between promoting your recent movie, The Fabulous Four, and filming the fourth season of Abbott Elementary, which begins on October 9th. Did you just come from an Abbott Elementary shoot?
I did. Just now. And now I am [loud sounds in the background] taking [more loud sounds] the trash out.

Do you really take out your own trash?
Can’t you hear it? [more loud sounds] There. I just dropped it.

Sheryl Lee Ralph holding her Emmy for Abbott Elementary in 2022. / Photograph via Getty Images

So you just finished a shoot. You just took the trash out. It’s Friday evening. What does a Friday night in L.A. look like for you?
Oh my gosh. Well, if I had gotten out earlier, I would have been on a plane to Philly to see my husband. But we got out late. So I’m going to drink a nice cocktail and go to bed around seven or eight and sleep as long as I possibly can. During the week, we work 12-hour days on the Abbott set. Dolly Parton likes to sing that song. [singing] Nine to five, what a way to make a livin’. No, honey, it’s more like [singing] Five to fiiiiiiive. [holds “five” for a dramatic ending] It’s a rough schedule. But somebody’s got to do it.

Once Abbott Elementary starts this month, is the entire season in the can at that point? Or will you still be shooting?
No, no, no, no, no, no. We won’t finish shooting all of the episodes until April of next year. We have the luxury of 22 episodes. Most shows are doing eight to 10, maybe. We’re 22. I’m very thankful. Right in front of our eyes, TV is changing, downsizing. It’s not the same anymore. We have a whole generation of TV watchers who do not get the concept of watching a show at a certain time. I asked the kids in my kindergarten class on the show this year, “Where do we watch the show?” They all said Hulu. That’s not what I was expecting! I was expecting ABC. And when I heard they were changing the airtime of the show from 9 to 9:30, I was concerned that it’s too late. Kids won’t be able to watch the show. Then I realized they weren’t watching it “live” anyway.

I think the first time I saw you on a screen would have been Sister Act 2, in which you played the mother of Lauryn Hill’s character. What did I miss before that?
Oh dear, there was so much. I haven’t been pigeonholed the way so many people have. I’ve been able to spread my wings on the stage, on TV, in movies. In 1977, I was 20 and landed my first film, A Piece of the Action, with the great Sidney Poitier. My first television episodic was The Jeffersons, and Sherman Hemsley and I stayed in touch over the years, and he played my dad in Designing Women. I’m one for relationships, for keeping people in my life. Oh, and I also did Good Times and Wonder Woman — I played Lynda Carter’s secretary. She was a wonderful person to work with.

Sheryl Lee Ralph with Sylvester Stallone in 1982 / Photograph via Getty Images

You are, of course, married to longtime Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Hughes, 20 years as of next year.
Yes, and if Abbott Elementary had a senator, my husband would be their senator, because the school is set in West Philadelphia. The school is a constituent.

How did the two of you connect in the first place?
Oh, Lord. It was a blind date. I was doing some work around trying to get health equipment for children to Jamaica, and a friend of mine at Paramount said, “You should meet my friend, the senator.” I was like, oh sure, “the senator.” Anyway, this goes on for a while, and I’m on Broadway in Thoroughly Modern Millie, and my friend calls me and says, “Guess who is in New York right now? The senator!” And we met, and I have to tell you, I looked at him, and that was that. It was one of the best looks I ever gave.

Was he your introduction to Philadelphia, or did you have some previous background here?
He was. I studied at Rutgers in New Brunswick, but I always went north. Never to Princeton or to Philadelphia. Always to New York.

Where is your home when you’re here?
Right off of City Line Avenue in West Philadelphia.

Sheryl Lee Ralph and Senator Vincent Hughes with their wedding party (Photo by Malcolm Ali/WireImage)

You spend a lot of time in L.A. He spends a lot of time in Harrisburg. A lot of people must ask you how you manage a bicoastal relationship.
It’s the greatest thing ever. Sometimes people marry people and then wonder why they did. But for us, everything about this works. We love our careers, but not as much as we enjoy being together, and so we cherish the time when we are together, which is hardly ever. [laughs] I remember when Vincent and I first got married in 2005, I thought that maybe my career wasn’t happening anymore, maybe I’ll come to Philly and be a local somebody, do some local TV show. He looked at me and said, “Do you know who you are?!” … “Besides,” he said, “Everybody in this family works.” So I just kept working and never stopped.

Favorite date spot in the area?
Oh my gosh. I just love Sid Booker’s fried shrimp in North Philadelphia. I love getting off the airplane, picking up a nice bottle of champagne, driving to Sid Booker’s, and getting a dozen. And I hope to get home to eat them, but it never happens because they’re gone before I get there. Another great place is the pizza spot by the Barnes museum. Starts with a “P.”

Pizzeria Vetri?
That’s it! Vetri! So good. Get the mushroom.

You’re a huge Eagles fan on the show. What about in real life?
Oh, I am an Eagles fan in real life. I love the Philadelphia Eagles. Oh my gosh, I was asked to sing at the Super Bowl in 2023 and guess who was playing? The Eagles. I was so excited but very sad they lost. E-A-G-L-E-S Eagles! Yaaaaasss.

All of the characters on Abbott Elementary seem so spot on. How did you develop the character of kindergarten teacher Barbara, a.k.a. Mrs. Howard?
I was raised by educators. It’s one of those things, especially in the Black community. You’re going to strive to be the best thing possible. And that would be a doctor, a lawyer, or a teacher. If you must, you can be a pastor. In my family, everybody was an educator or a doctor. And I was also a student who had great teachers. There’s always a Mrs. Howard in a school. That woman has done all she can do, and she is not going to leave a child behind. There are so many Mrs. Howards of different colors and cultures. I met a few growing up, and I pay homage to them. There is nothing like a great teacher. Nothing like a great teacher. They can truly inspire.

How did you land the role of Barbara?
Quite simply, I got a phone call from Quinta, who said, “Ms. Ralph, I know you are at a point in your career where you are offered all kinds of things, but if you would maybe meet the team, that would be great.” And I thought, oh, that’s so sweet. I read the script, and the next thing you know, I’m on one of the greatest shows ever on TV.

Abbott Elementary pokes fun at a broken public education system, and I know that Quinta set out to do this show with the hope that things can change for the better. Can they?
Look at the report that was done not so long ago where the judge said that the state of Pennsylvania has not done well by the children. More should be done. More. Must. Be. Done. We need to spend a lot more money on education, and not just in Philadelphia. So many kids are suffering just outside of Pittsburgh too. People of Pennsylvania! You need to go look around your state and see what’s going on. Children deserve more. They shouldn’t be judged by their zip code. A lot of people come out of a lot of different zip codes across America developing cures for diseases. Imagine if we spent the time and money to give all children a proper education. The world would be so much better off. Do not get me started!

Sheryl Lee Ralph performing at the 2023 Super Bowl / Photograph by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

I loved it when you broke into song as you accepted your first Emmy in 2022 for your work in Abbott. And then to see you perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing” at the 2023 Super Bowl was a powerful moment. Where do you place your acting chops next to your singing chops? Are you better at one than the other?
I love singing. There’s a song for everything. People ask me, “Do you sing all the time?!” Kinda sorta! You can sing anywhere, which is exactly what they do in South Africa. They break into song right on the street. With acting, you can’t just act anywhere. You need the right lighting, the right sound, the right script.

You were the original Deena Jones in Broadway’s Dreamgirls. Any itch to get back to the Broadway stage?
I’ve been back on Broadway as a producer, and the answer is yes, I would consider a return to the Broadway stage. But there are so many ways it would have to fit into my schedule, with Abbott, and I hope to be very busy with Abbott for quite a few more years. I could certainly do a short run. But it would naturally have to be something quite spectacular.

Dreamgirls co-stars Sheryl Lee Ralph, Deborah Burrell, and Loretta Devine in 1981 / Photograph via Getty Images

Given the meteoric rise of Abbott, I imagine it must have changed your life in some very profound ways.
You know what, I have to tell you. What has changed is my relationship with the audience. They want to let me know exactly how they feel, and they do so every chance they get. Of course, this gets difficult when you’re in the airport bathroom. And it’s not so easy anymore to just stroll through the Dollarama. I actually had a woman come up to me at the Dollarama not long ago and say, “You shouldn’t be in here” in a very serious way. I was like, wow, that’s interesting! That I didn’t belong there. I should be somewhere else.

You’ve been in Hollywood now for the better part of five decades. How is the Hollywood of today different?
Let’s see. Let’s talk about gender first. I love when I walk on the lot and see women. Not just women acting. I see women in every stage of the industry. I see women truck drivers, women grips, camerawomen, women all over the place. And when I started, that was not the way it was, honey. I look around today and I say, wow, now I know what change looks like. And then to see women of color on top of that. Young Black people. Young Asian people. And then you have the women of color running their own shows. Quinta Brunson, Issa Rae, Mindy Kaling. Just amazing. That said, there are still too many Black folks cast as drug dealers and murderers. I’m not too happy with that.

When you’re in Hollywood, surrounded by the movie biz and all these image expectations, it must be stressful. What do you do to decompress?
Absolutely. Nothing. Noth-ing. Don’t ask me to go anywhere. Don’t ask me to do anything. Do not ask me to dress up. Do not ask me to put makeup on. What’s hard is that whenever I go back to Philadelphia, the first thing my husband does is take me to some thing. We have to do some thing.

You get stuck going to political events.
Absolutely.

You mentioned earlier that your mother is from Jamaica. Have you ever done a DNA test to trace your ancestry back further?
You know what? I am part of Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates this season. And I would love to share what we found out, because it’s something most people will never hear. But you’ll have to wait for that episode.

Any new films on the horizon for you, or are you sticking to the small screen?
There’s a lot of talk of a Sister Act 3, and I am really hoping and praying that happens. Sequels aren’t normally good. But Sister Act 2 improved upon the first, and the third one could be so wonderful.

I have to ask you: You show up for the first day of shooting for The Fabulous Four and you’re looking at your co-stars Susan Sarandon and Bette Midler. Are you more in awe of them or they of you?
You know what, I was shocked at how much of a two-way love fest it was. I was the last person cast, and they wanted me, and I was so thankful. Bette was really just so giving. She and I went to lunch, and we started singing together, [singing] I can see clearly now, the rain is gone … And the producer heard us and decided to put the song in the movie.

/ Photograph by Dylan Coulter

Back to the small screen, I’ve wondered how old Barbara is supposed to be in the show. Do we need to fear her retirement?
I don’t know that about Barbara. But it doesn’t matter. Did you know that Ann Hughes, the longest-working school secretary in Philadelphia, retired when she was 81? And that one of the oldest working teachers in Philadelphia retired when she was 82? With Philadelphia teachers, it seems that those who can last really last.

We watch Abbott religiously as a family, and we all want to know what the future is for Janine and Gregory. Marriage?­ Kids?
Why would they do that? Hell no. What they need is therapy. That’s what they need. If they ever decide to get married, they’d better find themselves a great therapist first.

I know our time is up and that I’m keeping you from that after-work cocktail, which is what?
You know, Disney-ABC-20th Century sends us lots of baskets. There’s almost always champagne in it. They love to send their Dom Pérignon, which is great and all. But this time, they sent an Italian basket, and so I’m going to attempt to make a limoncello spritz. Where are you off to?

I’m about to go downstairs and have a margarita with my wife — who is a teacher!
You tell her I appreciate her. I honor her. And I respect her.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Published as “Off Script” in the October 2024 issue of Philadelphia magazine.