There were a number of show-stopping moments (and moments when we wished the show would truly stop) at this year’s Emmys, but the universally acclaimed moment was when Broadway legend Sheryl Lee Ralph took the stage to accept her Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and broke out in an emotional rendition of Endangered Species.
Ralph has been in the industry for decades, she was previously nominated for a Tony in 1981, but this is the first time she has been recognized. “I think I’m on the planet 999,” the actress told Variety the morning after her win. “I feel like I’m just still floating up there. Like I’m having an out-of-body experience. I know something has happened because the glitter has come off of my face. But the response has been crazy.”
After winning her Emmy, Ralph said that they went right back to work on the upcoming season of Abbott Elementary, where she plays the stern but loving teacher Barbara. “Abbott takes no tea for the fever. Abbott was like, we don’t care you won an Emmy last night, there’s work today! Bring yourself here today for work! There are no days off, no time off. Let’s get back to the work of making America’s new favorite TV show.”
Ralph mentioned that she had auditioned for Jackée Harry’s role on 227, which Harry won the Emmy for in 1987. Now Ralph joins her as being the only two Black women to win Oustanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. “Jackée tweeted at me,” Ralph says. “I was like, ‘Girl, you should have just called me!’ Who knew that that role of hers in 227, that the network wanted me. Maybe I just completely forgot all about that. But she was just like, ‘No, they wanted her for the role, but I got it and I won the Emmy. Now she’s got her own.’ That’s right! I got my own.”
You can see Ralph’s impeccable Emmy-winning comedic skills in the upcoming season of Abbott Elementary, which premieres on ABC on September 21st.