Sherri Shepherd says being incarcerated was the key to her success.
The television host recently spoke with Page Six, explaining how serving jail time helped her learn some necessary life lessons.
“Yeah, I went to jail for not paying my tickets. At the time I did not think being in jail was a good moment, but looking back I learned to pay all my bills,” Shepherd said. “Jail, that was a classroom… it was a life lesson, and now I pay my bills on time.”
The 55-year-old host spent eight days behind bars prior to her entertainment career for having $10,000 in unpaid moving violations.
Shepherd then recalled her experiences in jail and how she became good friends with another detainee who stood up for her against the other inmates.
“One of the girls in jail said, ‘Leave Sherri alone because she’s gonna be somebody and we are going to be here for the rest of our lives,’ literally that’s what she used to say,” she added. “Her name was Shelby and she came to both my weddings when I got out. But sometimes people see things in you that you don’t see yourself, and when she said those words, ‘Sherri is gonna be somebody,’ I never thought that for myself. So I just knew that something was going to happen.”
Nevertheless, Shepherd started her television and film career shortly after being released. In 1995, Shepherd secured her first acting gig on the short-lived sitcom, Cleghorne. The following year, Shepherd made her mark in showbiz for her role on “The Jamie Foxx Show” which aired from 1996 to 2001.
