Sheryl Lee Ralph Talks Being “Blackfamous” Despite Years Of Success

Despite being in entertainment for decades, Sheryl Lee Ralph spoke candidly about being a “Blackfamous” actress.

The 65-year-old Broadway staple participated in an intimate roundtable discussion for The Hollywood Reporter. The conversation included other prominent Black actresses, Loretta DeVine, Wendy Raquel Robinson, and Lynn Whitfield. “Love Jones” actor Larenz Tate was also a part of the chat. Despite her breakout role in “Dreamgirls” on Broadway and a world-renowned voice, Ralph shared that she is still considered “Blackfamous.” The term refers to Black entertainers who are only famous among the Black community.

Ralph described one incident on the set of a series called “Fam” for CBS, where she had to politely check one executive producer who questioned what she’d accomplished because they’d never heard of her.

“Even in unsuspecting places, that can be very much a thing where there are certain people who have no idea who you are and what you’ve done after all these years,” Ralph added.

Throughout her outstanding career, Ralph has seen massive success in films such as “Sister Act 2” “Instant Mom,” and even voiced the character of Diana in the animated series “The Proud Family.” Ralph was also nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her work in “Dreamgirls.” Most recently, she has landed the role of teacher Barbara Howard in the hit comedy series “Abbott Elementary.”

Tate chimed into the conversation and explained why non-Black execs are not familiar with key Black performers. He attributed the lack of knowledge of Black entertainers to a lack of Black representation in Hollywood.

“It really comes down to Hollywood having some real inclusion with people that look like us who can make the decisions in those rooms, those marketing rooms and PR rooms and boardrooms, all the way down, and green-lighting projects that we know should be told,” he shared.

While Ralph recognizes that she is the epitome of “Blackfamous,” she is immensely grateful to the fans that have supported her from “show to show.”