Sheryl Lee Ralph: Our Dream Girl 55:34

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Hey, everyone. You know, January is all about finding inspiration for the coming year. Becoming the most authentic, fearless versions of ourselves is what we all aim for. And my guest from season one, Cheryl Lee Ralph, encapsulates this to a T. She's persevered, inspired, and broken ground for so many, showing us all that genuine is never out of style. Today, we're going to talk about how to be a genuine.

Take a listen for your dose of inspiration and happy listening. Wow. We're watching something very special. And then he went down on bended knee. He opened up the box. Girl, when I tell you the box was the linen. Oh my God. My son is officially broke. Somebody got to cue me or do I cue myself? Cue yourself. Okay.

Hey there, everyone. We are back with another episode of Let's Talk Off Camera. So let's get talking. Today, buckle up, buttercups. We are joined by movie, television, and theater star, Cheryl Lee Ralph, whom I absolutely adore. This is huge. But while we wait for her to join, let's first say hello to my coworkers, Albert and Jan. Albert and Jan, what say you? Hello.

Hi. Hi. This is exciting. My God, a dream girl, the original dream girl. How do you, where do you go from here? That was my first Broadway show ever. Oh, what? No way. Yes, that's the first show my mom brought me to. Wow. And I fell in love. Honestly, I fell in love with the city. I know you've told your stories about going to the city as a kid. That was like, that was my first Broadway show. Then they took me on, I know it's not good now, but a horse and buggy ride, which I thought was the coolest.

coolest thing back then. Oh my God. I mean, decadence. Yeah. And I just was like, this is, I need to be here all the time. That to be your first Broadway show. My gosh. It's been all downhill since. Just kidding. Just kidding. Just kidding. That's the one. I mean, that, that was the one to see. I mean, she was doing incredible stuff. Yeah. Right off the bat. Right. Yes. Sydney Poitier. Right. Yeah. That's her first movie. I want to know like how easily did this success come? That's what I want to know because I,

if it's one thing I know about show business and if it's a woman particularly who has spent multiple decades in show business, she's had to deal with a lot of bullshit. Yep. She's had to go through some crap and I just wanted, cause she doesn't seem cynical or jaded at all. Well, we can ask her cause she's on. Oh, she's here. Oh, good. Okay. Get me in.

Hi. Hi. Look at us in our glasses. I love it. This is how I like to think of my Emmy Award winning Sherri Lee Ralph as living. So I'm going to paint a picture because this is off camera. You know, our listeners don't see any of this. Yes. But I want to tell them that you are in an emerald green jumpsuit. Go ahead. That'll work. Yes. Okay.

I think it's a jumpsuit. It looks like a jumpsuit to me, but it's emerald green. It's gorgeous. Thank you. You are in...

jewel-toned royal blue and black braid. Yes. Beautiful. You have, I'm going to call it an elegant California living room behind you. Thank you. I love it. Before we welcomed you into our setting, I'm sitting here with two of my longest, dearest work colleagues. Jan Shillay, whom I've worked with for 23 years. Hi, Jan. Jan.

And over here is Albert Bianchini. Hi, Albert. Hi. It's very exciting. Jan Chalet's very first Broadway musical.

was Dreamgirls. She saw you in Dreamgirls and it made her want to escape the hellhole of Long Island and move to New York City. It did. You had a profound impact on her life. You specifically. Thank you. That's because we were both on Long Island and we both escaped Strong Island. Exactly. You know...

And so I was saying there are those of us who have been with you for all of your career. Although we knew you, you didn't know us, but we all sort of grew up together. Yes. And then there's this secondary group of people, my kids' ages, that solely know you from Abbott Elementary and think that you are this overnight sensation, this overnight success. And I think that people discovered you

maybe that you could sing from your Emmy acceptance speech, which blew my mind or from the Superbowl. And I'm like, wait, where has everybody been? I can usually tell people's ages from where they know me from, you know, I can tell who,

who they are that know me from Dreamgirls. I can tell who they are that know me from Moesha. I can tell who they are who know me from Sister Act 2. I can tell who they are who know me from Abbott Elementary and that's just everybody. I mean, it's crazy. Has that been the game changer? Because when I

think of a show that has held a network together. You know, I host a humble, as you know, you've been on it, morning talk show. Yes. And we are syndicated mostly in ABC stations, but you know, once in a while, we're not on ABC. So we are syndicated, but we consider ourselves an ABC show. But thank God,

Thank God for Abbott Elementary. Geez, it keeps the whole network afloat. Thank you. Yeah, I mean, it is amazing what one television show can do. And what Abbott Elementary has done for the industry has been spectacular. The fact that now, once again, people are actually making their appointment with their family to come together and watch the show, the first run.

and then they will watch it again the next day in streaming it's we have great numbers on the first run when people watch it and then it goes and triples itself when people watch it on streaming it's absolutely amazing now when you have a breakout hit like abbott elementary yeah

Does ABC come to you guys with signing bonuses? Do they get you a new car? There's got to be some. There's got to be some stuff. Well, let's just put it this way. We did an episode of...

about the teachers who have worked long and hard and did miraculous things with their students in their school that is greatly challenged, the school that is Abbott Elementary. And my character stood up and said, "With all of the love of my students and their parents,

The school district has yet to offer me a coupon to Buffalo Chicken Wings. Thank you. There needs to be like a lifetime Disney theme park. Yeah. All park passes. Thank you. And maybe a Mercedes Benz. A Mercedes Benz.

In all seriousness, I would literally think that it would not be too much for them to say, okay, maybe we can't give you much, but we're going to give you lifetime entrance to Disneyland and Disney World. I think that needs to happen. I would think.

think that that would be something that could easily be done on the small side. Here's what I think needs to happen. What? They have this, do you know about this? I don't know why I'm whispering, but now I'm whispering. What? They have a secret club. Girl Club 45. The

Is it 45? I thought it was 33. Is it 45 now? Well, wait. I don't know. I thought it was 45. Is it 33? I'm looking. It's Club 33. I think it's Club 33. Yes. It's the 33 original founding members of the Disney organization. And they have a secret club, a private club, and this.

And that's, you need the Lifetime Disney membership. You have the card, the gold card. Yes. And you need the membership to Club 33. Jan is like a hammer and a nail. I'll get it done. And Jan Chalet can make things happen. I love it. Thank you, Jan, in advance, girl. Thank you. Thanks for my first Broadway show. Okay, now let's talk about your long overdue

star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, when will you be officially getting your star?

I have not been given a date, but I have to tell you something. I remember I did a show with Cedric, the entertainer, and we went and visited his star and he took a piece of mask tape, you know, and he wrote my name on it and he said, today, this is your star. And I, and it was, it was so heartfelt and it just, you know, spontaneous. And I thought, Hey,

Maybe one day. Then when it happened, I have to tell you, Kelly, I was so freaked out. I was like, my God, my God. And the way my friends responded and, you know, the folks on social media, it was astounding. They were more happy for me than I was for myself. And it was it was just such a great feeling. But I don't know the date, but I'm I'm looking forward to it. It's long overdue. I'd like to go to that. Oh, my gosh. That's a ceremonial.

You know, what's what's interesting is when there's somebody like you star of film, TV and theater. Yeah. You're going to have all of the icons on your star because, you know, there's an icon on it or whatever. No specialty. Yeah. There's whatever your specialty is. You get like this icon and you're what's known as a. I don't know.

quadruple threat, optuple threat. So you're going to have like all the icons, which is very exciting for me. Thank you. It's very exciting for me. Well, thank you. And thank you for letting me know about that because I didn't, I did not know that.

Yeah. So motion picture, television, radio recording, live theater performance. Okay. So you're going to get motion picture. You're going to get television. You're definitely going to get live theater performances. What about radio recording? You've done albums, right? Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.

So it could be recording. Shirley Ralph wants all the icons. If we have to let one go, we're going to let sports entertainment go. Yes, we'll let that go. Let's get them all in. Let's get them all in. Yeah, this star is going to be packed. It's very exciting. And congratulations on your son's engagement. That's a big deal. Kelly, Kelly. Tell me. Okay, tell me about it. Because I'm just dealing with...

Two of my children are in relationships. And I have to say, I love my son's girlfriend. I love my daughter's boyfriend. I'm very pleased. So what is it like when they go to the next step? I've got to tell you, first of all, when I met her,

I just had to thank God that my son had the good sense to pick out a smart

well-educated, beautiful, open-hearted woman. I looked at her and I said, yes, my legacy will continue well with her. Yes, thank you, God. I know she's going to raise some wonderful children that I can be proud of and take out in public, and my grandchildren will not embarrass me. I'm

I'm so happy. I see her and I'm thrilled. But I told my son, remember this. She is an investigative reporter. She's an ABC News investigative reporter.

And I said, don't you mess up with that woman because anything you do, she will know in a heartbeat. And how he pulled off this surprise engagement was beyond all of us because she was none the wiser.

Okay, tell me about it. Were you involved in the surprise engagement? I was not involved in it. My son did this himself and I was so proud of it. You know, I'm probably like you. I love the fact that my children love to do things in their life on their own without having to depend upon mommy or mommy's connections or what mommy can make happen. I love the fact that they are striking out in life

on their own and how he had the guts to call her boss up and say to her boss, I need you in on this. In fact, can we use your apartment? I was like, that boy's got guts.

He does. That's really brave. That was very brave of him. Her boss loves and adores her. And he said, absolutely, any way I can help you. So here we have this beautiful apartment overlooking the Manhattan skyline decked with roses and candles and the champagne. And she walked in expecting to be there for a pizza party. Wow.

a meeting on something about Bob Iger and she walks in and there are the interns and they say, "Oh no, everybody's out on the patio." And she walked out there and when she realized what was happening, she just broke down into a puddle of tears.

They went towards each other. They hugged each other. All of us there are now just quiet. Nobody is saying a word. We all were like, wow, we're watching something very special. And then he went down on bended knee. He opened up the box.

And the box was just blinging, girl. When I tell you the box was blinging, I was just like, oh my God, my son is officially broke. Yeah.

That's what I was going to say. I was like, were you in your mind? Because I think you're practical like I am. I would be counting the months slash years of salary spent on the ring. You better say that. I said, oh my God. It was elegant because it's an oval diamond. And he was very smart because he made sure the setting was minimalist.

So the diamond itself just stands out. I said, "Well, if you gotta do it, you gotta do it, baby." Hey, it made me look at my ring and say, "Wait a minute, I think I need a new stone." Oh yeah, but oh, it was amazing. I felt so good, Kelly. You know, I make sure I have pictures of everything. I'm not in one picture. I was so excited.

No, but you were in, you know what though? You were present. You were in the moment. And so it's like, it may not be the picture you want, but the picture's in your mind and you have that. Yeah. Yeah. And it wouldn't have been the same. The memory will be there forever. Yeah. Now, do you think that Sherri Shepherd will get over it? The fact that you're in the scene? Because I won't get over her reaction. Okay.

It was so crazy how that all came about, you know? And I love Sherry. I mean, I've known Sherry forever. And when she came out with this auntie crush on Etienne, I was like, girlfriend, where is this coming from? And she said, Cheryl, I told you that boy was going to be fine. I told you he was going to be fine. And we have arrived at that. And I was like, girl, please. Yeah.

But, and it was so interesting because they all ran into each other down in New Orleans at Essence Fest the week before he asked her to marry him. Oh, no kidding. Oh my gosh. And it was, it was quite the thing. She said, listen, please don't think I'm going to stop just because you've got a good girlfriend.

Come on, Etienne. I mean, you heard it, Etienne. Oh, it was hilarious. It was hilarious. That's amazing. Now, I have a 22-year-old daughter. How old is Ivy Coco? 27. Now, is Ivy Coco still your stylist? She is still my stylist. You know, I don't know.

How she does it either. You know, she was raised in, you know, the whole industry of fashion, you know, through my mother and everything. But it's her ability to look at someone and say, try this.

or get somebody to think outside of their comfort level. And I can tell when I dress the way I want to dress and there's a definite difference when she dresses me. And I'm just like, wow, how does she put all of those things

together in her mind. But, you know, some people have it or some people don't. My daughter and I have, we are polar opposites in terms of our sense of style. Really? Yes. As I'm looking at myself in my gray sweater and I'm like, well, maybe she has a point. My daughter thinks I dress like a grandmother.

She's like that coastal grandma thing you've been doing for decades. She's like, you've been doing coastal grandma since I met you. See? Since I met you. That is funny, though. But she's got a point.

My daughter says to me sometimes, she says, mommy, do not slip into that first lady look, you know, do not slip into that mom. No. And I can feel myself, you know, when you want to put that certain sweater on, when you want to have on that certain style dress, you know, and you're like, oh my God, I'm slipping back to first lady. So it's like, you know, Hey, she said, but when,

When Rihanna puts you in her fashion show, then does that elevate you in terms of like...

your daughter giving you a break in terms of how cool you are? No, it just means it elevates my style in lingerie and underwear. That's it. It has nothing to do with my clothes. And what's Rihanna like? You know something? We've never had, like, deep conversation, but she's one of those people who looks at you, and it's sort of like the look of, "I see you." The look of, "Oh, okay, yes."

Let's come closer. And she doesn't say a whole lot, but for her, it's all about the look, you know, especially that look of excitement.

acceptance. And I was like, yes, thank you very much for the look, Rihanna. I accept you too. She made her TV debut on our show, right? Really? Yeah. She made her television debut on our show. She performed Pond de Replay. And it was very exciting. First of all, I love your patois. I love the way you said it. Pond de Replay. Very good. Pond de Replay. But I've got to tell you, I was like, this girl

is going to be a star. And the first sign of stardom on our show is when they never come back ever again. No, no, no.

But we have hope. Every year there's fresh hope that this is the year she's going to make her grand return to our show. There you go. Did Ivy Coco style you for the Super Bowl? Because you were my favorite performance of the entire Super Bowl. I don't watch the game. I watch for the national anthem and then the concert in the middle. Yes. But you were just breathtaking. She did everything.

all of that. And I, you know, for me, it was sort of, oh, it was difficult because one,

when the outfit arrived, for whatever reason, it was too short. So we had to find a tailor to lengthen the pants overnight. And I was just like, oh my God, is this gonna work? But then we put it all together, the hair, the makeup, the regalia. And when I put it on, it just felt so right for the moment.

And I have to tell you, at first, Kelly, when they told me about singing that song, I said to me, but it's such an old song. And then I realized, my God, the song is going to be 125 years when we do perform it. And maybe we can give it something different. And once I performed it and people were asking, what is that song? What is that song? I was like, oh, my God, this song. Who?

Who doesn't know this song? It's just... Here's the thing. It's the 125-year-old overnight sensation. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. How about that? Thank you. It was just a breathtaking moment. And I have to think that you... I don't know if you suffer from this, but do you get stage fright? Were you terrified? Were you nervous? I had practiced and practiced and practiced...

and practice some more until it was in me. And I looked in the mirror and I said,

I'm ready and it was it's like in a movie walking out through that whole stadium and then out to center field now I love center stage center stage is my home but there I was on the 50 yard line girl you cannot imagine

what the sound is like when there are almost 100,000 people in this space and they're hyped and they're ready and you come out, you start singing and they go silent.

Oh my God. That is every artist's dream. You want that moment. And then when you stop singing, they burst into applause. Oh my God. I was like, I am living to experience this. Everybody in this room is like literally living through the experience with you. There's chills happening. Everybody's like. It was crazy. You seem to me to be a hundred feet tall. Thank you. I felt like I was filling up.

That moment. Yes. And everybody was just so excited. And then that music started and I said, yes, Daryl D. Ralph, here you are. And oh my God.

It was great. It was great. Albert just pointed out something very relevant to this moment. He said, okay, officially we have to add sports entertainment back to your star. He just, he just, Jan,

add sports entertainment back to the star. It's going to be, you may have to have two stars. I'm not sure how they're going to, you may need to get as an ancillary star. And we're going to leave a spot for when we put an EGOT winner, right? And then we leave the EGOT spot. I need a third star. We may be adding a third star. Thank you. Okay. So let's go back in time. Before you met Quinta Brunson and were cast in Abbott Elementary, did

How did you get started in show business? You were a kid in the business, is that right? Yeah, I was, I did my first film. I was 19 and my first film was "Piece of the Action" with Sidney Poitier. And I had just graduated from college and I took a job. It was really crazy. Girl, my very first job, there was a magazine called "Penthouse."

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Girl, my very first job, there was a magazine called Penthouse. And I think the man's name was Bob Guccione. Yes, that's right. And he was, he was like a very tall, big, rocky, you know, he looked like Stallone, but he was, you know, really tall and really big and

And he had that voice and he had this magazine, which was a girly magazine. But I had no idea what Penthouse was about. So when in backstage, I saw it because they used to have that thing called backstage. It was a newspaper full of auditions and they were auditioning for a singer. I took the audition.

And I went and I got the job. But when I walked in there, I was like, oh my God, I don't, you know, you see parts of the anatomy that you hadn't even seen your own and you were just like, oh my God. So I was really taken aback and they're offering you, you know, you're a kid now and you're going to make like $2,000 a week. And I was just like, wait a minute, wait a minute.

Thank you very much, but I can't sing naked. And the woman who was doing the casting, she looked up and she said, we already have the naked one. We need a singer.

Anyway, I went on a tour of duty, two tours of duty with the Department of Defense and the Penthouse Pet of the Year, Anika DiLorenzo. So the Penthouse Pet of the Year was there to sign autographs or. Yes. And you were there to. Things. Entertain the troops. Right. Because they had to have a show. And they would. Right. They would distribute the magazine. Right.

to all of the soldiers, I would come out and I would sing, ♪ Jeremiah had a, was a bullfrog ♪ ♪ Was a good friend of mine ♪ Don't ask me why I chose that song, but it was the right song to sing 'cause everybody knew it. And then I said some other things. And then I said, and I would tip my hat and I would say,

And now, please welcome to the stage the Penthouse Pet of the Year, Miss Annika DiLorenzo. And she would come out on stage in diaphanous silk, and she would float with her beautiful red hair and her big green eyes. And it was the first time I saw someone dressed

the way women really dress now in that everything was see-through but hers was very tasteful right right and i i was i was fascinated that somebody had that kind of guts because i had on a four-piece suit i had on a jacket i had on a vest i had on a shirt i had on a tie i had on my pants i had on boots i had on

You put on extra clothes. You put on a pair of snow pants over your regular pants. Thank you. Because I wanted no mistakes. I am not in this magazine. Thank you. There's nothing to see here. So I did that. And on my way back, I literally stopped in L.A. Like in a movie. I was supposed to connect to New York and I did not. I got off of the plane and I...

called my dad from a phone booth and I said, Daddy, have we got any family in L.A.? And just like a miracle, he had just gotten off the phone with his long lost cousin, Mabel. And Mabel lived on South Orange.

And she got me to my very first audition with Mr. Poitier. And that's literally how it all started. Literally. Incredible. Yeah. So did you go on that audition and immediately book the job? They just saw you and knew right away? Or was it a long, drawn-out process, a screen test? It was definitely a month.

I went in, I met Mr. Poitier and there are all these girls. He asked me to come back. What was that moment like meeting him? It was so wonderful because my dad, my mom, they loved him.

Sidney Poitier and my dad's story was how he had to make a choice between being a father or going to New York to become the understudy to Sidney Poitier on Broadway. You know, that was his story. So for me to be in this film under his direction, oh my God, my parents were just so proud and just so happy. And

when I went back the second time, there was only three girls. One of them was a great young actress at the time named Tamu. The other was his daughter, Pamela Poitier, and me. So I'm thinking, well, guess which one is not getting this job? So I said, I'm just here to give it my all, to give it my best. That's what I did. And I left.

I got a call. I went to Jamaica to be with my mom. And I got a call from Mr. Poitier that said, come back. You're going to be doing a movie here in Hollywood. And that's what happened. Do you know what it was? It was the pressure that you took off yourself because you assumed that it was a foregone conclusion that his daughter would get the role. And so you just said, you know what? Maybe they'll remember me for something else. And...

No pressure. That was a great favor for you. Absolutely. And to this day, the monologue that I did in the film is one that young students look at and perform still. And that my father said when he saw me do that role, he said he knew I was an actress because he said, I don't know who that little girl is.

And I connect Barbara Hanley, which was the name of the student that I played, to Barbara Howard now. And she is the reason why Barbara Howard is such a wonderful teacher, because she knew the kind of teacher she needed when she was a kid. Yeah. What's the best lesson that you learned from Sidney Poitier, watching him or...

Was it more like observational the way he treated people or was it more performance based or what? He treated me very well. It was like working with a very talented uncle. He was very encouraging to me. He was very honest with me. You know, he said to me when we finished, he said, I wish the industry had more to offer you because you deserve it.

And, you know, he let me know that it would be a challenge, you know, but don't be disheartened. You know, I we were, you know, being a young woman and in an industry that wasn't prepared for you. They weren't prepared for you with makeup. They weren't prepared for you for hair. You know, they weren't really prepared for you because they were just young.

just beginning to open the doors for, you know, young actors of color, Black. And for him to be so honest to me, it really just, it helped me. It helped me know that this was not going to be easy, but if it was my dream, I would never give up. And one of the most important things ever was when I come to the set, it is about being on fire.

the set. It is about listening to your director. It is about coming to set ready. People should not have to wait on you, wait for you to get it right. You should be prepared. And that meant everything to me. It meant everything to me. I'm thinking about what you said back then and how difficult it was for people of color in the industry to

And I'm thinking about the industry now, which still seems woefully unprepared a lot of times in terms of –

when I've worked on sets, whether it's a sitcom or a soap opera, or even shooting a pilot for another talk show and me saying to production, like we have to have hair and makeup team that, you know, work with black people because it's different. It's just different, different hair, different makeup. Correct. And,

And you don't get it and they don't get it. It's something you still have to actively sort of drill down on and stand your ground over because it's not autonomous. It doesn't happen autonomously. And I feel like it should, I feel like it's still like woefully behind. It's it is. And it's so interesting because believe it or not,

Ethnic skills for hair and makeup are not taught. So when, if you have anybody in your department who is black doing hair and makeup, they're taught to do everybody. Right, right. But it's not the same

for white or other artists, they only learn their hair. They only learn their makeup. Whereas if you're Black, you have to learn everybody. That was one of the unsung stories about Elizabeth Arden.

Elizabeth Arden, she got all of the attention, but no attention was paid to the women who really did the work. And those were the people who were doing the hair. Black women. So some of that is still the same. So I always say, look, if you're going to get a Black artist, you're in good hands because they could do

Yeah, they can do everybody. They can do everybody. That's right. They can do everybody. You know, when I look back, 1990. Yes. On the set of All My Children. Come on, tell the truth. No, all of the black actors were a lavender shade because we all wore the same Clinique. That's right. Ivory foundation. It's kind of fascinating. You know, I mean, to be clear, none of us looked particularly good. I mean, to be clear. Yeah.

It's not like the white people were doing the white people's makeup very well either. I'm just saying it was particularly egregious for black performers because there was no specialized, dedicated black hair or makeup person on any set I ever worked on. On any set. I remember, I don't know if you knew of, I think it was on The Young and the Restless when Victoria Rowell, she said, listen,

I shouldn't have to come to work having done or having to pay somebody to do my makeup or having to pay somebody to do my hair. I should be able to come to work and get my hair and makeup done. And for a while. Like everybody else. Thank you. Like everybody else. And for a while, you know, she was blackballed, you know, for asking for the same care and attention. There was another actress back in the day named Rosalind Cash.

and Rosalind Cash wore her natural hair. And she was blackballed for wanting to wear her locks to wear her hair. That's why I'm so thankful there's something like the Crown Act where people can say, look, this is the way my hair grows. This is the shade of my skin. Please don't make me

have to change anything about me to be enough because I'm enough just as I am. Yeah. Yeah. Well, people and shows certainly like Abbott Elementary that have elevated that. Yes. You know, and I think that every show you've been on and every character you've ever played has helped to elevate from my

perspective, the Black experience. I think you've really maintained a certain level of excellence in your performances and what you have shown because you have such broad appeal. Thank you. Thank you. I

Honest to God, Kelly, when I choose roles, when I come to the work, I want my family, my friends, my people, my community, I want them to be able to look and say, yes, that's Cherilee Ralph. Yes, we're proud of her. Yes, that represents part of me. And now having such a broad audience with Abbott Elementary, let me tell you,

A little five-year-old, probably you at five years old, beautiful little blonde girl with these big blue eyes in Pennsylvania, she walked up to me and she said, "I'm going to kindergarten and I hope I get a teacher as good and as nice as you."

Oh my God. Chills, right? You get chills. Ah, it just, that is how and why I approached my work because it's never just for you. You never know who you're having an effect on. And that little child, she, all she saw was something that she liked.

All she saw was something that she was like, yes, that can be in my life because it just appealed to her on a human level. And I hope that when she grows up, people won't mess up her mind and turn it into all that other stuff that people do to kids, you know, but kids know. Kids know. They know what's good. They do.

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I want to talk really quickly about you going to Rutgers at the age of 16 years old. I graduated from Rutgers and I went back this year and I was the commencement speaker and I had such a great time. And we went by the bookstore, you know, it's crazy when you go back to your college campus and you see, well, wait a minute, how come it wasn't like this when I went here, you know, and it's just amazing. And I saw this, they had this great sweatshirt in the window and I said, God,

I would love one, but they didn't have my size and I forgot about it and they nailed it to me and I opened it today and it's just right here. How about that?

So were you one of these kids with a gifted IQ, accelerated? No. No, no, no, no. I, you know, there's an interesting thing about school. And that is once you get in there and you do what they tell you to do and you take the courses the way you're supposed to take the courses. Like I never took study halls. I thought study halls for me were a waste of time. And so by the time I became a

you know, I was a junior. They were like, next year, you won't, there will be nothing else for you to do. You'll have to come in and sign off only so that they knew that you had attended. And I was like, do not waste my time. I'm going to college. And that's what happened. Plus, at that time, they

they were accepting girls into Rutgers, which was a historically white male university. And they were going to accept 400 women, two of which were black. And I was one of them. And that was that. Two, only two. Only two, yes.

Only two. Was that scary? Were you scared at all? No, no, because first of all, Paul Robeson graduated from Rutgers in the early 1900s. And that man, a black man who was an actor, an incredible athlete, an orator, which at that time as a young black man, he is really just...

brilliant, you know? And then he is playing every sport. So to have somebody who was equal in the books as they were on the playing field was just amazing. And when I saw all of that, I said, wherever that man went to school, that's where I want to go. It was Rutgers. And that year they opened up the class, the first class of women. And I was just like,

That's it. I applied. I got in. I was rejected from Brown. And I was-- for a moment, I was really sad. But I made the right choice. Their loss. Brown's loss. Yes. And it has just been one of the greatest things. You know, for me, going to a college

that offered me so much. I really went in as a pre-med student living my immigrant mother's dream, be a doctor, be a lawyer. And if you can't do that, then marry one. And when I realized I wasn't going to be a doctor, I could go to law immediately. When I couldn't realize I wasn't going to be a lawyer, I got lost on the street and

And there was a theater. I went in there and my world just changed. When I told my mother I was going to be an actress, she thought I had lost my blessed mind.

We've talked about this story time and again. Every immigrant parent is like anything but an actor. And it's not that they feel disappointed or embarrassed. It's that they're afraid, right? Your mom was afraid that you would face inordinate amounts of rejection or unbearable unemployment. I mean, everything that you had to face and endure. But, you know, you were able to make it work at a very young age. And I'm so happy that you...

stuck with it. You encourage change. Yes. And you're not jaded in any way. You're not cynical. You're still hopeful and joyful. Yeah. I'm alive. I'm alive. And because I'm alive, anything is possible. You know what? Change is difficult. Change is hard.

But we have to realize that there are other things that we can do in this time and don't sit around

Don't sulk. If you've got an idea in your head, start developing your idea. If there's something that you want to do, listen, you know how to use Zoom. You know how to create internet shows. You know how to talk to people. Get up and do your thing. Use this time. If you've never applied for unemployment, hey, apply for unemployment. You know, do what you need to do. If you haven't traveled,

Take some time, go see the world, but don't sit there and mope and act like it's the end of

of the world. Because if you do that, it will become or possibly be the end of your world. The end of the world. That's right. Be happy. We are doing this podcast on the eve of the Emmy nominations. I mean, I don't like to predict the future, but I think we're pretty good at it here. I mean, obviously, you're going to win again. Jan wants to know, how are you going to top last year's speech? Jan...

Kelly, you know what? I don't know. First of all, I had no idea that everything was going to happen the way it happened last year. And the only way I could calm myself down and not be reduced to a puddle of tears was to sing. And if I were to be blessed with

a win again this year, which would be historic. It would be television history because it's never been done before, not by a black actress. And all I could say, I don't know what I would do. It seems like you've made a lot of history in your career. So this would be just a little bit more history to add to your something for Diva 3.0. Oh, my God, Kelly. Man.

Yeah, it would be its own whole book. That's for sure. It would be its own whole book. And I don't know if I could ever express to you what this year has been like for me. I could tell you that I landed very late the other night, like four o'clock in the morning after a 12-hour wait in the airport.

And there was a man, just a simple man, doing his job, polishing the floors. And, you know, I had on my glasses and I had on my mask. And he was sitting there getting ready to polish the floor. And he just said, Cheryl Lee Ralph, I see you and I'm proud of you.

And I thank you. And they said, keep doing what you're doing, just the way you're doing, because you make everybody proud and you give us hope. Crying in the airport. I mean, forget it. We're all crying. We're sitting at the table crying in my son's bedroom. People say these things to me and it just...

Because it's true. You mean a lot to a lot of people. And you, listen, maintaining excellence for as long as you have and you make it look easy, but that's no easy feat. And it's not lost on any of us here at this table. The sacrifices you've had to make, you've raised beautiful children. You've had this gorgeous marriage. You've worked in an industry that is tremendous.

Yeah.

Sometimes good things happen to good people. And we say that about you every time you rise to another occasion. And we want to thank you for, we really appreciate you doing our humble podcast, but we have a special segment called Ask Kelly. Now, for one and one time only, will you just, you can sing it to Jeremiah was a bullfrog. Yeah.

If you want, would you just sing It's Time for Ask Kelly to Jeremiah Wasapoff Frog? Let's see. It's time for Ask Kelly.

Okay, so I'll tell you a funny thing. When we were doing, we shot an episode of Avid Elementary and they said, it was about Hank. Hank and turkeys. And they said, Hank has two turkeys. He gets two more. How many turkeys does Hank have? And I said, Hank has two turkeys. He gets two more. How many turkeys? And they were like, oh my God, that's great.

And that's how you see. And that was like right off the top of my head. Off the cuff. There you go. That's amazing. Yeah. There you go. That's incredible. Well, thank you so much. Thank you very, very much. You've been divine. Thank you. Don't forget this summer, you're going to read my book.

Diva 2.0. Diva 2.0. Everywhere books are sold. Everywhere books are sold. And you can download the audio book as well. Do you read your audio book as well? Oh, God, yes.

Nobody else can read my book. It's got to be me and my voice. Got to be you. Okay. Make sure, listeners, that you pick up Sheryl Lee Ralph's book, Diva 2.0. Make sure you also download it so you can listen to her voice. I like a double purchase, don't you? Absolutely. Thank you. Double purchase. Make sure, Albert, Sheryl Lee Ralph, it's a joy and a pleasure. You look gorgeous. Thank you for joining us. Thank you very much. Thank you. Bye-bye.

Oh, delightful. That was delightful. She is a dream girl. She's a dream girl. She's a dream girl. All right, we have two, we have Ask Kelly questions we're going to get to. Let's roll our new jingle. It's time, Ask Kelly. So from Danica515, Kelly, what is the best professional advice you've ever been given? Oh, wow.

I think the best professional advice I was ever given was – well, it was given to me by several women in the industry that they told me not to be alone in the room with a certain director. And they also –

I was told at a certain point in my career, you have to advocate for yourself monetarily because they expect women to be happy with whatever they are being offered, which I was for years and years and decades and decades. Like it never occurred to me to like ask for money.

more. I was just sort of the negotiation went, I would like this and they would say, we're giving you this and I would say, Okay, thank you. And that was it. Right? It never occurred to me to actually demand what the fair market value of myself was.

You also taught me, and I think you learned this, I don't know who taught you this, but that just like no is a complete sentence in it. My therapist taught me that. Yeah. Yeah. In terms of just no. No. Not no, I'm sorry, but no. Never apologize for saying no. Yeah. No is a complete sentence. I love that. Yeah. Okay. From Gail England, who is the disciplinarian between you and Mark? Who sets the strictest rules?

It depends on the child. It depends on the circumstance. I mean, I think we really have a very good balance. We are really, really united when it comes to our kids. Now that our kids are adults, those days are over. You know, they're pretty cooked. We like to guide our kids now. We don't have to discipline them anymore. They're really, they turned out to be great kids. But when they were young,

We had different discipline styles for different circumstances, for sure. But we were always, here is the key, united in front of the kids. Even if Mark would go rogue, and once in a while he would go rogue, but I would never disagree with him in front of the kids. I might pull him into the other room, or I remember one time we were flying together,

to Orlando. And I had to work at Disney and the kids were going to get to go to Disney World, you know, when we did the show. Yeah. And they were bickering over something. And Mark goes, if you're not good, I'm going to turn this plane around. And they looked at me like, there's no way he can do that. That's completely against the law. And I was like, that's right. Your father will go talk to the pilot. And

And we're going to take all these people hostage and turn this plane around. So in that moment, I was like, oh, you can't threaten a discipline that you can't follow through on. You know, so that was one where I, you know, after they drifted off to sleep, I was like, never tell the

It's totally impossible. And they know that. There is no follow through on that. We will be arrested if you try to turn the plane around. Yeah. So that's, is that it? That's it. That's it. Okay. Well, listen, don't forget. If you liked what you heard here today, and I suspect you did, because if you didn't like our Cheryl Lee Ralph episode,

you probably aren't a human being. Okay? Don't forget to tell your friends to follow us. Let's Talk Off Camera is the name of our podcast. We can't wait to talk with y'all off camera next week. Bye, everybody. Let's Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa is a co-production of Melojo Productions and PRX Productions with help from Goat Rodeo. Our theme song is Follow Me from APM Music.

From Melojo, our team is Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos, Albert Bianchini, Jan Chalet, Devin Schneider, Michael Halpern, Jacob Small, Roz Therrien, Seth Gronquist, and Julia Desch.

From PRX Productions, our team is... The executive producer of PRX Productions is Jocelyn Gonzalez. This show is powered by Stitcher. From PRX...

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