Sheryl Lee Ralph’s standout role in ABC’s hit comedy Abbott Elementary may have introduced the actor to a new audience, but the OG fans know that she’s an icon. The 65-year-old has been, to use a term popularized by Wendy Williams, the moment since the dawn of her career in the early ’80s. And she decided to remind us all of her legendary status on Tuesday, taking to social media to share some unforgettable moments from her decades-long career.
She first tweeted a video of her performing in Dreamgirls. Ralph played Deena Jones in the hit Broadway musical, and her performance snagged her a Tony Awards nomination.
“All you’ve got to do in Dream!!” she wrote. “@TheTonyAwards 40 years ago!”
She then shared a picture of her with Janet Hubert, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Kimberly Russell and Lynn Whitfield. In the snap, which was featured in Ebony in 1991, the four are wearing blush-colored dresses, each with their own individual twists. Ralph’s long-sleeve, off-the-shoulder number was giving body and beauty.
“This is me at 32!!!!!!” Ralph wrote.
The tweet went viral. Viewers were gobsmacked at how stunning Ralph and the other ladies looked, with many noting that they’ve barely aged a day.
“And, you still got it!” one fan wrote.
“What’s crazy is that every single lady in this pic are easily recognizable today as if the pic was taken last year,” another user wrote.
“This should be carved onto a mountain in Georgia or something,” one fan suggested.
Ralph fans dropped other pictures of her during the early ’90s in the replies, showing that she was the epitome of that girl. One fan shared a picture of her with Meshach Taylor in the early ’90s. Another tweeted an Ebony cover featuring Hubert, Calloway, Russell, Whitfield and Ralph in colorful blazers and statement jewelry.
Ralph has been out and about while on a press tour for Abbott Elementary. As Blavity previously reported, the actor has stunned in colorful fits even more fabulous than the ones she wore in the early ’90s. And her daughter, Ivy-Victoria Maurice, put the looks together. Ralph was the proudest mama, shouting out Maurice for pulling together her latest fits.
