While reflecting about the 40th anniversary of Dreamgirls, Sheryl Lee Ralph shared that she was disappointed when she was left out of the 2006 film adaptation.
“What was hard was when they were doing the movie and they just acted like you had never created this,” she told Jemele Hill on the “Unbothered” podcast.
“They acted like you had never been a part of this and they were very comfortable x-ing you out. They were very comfortable trying to silence your voice. Like nobody needed to hear from you. Like we weren’t as important as we are and have been to the show. That hurt.”
The Abbott Elementary star said that she doesn’t feel that the original stars of the Broadway play, including Jennifer Holiday and Loretta Devine, “ever got their proper due from it” and that they “don’t share in its success,” especially monetarily.
Despite the hurt, she said when Beyoncé thanked her for paving the way for her and the Dreamgirls cast when she saw her at the opening of Tyler Perry’s studios, it warmed her heart.
“Of course it doesn’t heal all the wounds but she said it and that was that,” she said.
Ralph added that she feels that if she was involved in helping coach Beyoncé play Deena, the “Hold Up” singer would’ve received accolades for her performance. She recalled watching the movie and feeling like Beyoncé’s performance could’ve been stronger.
“I still think to this day, had I been asked to coach or talk with her about that performance, about the evolution of Deena, she would’ve won something,” Ralph said. “Because to me, the direction for her as Deena, it wasn’t the winning direction of Deena.”
Sheryl Lee Ralph is an American actress, singer, author, and activist. She made her screen debut in the 1977 comedy film A Piece of the Action, before landing her breakthrough role as Deena Jones in the Broadway musical Dreamgirls, for which she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.
Sheryl Lee Ralph was born on December 30, 1956 in Waterbury, Connecticut to Jamaican Parents. She made her first film debut in a 1977 film called, “River of the Calm”. Her meteoric rise to fame was set in motion by films such as, “Distinguished Gentleman”, “The Mighty Quinn” and “Sister Act II”.
Sheryl Lee Ralph released her first book Redefining Diva: Life Lessons from the Original Dreamgirl (2012) by Simon & Schuster. In 2016 she played Madame Morrible in Wicked on Broadway.
Sheryl Lee Ralph has been married to Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Hughes since July 30, 2005. In July 2004, Ralph was inducted as an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority at the 47th National Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In May 2008, Ralph was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Tougaloo College after giving the commencement address.
She was married to French businessman Eric Maurice from 1990-2001 and they have two children together.
