Sheryl Lee Ralph’s Heart Is With Jamaica as She Marks 35 Years of D.I.V.A. Legacy
For thirty-five years, Emmy Award-winning icon Sheryl Lee Ralph has proven that purpose and performance can share the same stage. Through The D.I.V.A. Foundation, she’s built a legacy rooted in compassion, art, and health advocacy, inspiring generations to use creativity as a bridge toward healing.
This weekend (November 1), she’ll celebrate that mission with the 35th Anniversary of DIVAS Simply Singing! Raising Health Awareness, a glittering gala and show taping at Los Angeles’s Taglyan Cultural Complex. The evening promises more than star-studded performances. It’s a celebration of resilience, sisterhood, and the power of music to save lives.
But even amid a week of celebration, Ralph’s heart remains tethered to her homeland.
As Hurricane Melissa sweeps through Jamaica with unrelenting force, the actress admits the crisis has left her uneasy, physically and emotionally.
She shares that even her biometric wellness ring picked up the tension before she could. It kept alerting her, asking what was wrong, as if her body itself was reminding her to pause and breathe.
“I recognized you can’t lie to your body, so I had to go somewhere and sit down,” she says, explaining how the anxiety of what could unfold began to weigh heavily on her.
Having survived a hurricane before, Ralph knew the magnitude of what was coming. To her, Hurricane Melissa seemed almost personified, fierce, unapologetic, and exacting.
“It doesn’t seem like Hurricane Melissa is happy,” she says with a soft, weary laugh.
“It feels like she’s saying, ‘I don’t know what y’all thought, but I’m definitely tens across the board. I’m a perfect storm.’”
The humor barely masks her heartbreak.
The “Moesha” star pauses before acknowledging the irreversible toll on the island.
“There are parts of Jamaica that will never look or be the same again,” she reflects.
Her thoughts drift to her own home and the people tending to the property, and the uncertainty of what she’ll find when she returns.
Still, her instinct leans toward action.
“We’ve got to round up all these Jamaicans and Jamaricans and the people who love Jamaica because, just like Katrina needed help, Jamaica’s going to need some real help.”
That sense of duty to respond, to rebuild, and to uplift is at the core of everything Ralph does.
It’s what sparked The D.I.V.A. Foundation 35 years ago, when she recognized how deeply the arts could move people to care and change.
“My whole foundation was built upon the transformational power of the arts,” she says.
“You could move people with a song, with a poem, with a dance. You could change minds through the arts. You could build great people through the arts.”
For the mother of two, the stage has always been more than a spotlight. It's a sanctuary where awareness and empathy meet.
She doesn’t want anyone to forget that power or the history.
“I don’t want people to forget about the history of the disease,” she stresses.
“It’s important for people to understand what happened, what took place.”
The theme of legacy runs deep for the “Abbott Elementary” star, not just in her career but in her home as well.
She speaks lovingly of her children, Etienne and Ivy, who’ve followed in her creative footsteps while carving out their own identities.
“I realized through my children that parents sometimes take their role as life givers too lightly,” she says.
“I look at them now and realize they were paying attention to me and the things I did, even when I didn’t think they were watching.”
Her pride glows when she talks about their nonprofit, WalkGood LA, which brings hundreds together each week to breathe, reflect, and build community. You can also donate to Jamaica at this time as well as WalkGood has their Jamaica Hurricane Relief Fund.
“I’m just so taken aback sometimes when I think about what they’re doing,” she says, smiling.
Then, with her signature humor, she pivots to a family story that blends fashion, art, and heritage.
“I may not have been invited to the Met Gala, but my mother, Ivy Ralph, sure was,” she says with a grin.
Her daughter, Ivy Coco, helped carry on that legacy by ensuring her grandmother’s signature Kareeba design was featured in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Dandyism exhibition.
“My daughter knows and understands legacy, what it is to continue to tell the story of the family and move it forward,” she says.
“The Kareeba will be moving across North America through different museums. I say, wow, they really have been paying attention. Yes, a man was involved in it, but I did that,” she adds with a laugh.
Still, motherhood hasn’t just been a source of pride, but it’s been a mirror.
Ralph recalls the moment she realized how easily frustration can overtake even the most loving parent.
“I hit my son one time, and that one time I realized I was absolutely out of control,” she admits.
“I said that would never happen again, and that was a choice I made for myself to respect my child physically and emotionally and make sure I check myself.”
Her tone sharpens as she reflects on generational cycles.
“Too many people are beating up on their children, cussing out their children, and then wondering why their children grow up and say, ‘I’m a knock your a* out.’ You think they just picked that up? No, you taught them that,” she says.
“Whatever was taught to you is not what you want to teach to them.”
Then, her signature wit cuts through the weight of her words.
“We could look at that orange man in the White House, and I know his parents treated him badly because I see how he’s treating the world.”
That ability to blend truth with humor is part of what’s made the 68-year-old so beloved.
Even when she talks about the roles she didn’t get, there’s no bitterness, but only grace.
In an interview with People, the Emmy Award recipient shared that she would’ve loved to have played Madame Morrible, wishing she had been asked to be in the movie after playing the role on Broadway. While it was ultimately given to Michelle Yeoh, Ralph shows no ill will and praises her portrayal.
“It would’ve been different with me, but Michelle is wonderful and that’s what it’s supposed to be,” she says.
“My mother always told me life doesn’t miss you — you get exactly what you’re supposed to get.”
Instead of lingering on what wasn’t, Ralph channels her energy into what’s next.
“I continue to create great spaces for myself,” she says.
“I try to develop ideas and get something done or look for that beauty campaign, that next musical role. I stay patient. I stay grateful.”
That gratitude shines brightest when she talks about her role on “Abbott Elementary,” a project she calls one of her life’s biggest blessings.
“My God, I get to come into people’s doggone houses every Wednesday at 8:30 playing a role that was written just for me that couldn’t be more perfect,” she says with a smile.
Her global impact often humbles her.
“When I see young women around the world who speak different languages and are of different cultures who hear my words and repeat them, I’m like, whoa, this is something special,” she reflects.
That perspective deepened after she appeared on Finding Your Roots with Dr. Henry Louis Gates.
“He asked me, ‘Knowing what you know now, what would you change?’ I said I wouldn’t change not a doggone thing. From those roots to now, my life has been pretty doggone good.”
That same pride extends to her peers, particularly fellow trailblazers like Colman Domingo, who’s set to star in “Wicked” as the Cowardly Lion.
“When I heard that, do you know what went through my brain? I said, this is perfect casting,” Ralph says, lighting up.
“You have a man who is so brave to be able to take this on and show that cowards aren’t always what you think they are. Oh, I’m looking forward to the way he just turns this up and out. This is gonna be amazing.”
She lets out a laugh and adds, “And I certainly can imagine his red-carpet look, I just hope PETA doesn’t come for him.”
As the conversation winds down, Ralph turns her attention to the project that started it all: “Dreamgirls.”
The musical that catapulted her to stardom will celebrate its 45th anniversary next year, and she’s protective of how it’s reimagined for the next generation.
“Something that is near and dear to my heart is Dreamgirls,” she says with emotion. “Every time you bring it back, you don’t have an understanding of the show and it doesn’t get the reception it deserves. So if you’re going to do it, I want you to do it right.”
