Sheryl Lee Ralph launched the Diva Foundation, an AIDS/HIV and health awareness fundraising event to honour those she lost during the epidemic, while she was starring in the Broadway production of Dreamgirls in 1991.Illustration by Photo illustration by The Globe
Off Duty is a series of lively conversations with influential people, from CEOs to celebrities, on life, work and the art of taking time off.
Let it be known that time can be split into two designations: Before meeting Sheryl Lee Ralph, and after. The Emmy and Tony award-winning multihyphenate is a motivational speech come to life in the most genuine and endearing way, and you can’t help but leave the experience of her gusto with anything but palpable optimism.
There are some commonalities Ralph shares with her character Barbara Howard, the sage and seasoned school teacher who adds a level-headed, nurturing presence to the cast of the hit television sitcom, Abbott Elementary. Ralph’s notoriously positive attitude throughout her decades-long career has led to opportunities such as her Ted Talk “A 3-step Guide to Believing in Yourself” this past June, as well as her book Redefining Diva: Life Lessons from the Original Dreamgirl – now in a new iteration called Diva 2.0: 12 Life Lessons From Me For You!
In 1991, she launched the Diva Foundation, an AIDS/HIV and health awareness fundraising event to honour those she lost during the epidemic, while she was starring in the Broadway production of Dreamgirls. She is also affiliated with organizations such as Project Angel Food, which provides meals to people with life-threatening illness. And now, Ralph finds herself raising awareness for the new Share Some Good Fund, a back-to-school-timed initiative from the snack food company MadeGood, created in response to the statistic that a significant number of teachers pay out of pocket for school supplies. The initiative is taking nominations until Sept. 24 for teachers across Canada to win a $200 prize to offset this expense.
We caught up with Ralph when she was in Toronto promoting this program to talk about the state of education and to learn a few lessons about self-love, having hope and why – despite her phenomenal success – she’s not an early riser.
There’s a quote in your book: “My diva has better things to do.” You meant that, rather than be the stereotypical, self-involved and rude centre of attention, your diva seems to want to change the world and improve things. Why do you want to “redefine” the concept of the diva?
The diva was once a deity. The diva was a fully formed, wonderful human being that just wallowed in their talent. It wasn’t in their bad attitude, it was in their talent. A true diva does not have to ask for anything because people want to give it to them. That’s what happens when you just do your best. Be as kind as you can be.
That brings us to why we’re here – the launch of the Share Some Good Fund. Why was it important for you to get involved?
Abbott Elementary shines a light on teachers, and I love the fact that this project is shining the light on the needs of teachers. It’s hard to believe that we are living in such a time. I once heard a teacher say: “If you were going to the doctor, would you expect the doctor to buy the equipment that they were going to be doing your surgery with?” Why is it that we expect teachers to take money out of their own resources to put back into the school rooms? Our kids and their education should be our priority.
You’ve been an advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness for decades, and in one speech you talked about how during the 1980s epidemic, “There was nothing but the worst that people could show other human beings.” That was so powerful, and unfortunately, I feel like we’re still experiencing extreme bigotry and lack of empathy. How do you maintain the reserve of positivity you need to be involved in these projects?
I have to have hope. I have to believe that things are going to get better. God did not bring me this far just to be this far. Something awful has happened to humanity. If there was ever a time to look in the mirror and ask yourself, “Who are you?”, now is the time. We look at people who lie to us daily, and we know what lies and falsehoods are – and yet people choose to believe them as if they were a truth. Martin Luther King Jr. said: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. Change takes a long time, but it does happen.”
A lot of folks see a successful person as someone who must get up at 5 a.m. every day. Are mornings precious to you in that way?
When I’m working, I usually have to be at the studio by five in the morning, and I am not an early morning person. I am not in a good mood at four o’clock in the morning. It’s sort of like my body’s saying, “What is going on? And why is it happening every day?” If I could, I would sleep as long as I wanted to. I value and treasure sleep because I watched my parents get older and sleep was something that sort of escaped them. That’s why I love a good bed. I love great sheets, and I love great pillows.
So, you embrace sleep – but what new things are on the horizon for you workwise?
There’s a lot going on right now. I’m the executive producer of a documentary short; hopefully we get that Oscar nomination – that would be great. It’s called Unexpected, and it’s about two young women who get an unexpected diagnosis of HIV and how they go through their life. It would be easy for them to check out, but they don’t. They check in with themselves and they try to figure out how to help others. I love this story of, you know, trying to rise to the occasion of your own life.
Diva 2.0, the audio book, is out now. Having completed a TED Talk, I think that maybe in a year or two I’ll have gathered my thoughts again to do another one. And I’ve submitted some ideas for some films and have received some great responses. We’ll see what happens in the future, but I’m feeling very optimistic about this stage of my life. Life is good, and there’s more to come.