Sheryl Lee Ralph Is a Vision of Triumph at the 2022 Emmy Awards

"I am here to tell you that this is what believing looks like. This is what striving looks like. And don't you ever, ever give up on you."

Sheryl Lee Ralph accepts Emmy Award 2022
(Image credit: Getty)
Gabrielle Ulubay
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published
in News

Tonight, Sheryl Lee Ralph made history with her inspiring acceptance speech at the 2022 Emmy Awards. Ralph plays kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard on the ABC comedy Abbott Elementary, and won tonight for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. 

When Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers announced Ralph's win, Ralph was visibly stunned, remaining seated until her thrilled co-stars walked her to the stage. Ralph then held the award in her hands and began to sing, "I am an endangered species, but I sing a victim's song, I am a woman, I am an artist, and I know where my voice belongs." 

To a positively delighted and moved crowd, she then went on to dedicate her award to "anyone who has ever, ever had a dream and thought your dream wasn't, wouldn't couldn't come true," going on to encourage, "I am here to tell you that this is what believing looks like. This is what striving looks like. And don't you ever, ever give up on you." She then went on to say that having people like her husband, children, friends, and co-star Quinta Brunson "in her corner" has made all the difference.

By highlighting hard work, belief in oneself, and self-care, Ralph brought the crowd to its feet before her speech was even over. And her message served as a powerful message to artists everywhere—particularly female artists of color—to always persevere. Jackée Harry (who you may know from SIster, Sister and Days of Our Lives) echoed this sentiment in a touching tribute over Twitter. 

Ralph closed her speech off by triumphantly raising her Emmy in the air with three emphatic thank you's, and I guarantee that every spectator—both at home and in the crowd—felt chills down their spine. 

Long live Sheryl Lee Ralph.

Sheryl Lee Ralph accepts Emmy Award 2022

(Image credit: Getty)
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Gabrielle Ulubay
Gabrielle Ulubay
Beauty Writer

Gabrielle Ulubay is a Beauty Writer at Marie Claire. She has also written about sexual wellness, politics, culture, and fashion at Marie Claire and at publications including The New York Times, HuffPost Personal, Bustle, Alma, Muskrat Magazine, O'Bheal, and elsewhere. Her personal essay in The New York Times' Modern Love column kickstarted her professional writing career in 2018, and that piece has since been printed in the 2019 revised edition of the Modern Love book. Having studied history, international relations, and film, she has made films on politics and gender equity in addition to writing about cinema for Film Ireland, University College Cork, and on her personal blog, gabrielleulubay.medium.com. Before working with Marie Claire, Gabrielle worked in local government, higher education, and sales, and has resided in four countries and counting. She has worked extensively in the e-commerce and sales spaces since 2020, and spent two years at Drizly, where she developed an expertise in finding the best, highest quality goods and experiences money can buy.

Deeply political, she believes that skincare, haircare, and sexual wellness are central tenets to one's overall health and fights for them to be taken seriously, especially for people of color. She also loves studying makeup as a means of artistic expression, drawing on her experience as an artist in her analysis of beauty trends. She's based in New York City, where she can be found watching movies or running her art business when she isn't writing. Find her on Twitter at @GabrielleUlubay or on Instagram at @gabrielle.ulubay, or follow her art at @suburban.graffiti.art

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