Sheryl Lee Ralph has a fan in Beyoncé.
The Abbott Elementary star, 65, who won an Emmy last week for her role as no-nonsense kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard on the hit ABC comedy, was overjoyed to receive a stunning white floral arrangement from Beyoncé. The moment was captured in a video by Ralph’s son, Etienne Maurice, and set to the theme song from Dreamgirls, for which Ralph won a Tony Award in 1981.
“To the original Dreamgirl, sending you a beautiful congratulations,”wrote Beyoncé, who took over Ralph’s role as Deena Jones in the 2006 film version of Dreamgirls. “All my love, Beyoncé.”
In the video, Ralph can be seen opening the card in her dining room as her family watches. Visibly shocked, she places her hands on her head in amazement.
“Wonderful,” she tells the camera, her voice scratchy. “I don’t have a voice, but it’s wonderful.”
In a touching caption, Ralph shared how much the moment meant to her.
“Every one has their own special dream and all your dreams can come true. Just look in the mirror and love what’s in front of you,” the TV star captioned the video. “Thank you @beyonce don’t forget to dream girls!”
In the comments, Quinta Brunson, who stars in and created the beloved comedy series about a group of Philadelphia elementary school teachers, commented with a teary-eyed emoji. Several other Hollywood stars chimed in with congratulations for her Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series win, ranging from Lena Waithe and Sharon Stone to Billy Porter and Naomi Campbell. Ralph’s son Etienne also commented, riffing on Beyoncé’s hit song by writing “Giving ‘Break My Soul’ a whole new meaning.”
On his own page, Ralph’s son reposted the video, sharing a sweet message in support of his mother. He also shared that his mom received flowers from rapper Kid Cudi.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think one of my favorite artists of all time would be sending flowers to my mom. I know this is about my Mom, but @kidcudi, my mother wouldn’t know who you were if I wasn’t blasting your music on my way to school ever morning or her buying tickets to see you for my high school graduation,” he captioned the video. “I am your fan from DAY 1 bro bro. Thank you for showing love to moms. You are loved my g.”
Ralph brought down the house at last week’s Emmy Awards when she took the stage to receive her statue. As she reached the microphone, Ralph began to sing Dianne Reeves’s “Endangered Species.” It has been 35 years since a Black woman won in the category, Yahoo Entertainment previously reported.
“To anyone who has ever, ever had a dream and thought your dream wasn’t, wouldn’t, couldn’t come true. 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 declared on stage, as she received a standing ovation from the crowd.
On Wednesday of last week, Ralph shared that she was not pleased with Jimmy Kimmel for lying on the stage near the podium while her friend and co-star Brunson delivered her acceptance speech for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series. Brunson is the second Black woman to ever win in that category.
“I was absolutely confused,” Ralph said during a virtual panel of the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour, according to reports. “I didn’t know what was going on. I was like, ‘I wish that man would just get up off of the ground.’ And then I realized it was Jimmy Kimmel, and I was like, ‘Ooh, the disrespect, Jimmy!’ But that’s just me.”
Ralph went on to share that she told Kimmel she didn’t like the stunt to his face.
“I told him, too! To his face!” she said. “And he understood.”
