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Sheryl Lee Ralph, who burst onto the Broadway scene in her role as Deena Jones in the original run of the musical _Dreamgirls_, has found prime-time success. After 45 years in show business,

the 65-year-old Tony nominee and former star of Broadway’s _Wicked_ is now an Emmy-award winner for her role as veteran kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard on ABC’s hit show _Abbott

Elementary_. IS THERE A TEACHER WHO INSPIRES YOUR ROLE? My Auntie Caroline is a teacher in D.C.; my brother Stanley is a special ed teacher in Albany; my sister-in-law, Andrea, is a teacher

turned principal; my dad broke the color line back in Connecticut when he was a young man [music teacher]; my niece Yanna just told me she has received the calling and has been accepted into

NYU to further her master’s and doctorate program in teaching. So I am surrounded by educators. Sheryl Lee Ralph stars in the ABC TV series “Abbott Elementary.” Gilles Mingasson/ABC via

Getty Images Why act, not teach? I was much better at it. I always knew I was going to be an actor. If I wasn’t going to be an actor, I was going to be a doctor or lawyer because that’s what

my mother told me — and if I couldn’t be a doctor or a lawyer, then I should just marry one. I said, “You know what? I will just play one and that will be so much better.” That has worked

for me in a wonderful way. YOU’VE CALLED SIDNEY POITIER YOUR INSPIRATION. HOW SO? He cast me in my very first movie [1977’s _A Piece of the Action_]. He was an incredible mentor to me. He

very much tried to encourage me to stay in a business that did not have enough to offer me. He felt very bad for me. He sent me away with great tools. _ABBOTT ELEMENTARY_ GETS ALL THE LOVE

BUT YOU’RE ALSO ON ANOTHER SHOW. TELL ME MORE ABOUT THAT. It’s a series I love, _Motherland: Fort Salem_. It is all about the femme power: The world is completely changed, women are in

power, women are leading. I play the 45th president in an alternative world. This is a series that in about a year or two, people are going to discover it and say, “How in the world did we

miss this show? How did that happen?” IN A VERY LONG CAREER, WHAT DOMINATES YOUR MEMORY? I’ll never, ever, ever forget the hand that I had in creating and bringing Deena Jones to life in

_Dreamgirls_, in the original Broadway company of _Dreamgirls_. I will never, ever forget Florence Watkins, _Sister Act 2_. I’ll never forget _A Piece of the Action_ with Sidney Poitier and

Bill Cosby. I will never, ever forget_ Abbott Elementary_ and Barbara Howard. I’ll never forget Claudette in _Ray Donovan_. I’ll never, ever forget what I’ve been able to do in every

generation that has kept me relevant. I have no favorite because they’re all basically a rung on the ladder. WHAT’S YOUR PERSONALITY TRAIT THAT YOU ARE MOST PROUD OF? I see talent, whatever

that might be. I am able to see people’s strengths. I don’t know why, but I can see that and I like that. IS THERE A PERSONALITY TRAIT YOU ARE LEAST PROUD OF? Nope. I like myself just the

way I am. I take myself just as I am. I work through my ups and my downs, and that’s that. If anything, it’s hard for other people because I usually, like Barbara Howard, say what I mean and

mean what I say. YOU’RE CAST AS 'THE ELDER' ON _ABBOTT ELEMENTARY_. HOW DO YOU FIND THAT ROLE? I’m very happy that I am that elder, the wise one that they respect. When Barbara

Howard speaks, people sit up straight. When she gives the side-eye, people receive the message, and she doesn’t have to say anything. I love it. In fact, the side-eye is my love language.