Legend Sheryl Lee Ralph is nominated for her very first Emmy award, and celebrated the momentous occasion appropriately: sparkling.
Ralph, who is nominated for her impeccable portrayal of stern yet sweet Barbara Howard on Abbott Elementary, glimmered down the red carpet, wearing a custom Brandon Blackwood gown, crystal-encrusted orange bag, and matching glam: a bedazzled waist-length braid and eye-framing face gems.
“Black is anything but basic. It is classic; it is chic, it is timeless: it is far from basic. It is black,” Ralph said of her chic gown, which so happens to be the first ever dress designed by New York City designer Blackwood.
Ralph also shared some wisdom with Laverne Cox during E!'s Emmy's pre-show, who asked what advice she has for people on the verge of giving up. “Don’t you ever give up. Don't you ever give up on your dream! Because no matter what if it is meant for you, it will not miss you."
It's been an especially exciting and meaningful week for the Dreamgirls star: Ralph attended the Glamour US and Tory Burch lunch over the weekend, where she was surprised with a framed copy of her Glamour's College Women of the Year feature circa 1975.
Upon accepting the gift, Ralph gave a brief history lesson (staying in character, I see). “When I put this together, I was 17 years old, I was a sophomore at Rutgers College, and when I found out that I won, it was a big deal because Rutgers was a historically male college," Ralph told fellow attendees, which included Sydney Sweeney, Issa Rae, Rachel Brosnahan, and Abbott Elementary costar Quinta Brunson. “So I was in the first class of women, and winning this, it made all the men on campus wonder, ‘What the hell is going on?! What is Glamour Magazine?'”
But the best part of all? The president of the university personally congratulated a young Ralph at the time. “He said for the first class of women, for you to make a global statement, we are so proud… we made the right choice.”
As for what now Emmy-nominated Ralph would tell a younger version of herself? "I would tell young Sheryl Lee Ralph, “Go find that Glamour magazine. Look at that first article and read what you said. You had it then. You have it now. The only thing you ever need to do is carry on through your own personal storms. Because when you have those rough times, it helps you appreciate the good times even more. And you will have a lot of good times.”
We're taking notes, Ms. Ralph.
This article originally appeared on Glamour.com.
