Sheryl Lee Ralph has always been the epitome of dedication and comedic brilliance — and now, she’s revealing just how far she’s gone for the sake of laughter.
During Entertainment Weekly’s Awardist Comedy Actors Roundtable, the beloved Abbott Elementary star stunned her fellow panelists with a jaw-dropping confession: she once reported to work with a 106-degree fever.
- Advertisement -
“Show up. Even though I had a temperature of 106,” Ralph shared without hesitation. Her revelation left fellow comedy stars Uzo Aduba (The Residence), Liza Colón-Zayas (The Bear), David Alan Grier (St. Denis Medical), Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern), and Michael Urie (Shrinking) gasping in disbelief.
“I should’ve been at home or in the hospital — it was a literal 106,” Ralph emphasized. “But I came to work anyway.”
Ralph, who has spent over five decades in the entertainment industry, acknowledged that this kind of grueling, all-in work ethic is gradually fading. “And thank God,” she added with a knowing laugh. But at the time, no one was willing to send her home.
“They said, ‘Sheryl, we’d send you home, but you’re still funny,’” she recalled. Her story prompted a quip from Grier, who joked in the voice of a director, “Even when you’re dying, you’re amusing — so we need to film it.”
Lifting her glass, Ralph responded in perfect comedic timing: “To that!”
That kind of relentless commitment has become a trademark for Ralph, who plays the no-nonsense, deeply principled kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard on ABC’s hit sitcom Abbott Elementary. And while she now acknowledges that this level of intensity is “dying slowly in the industry,” she admits it was still very much alive when she showed up to work sick — and hilarious.
The physical toll of comedy hasn’t let up, either. Ahead of Abbott’s fourth season, Ralph confessed that she was growing weary of the increasingly physical gags written for her character. “The other day I was reading some of the scripts and I said, ‘Why am I always having to do these physical things?’” she recalled, pointing to past episodes that had her running relays, crawling through tunnels, and even playing basketball. “And I said to the writer, ‘Ask your mother to do all of that next season.’”
When the new season’s scripts arrived with even more physical comedy, Ralph couldn’t help but let her frustration show. “I said, ‘Why me?’” she recounted. “And the person turned around and said, ‘Because it’s funny.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, you’re right. I’m on a comedy. It’s funny.’”
But Ralph’s relationship with Abbott Elementary is more than just laughs and slapstick. She spoke with deep appreciation for the creative freedom she’s found in the role, crediting series creator Quinta Brunson for crafting a multidimensional character that honors both her talent and her legacy.
“I’m very, very fortunate to be in a position where I’m given the freedom to do what many actors don’t get a chance to do: I get to act,” Ralph said. “I get to share my talent. I get to show what I am very good at. It has been written for me in a way that my character doesn’t have one note. My character has a symphony written for her.”
For Ralph, a veteran of stage and screen with a career spanning five decades, Abbott Elementary represents more than just a late-career success — it’s a full-circle moment that lets her pour every ounce of experience, humor, and heart into her work. “It’s just amazing that I’m at this point in my life and career where I get to use everything that I have,” she said.
And so, whether she’s sprinting through school hallways or powering through fevers, Ralph remains as fearless — and as funny — as ever.
