Between a Super Bowl halftime show announcement, dropping a new single this week, and prepping the next installation of her Savage X Fenty Fashion Show Vol. 4, Rihanna is having one hell of a season, but she’s not the only one. Stage and screen icon Sheryl Lee Ralph recently detailed the call she received from the Savage X Fenty team, inviting her to walk in the upcoming runway production.
“You get a phone call and an invitation asking, ‘Will you be savage on the runway?’ And I was like, ‘Uh yeah, yes,’” Ralph told Entertainment Tonight during the 2022 Women in Film Honors Gala.
“She has the most incredible team, they’re very knowledgeable. You know, I always say that the vibe starts from the very top so they really work very hard to be accommodating and just into you,” the actor shared of her experience on set with Rihanna. “They made sure my lingerie was just nip tucked in all the right and perfect places and I was like magic.”
And boy, does the 65 year old legend make magic. Ralph is living in “The Season of Sheryl” as we all are bearing witness to. And the awards and accolades just keep coming. It’s been just over a month since she won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series,” for her portrayal of the well loved character of Barbara Howard on Abbott Elementary, becoming only the second Black actress to go home with the award. Jackee Harris was the first, receiving the award for her role in 227 over thirty years ago.
Ralph was also recently honored at the Elizabeth Taylor Ball to End AIDS at West Hollywood Park, where she received the Elizabeth Taylor Commitment to End AIDS Award. Perhaps unknown to some, Ralph is not only a beautifully trained and talented actor, she is a dedicated activist as well, devoting 30 years to fighting AIDS through her DIVA Foundation, which has hosted some of the longest running HIV/AIDS and health benefit concerts in the country.
“I have to tell you, this is like icing on the cake and it was a beautiful, delicious cake to begin with,” Ralph told ET when asked to compare her recent success to the full run of her decades-long career. “Right about now, I am just so thankful to God for having kept me relevant all these years to be in people’s hearts and minds, and to be able to continue to do what I truly love with people that are some kinds of wonderful. The best is yet to come.”