About
the Book:
Secrets about love, life, and
Hollywood from Sheryl Lee Ralph,
the legendary
actress and singer who has played everyone from the
original Deena Jones in Dreamgirls
on Broadway and
to principal Dee Mitchell, Moesha's stepmother, on
the hit TV show Moesha.
More than just another celebrity memoir, Redefining Diva:
Life Lessons from the Original Dream Girl
will inspire every woman (and man) who reads it to examine the
potential in their own life.
The Tony-nominated and Spirit
Award-winning actress, director, and activist Sheryl Lee
Ralph did not earn a legion of
devoted fans and Ultimate DIVA title by just being a Broadway, film,
and television star; she believed that the title Diva
– Divinely Inspired Victoriously Awesome
– is something
far more superior.
• A Diva loves the woman she sees in the mirror.
• A Diva owns her talent and her strength.
• A Diva
knows the first step on the road to fame is respecting herself.
Sheryl Lee Ralph originated the role of Deena Jones
– elevated first to lead singer, then to the billing Deena Jones
and the Dreams, then wishing to leave the Dreams to star in movies –
in Broadway's groundbreaking 1981 musical Dreamgirls. But her
superstar performance as the original Deena didn't happen overnight.
First came a gruelling Hollywood apprenticeship, where roles for
young black women at the time were often offensive and demeaning.
Sheryl Lee, however, held stubbornly to the values of her mother and
grandmother: she wouldn't take any part she couldn't be proud of.
Even after joining Dreamgirls – where she helped create a
role that grew from her own life story – she would invest years of
sweat and tears before the play finally opened to instant acclaim.
With an eclectic career that
dates back to 1977, Sheryl Lee Ralph
has accumulated enough stories to last a couple of lifetimes. Born
in Waterbury, Connecticut, and
raised between Mandeville,
Jamaica, and Long Island, New York. Summer stock debut at age six.
Starred
in a high-school production of the musical Oklahoma!, portraying Ado
Annie. Pre-med student at Rutgers University at age 16; but, after
winning the important Irene Ryan acting scholarship in a competition
at the American College Theater Festival, she gave up medicine for
the performing arts. At age 19, the youngest female Rutgers graduate.
In these highly personal reflections, she reveals her take on
her supposed feuds with Diana Ross and Jennifer Holliday, her first
Hollywood experience auditioning for Sidney Poitier, on why she
exited so controversially from the TV series Moesha, and how
she signed away her rights to Dreamgirls for a dollar. She
uses her life story to illustrate her vision: black, white, or any
other colour of the rainbow, a true Diva is a person of strength,
character, and a beauty that radiates from within.
What people say:
"A
highly enthusiastic memoir by one of the original Broadway Dreamgirls
... Ralph presents an engrossing story of a woman who challenged
Hollywood and its limited roles for black women."
— Kirkus Reviews
"In
Ralph's sharp account of the stage performance [Dreamgirls], she
reveals intimate views of Nell Carter, Quincy Jones, Jennifer
Holliday, and especially Michael Bennett, the show's director and
choreographer ... She offers stories about Diana Ross, adding new
drama to the Dreamgirls saga ... Ralph's involvement in children's
charities, politics, and her own Diva Foundation, which promotes AIDS
awareness, portrays a deeply compassionate woman. Readers will
welcome her honesty." —
Publishers Weekly
"Sheryl
Lee Ralph
has written a book that should be read by everybody! A real page
turner to live and learn by."
— Deidre Hall,
soap opera diva and icon
"Sheryl Lee Ralph
is a true D.I.V.A. She uses her powers for good, not evil. This book
is truly an inspiration to all who read." — Wendy
Williams
About the Author:
Sheryl Lee Ralph is an
American actress, singer, author, and Broadway legend. She is Tony
nominee and the original Deena Jones in Dreamgirls and Muzzy
in Thoroughly Modern Millie. On TV, she has played everyone
from Moesha's stepmom to the President on Motherland: Fort
Salem. Film credits include winning the Independent Spirit Award
for To Sleep With Anger. She's the author of Redefining Diva:
Life Lessons from the Original Dream Girl.