SHERYL LEE RALPH My Secret Is 'I Don't Give Up'

Sheryl Lee Ralph is the first to admit that her journey to the top has been a marathon, not a sprint. But it has taught her some valuable lessons along the way.

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"Other people's journey is other people's journey. Take your own walk through life," urges Ralph.

“I’m a very persistent woman. I don’t give up,” says Ralph, who became a firsttime Emmy nominee and winner in 2022 at the age of 66 for her role in the hit ABC comedy Abbott Elementary. (She previously won a Tony in 1981 for playing Deena Jones in Broadway’s Dream Girls.) “I don’t mind climbing the mountain. I also don’t mind moving the mountain because sometimes you have to look at the mountain and say, ‘You must move because I am going to carry on.’” While promoting THRIVE@50+, a campaign from pharmaceutical company GSK, the beloved actress, 68, talks to Us about learning to live her best life.

"She's got a written spirit about her," Ralph says of her Abbott Elementary costar Quinta Brunson.

Your campaign aims to educate older adults about the risks of shingles. What drew you to this partnership?