SHERYL LEE RALPH
Country: Jamaica
Claim to Fame: Award-winning ARTivist
Sheryl Lee Ralph was one of the original cast members of the 1982 Broadway production of Dreamgirls. She has gone on to become “Dee Mitchell†in the 1990s sitcom Moesha, in which she was voted one of TV’s favorite moms. A strong supporter of education, she is the youngest woman to graduate of Rutgers University at age 19. An activist Ralph started The DIVA Foundation, is an international non-profit organization, in 1990 as a memorial to the many friends she lost to AIDS. The organization focuses on generating resources and producing events that raise awareness and educate people globally that are affected and infected by HIV/AIDS.