What a year it’s been for Sheryl Lee Ralph.

Back in September, the 66-year-old actor and Broadway legend received her first Emmy Award for supporting actress in a comedy series, for her role in Quinta Brunson’s Abbott Elementary, and accepted the trophy by singing a verse from the song Endangered Species, featuring the lyrics: “I am an endangered species, but I sing no victim’s song / I am a woman, I am an artist / And I know where my voice belongs.”

Then, earlier this year, she was nominated for her first Golden Globe, and picked up a Critics’ Choice Award too. She gave another powerful acceptance speech at the latter ceremony, telling the audience: “People don’t have to like you. People don’t have to love you. They don’t even have to respect you. But when you look in the mirror, you better love what you see.”

The star’s latest gig? Kicking off proceedings at the Super Bowl with a spine-tingling performance of Lift Every Voice And Sing, a song which is widely known as the Black national anthem.

Ralph became the first Black performer to sing the hymn on the field before the Super Bowl game (after Alicia Keys sang it in a pre-recorded segment in 2021 and Mary Mary did so from outside the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood last year).

Sheryl Lee Ralph just made Super Bowl history with her powerful opening performance