'Abbott Elementary' Star Sheryl Lee Ralph Is Married to an Actual Pennsylvania Senator

Ahead of the 76th Emmy Awards, one name that has been prominent among award conversations is that of longtime actress, Emmy winner and three-time Emmy nominee, Sheryl Lee Ralph. While she's played other characters over her 47-year-long career, Sheryl has most recently stolen the hearts of TV viewers for her portrayal of Barbara Howard, the lovable, no-nonsense veteran kindergarten teacher on Abbott Elementary. After winning the Emmy Award in 2022 and being nominated in 2023, she is once again in the running in 2024 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

Fans may know that her character Barbara has a deep love for her hometown of Philadelphia and the greater state of Pennsylvania, where the show is based, but Sheryl actually has some pretty strong ties to the state in real life, as she is married to Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Hughes. Though the couple recently celebrated their 19th wedding anniversary, the start to their relationship can only be compared to something straight out of the plot of a rom-com.

Both Sheryl and Vincent had previously been married and had two children each at the time of their first meeting. According to an anniversary post shared by Sheryl on Instagram, it seems that the pair were introduced to each other through a mutual friend back in 2003. The Dreamgirls alum also alluded to being a little hesitant at first, sharing that the two were brought together by someone named CiCi for a "#blinddate."

They married in July of 2005 at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles in a ceremony that featured several famous bridesmaids – Patti LaBelle, Lorretta Divine and Neicey Nash, to name a few – and saw their children involved in a uniting ceremony. Sheryl's son Etienne, 13 at the time, gave his mother away and Vincent's daughter Ariell, 27 at the time, gave her father away. Vincent's son Alek, 15 at the time, served as his best man and Sheryl's daughter Coco, who was 10 at the time, was also in attendance.

Though the couple have a blended family, they expressed that counseling has played a role in them successfully navigating their relationship since the very beginning. "We hadn't even talked about marriage, but we knew we wanted to go to relationship counseling," Vincent said in 2020. "If you're honest in your session, you're leaving everything wide open. It was a way to really reveal ourselves to one another with guidance. It was extremely helpful."

Over a decade later, the couple seems just as in love and super supportive of each other. "I have a great friend and a great partner; somebody that I absolutely trust," Sheryl said in the same interview with Essence in 2020. "I believe that if something awful was to happen to me, that I could trust my husband to do the best for my family and my kids, and to be all the things I would want him to be. He'd be strong enough to carry on." Vincent shared similar gushing sentiments, stating, "I love my wife. I trust her, and I trust the integrity that she brings to the relationship and her life."

The pair always manage to make time for each other despite demanding work schedules that often keep them on separate coasts. "We've been commuting ever since the beginning, and it's worked out for us," Vincent told Entertainment Tonight. Sheryl also clarified how often she has been able to see her husband since she has been starring on Abbott Elementary. "[The show] is shot in Los Angeles. My husband, as a senator, is always in his Capitol, so I don't know what magic people think we're gonna do," she told the outlet. "We see each other on the average of every two weeks. And everybody who questions that I say, guess what? We're still married!"

Sheryl has said that the happy coincidence of working on a show that showcases Philadelphia and seeing her husband exercise his passion for his state — a quality that she said won her over when he gifted her a Pennsylvania almanac on one of their first dates — has been a relationship highlight as well.

"To see him using his voice to fight for proper education for all the state's children, and for God to put me on a path to get a show that's all about Philadelphia with the trajectory of teachers and education and the students, it's like sometimes God and celestial Mother Goddess are amazing at how everything comes together," she told The Philadelphia Inquirer.

"I'm just doing what I've always done. And he's doing what he's always done. And together it's become a very powerful thing."

We can't wait to see what this power couple will take on next.

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