At 69, Ralph has a woman 34 years her junior to thank for the career highs she’s hitting now. In 2021 actress and show runner Quinta Brunson tapped her to play veteran educator Barbara Howard on ABC’s sitcom Abbott Elementary, and in 2022 Ralph earned her first Emmy Award for the role.
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PeopleTranscript
00:00I'm in a fabulous hit show.
00:02Oh, my goodness gracious.
00:05I am in a show that is literally lightning in a bottle, you know?
00:11So I get to win the award, go do this show,
00:15and have a wonderful time.
00:17And it took a young person to see and value
00:20the work, Quinta Brunson, and offer me this way forward.
00:26That doesn't happen a lot.
00:28But it happened to me.
00:30So I reap the benefits of that.
00:34And so it's been good.
00:35I speak to people across this country, especially teachers.
00:41You know when they run numbers on who your audience is?
00:45They came back and said, it's very interesting.
00:47Your audience spreads generations.
00:51And I was like, yeah, that's right.
00:53The young ones like me.
00:55The old ones like me, too.
00:56And everybody in between.
00:58And they were like, people like you.
01:00And I was like, thank you.
01:03Yes.