Sharon Ann Leal is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles in movies such as ''

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. It is based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others, and p ...

'' (2006), '' This Christmas'' (2007), '' Why Did I Get Married?'' (2007), '' Why Did I Get Married Too?'' (2010) and her roles on the television shows ''

Legacy Legacy or Legacies may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * " Batman: Legacy", a 1996 Batman storyline * '' DC Universe: Legacies'', a comic book series from DC Comics * ''Legacy'', a 1999 quarterly series from Antarctic Press * ''Legacy ...

'', ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...

'' and ''

Boston Public ''Boston Public'' is an American drama (film and television), drama television series created by David E. Kelley and broadcast on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. Set in Boston, the series centers on Winslow High School, a fictional public high sc ...

''.

Early life

Leal was born in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

. Her mother, Angelita, is Filipina. Her father was an African-American military policeman who broke up with her mother before Sharon was born. Shortly after, her mother married Jesse Leal, a Master Sergeant in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

and a police officer at

Clark Air Base Clark Air Base is a Philippine Air Force base in Luzon, located west of Angeles City, and about northwest of Metro Manila. It was previously operated by the U.S. Air Force and, before that, the U.S. Army, from 1903 to 1991. The base cov ...

, Philippines; he legally adopted Sharon.

Career

Leal's career began with the role of Dahlia Crede in the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

daytime serial ''

''. Later, she joined the Broadway company of '' Rent''. Soon after, she was cast as Mimi for the San Francisco leg of the first national tour of '' Rent''. Leal appeared on the 1999 original cast recording of the Off-Broadway musical '' Bright Lights, Big City'' alongside

Patrick Wilson Patrick Joseph Wilson (born July 3, 1973) is an American actor. He began his career in 1995, starring in Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals. He received nominations for two Tony Awards for his roles in ''The Full Monty (musical), The Full Mont ...

and Jesse L. Martin. She also appeared on the 2001 cast recording of '' Making Tracks''. From 2000 to 2004, Leal starred in the

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

prime time Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

TV series ''

''. She also had a role in the theatrical release ''Face the Music''. She then appeared in a recurring role in the short-lived

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

series ''

LAX A lax is a salmon. LAX as an acronym most commonly refers to Los Angeles International Airport in Southern California, United States. LAX or Lax may also refer to: Places Within Los Angeles * Union Station (Los Angeles), Los Angeles' main tr ...

'', as the wife of airport co-director, Roger de Souza. In 2006, she co-starred in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical ''

'' as Michelle Morris, Effie White's replacement in the pop group The Dreams, with

Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most culturally significant figu ...

Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, producer, and talk show host. Having received List of awards and nominations received by Jennifer Hudson, numerous accolades for ...

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

and

Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, and singer. Known for his work in both the screen and music industries, his accolades include an Academy Award, a Grammy Award ...

. In 2007, Leal was cast in the

Tyler Perry Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr., September 13, 1969) is an American actor, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of Madea, Mabel "Madea" Simmons, a tough elderly woman, and also portrays her brother Joe Simmons and her ...

production '' Why Did I Get Married?'' and '' This Christmas''. In 2010, she starred in Perry's sequel production '' Why Did I Get Married Too?''. She also portrayed the character Vanessa Lodge in the series '' Hellcats'', until it was cancelled in 2011. In 2013, Leal played the supporting role in the movie ''

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

'', which tells a story of a drug addicted mother and a father's fight to protect his daughter. In 2014, Leal released her album "Leal". Leal appears in seasons 2, 3, 5 and 6 of ''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...

'' as M'gann M'orzz (Megan in human form).

Personal life

In October 2001, Leal married Bev Land. Their son Kai Miles Land was born in September 2001. The couple divorced in 2009. Former ''Guiding Light'' co-star Yvonna Wright has said that she and Leal are close friends; the two starred together in a community production of ''

'' in their hometown. In 2009, she posed nude for the May issue of ''Allure'' magazine.The Naked Truth: Five Celebrities Bare It All
Allure. Archived on April 15, 2009.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leal, Sharon American adoptees American film actresses American soap opera actresses American actresses of Filipino descent Actresses from Tucson, Arizona Living people 20th-century African-American actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century African-American actresses 21st-century American actresses 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people Year of birth missing (living people)