• Sheryl Lee Ralph is pursuing her professional dream.
• She wants to “Lift Every Voice” at Super Bowl.
• Ralph will hit this Sunday’s Super Bowl stage to sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

PHOENIX (AP) — Sheryl Lee Ralph is pursuing her professional dream: the “Abbott Elementary” star will perform at the Super Bowl pregame this weekend after winning her first Emmy last year.

Despite all of her success, the seasoned actor and singer still longs for her deceased parents to be alive to see her most recent achievements.

“I wish that my parents were still alive to see it and experience it with me,” Ralph said in a recent interview while promoting the Microban 24 sanitizing spray. Her father was a college professor, while her mother was a renowned Jamaican fashion designer.

“My parents always believed in me and my success,” she continued. “I know this would’ve been something they would love to have been a part of. I do miss them.

Ralph will hit this Sunday’s Super Bowl stage to sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” The other pregame performances include country music star Chris Stapleton, who will sing the national anthem, while R&B legend Babyface will perform “America the Beautiful.” Rihanna is the featured halftime performer.

For her performance as Barbara Howard on ABC’s “Abbott Elementary,” which also stars Quinta Brunson, the 66-year-old Ralph was nominated for an Emmy for the first time last year and went on to win. She screamed moving words from Dianne Reeves’ song “Endangered Species” during her winning speech, pleading with the audience to never give up on their hopes or objectives.

Ralph claimed she’d always had confidence in her skills. She’s glad to finally be getting the good vibes and energy coming her way.

“Fame and success can be very daunting,” said the actor who has decades of industry experience with several memorable roles including the Broadway musical “Dreamgirls” in the 1980s and the stepmother to the title character on the 1990s sitcom “Moesha.”

“It isn’t for the faint of heart,” she said. “It is not to those who are weak. You have to be strong to sustain. You have to have the belief to do what is necessary to keep you able to carry on. To get up and talk to people and convey messages. It’s taken years to learn, and I’ve just been a good student and have paid attention. So now I’m able to do so much of that understanding that this is quite a race. It’s a marathon I should say.”

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