Sheryl Lee Ralph said that starring in the 1981 Broadway debut of the musical “Dreamgirls” unintentionally created a nemesis in the one Diana Ross.
Ralph spoke about her one-sided feud with Ross during a conversation with Oprah Winfrey.
The entire conversation — which touches on aging, her stylist daughter and more — will air during Oprah Daily’s “The Life You Want’ Class: A Conversation with Sheryl Lee Ralph,” airing Jan. 24.
“Dreamgirls” follows a girl group trio as they try to break into the music industry as young Black women coming up in the racially divided ‘60s. It was turned into a 2006 movie starring Beyoncé Knowles-Carter in the lead role of Deena Jones, the character Ralph first portrayed in the musical. People likened the characters and storylines to Diana Ross and the Supremes.
Ross said, during a 2007 interview with David Letterman, that she didn’t see the musical version of “Dreamgirls,” and had a plan to see the movie adaptation, then airing in theaters.
“I have not seen it … I’ve heard a lot about it. I’m going to see it with my lawyers,” she quipped.
“It has been said to me that there’s a lot of my image and likeness in the movie. What I would like to do is be able to see it. I like to inspire the talent that is out there today,” she said. “If I’ve done that, it’s a good thing.”
When Letterman tried to draw a line between the movie’s plot and Ross, she said, “It’s been a lot of talk about it. I think I need to see it,” she said.
Speaking to Winfrey, Ralph emphasized that Ross was not meant to be an inspiration when preparing for her Tony-nominated role.
“There was one thing that I was told in the development of ‘Dreamgirls:’ I could love Diana Ross as much as I want, but if I played Diana Ross we would get sued,” Ralph said.
Ralph said Ross “was upset” and “believed what she believed” about the musical, and demonstrated her feelings to the star during an encounter at the Russian Tea Room, a restaurant in New York.
“At that moment, she walked into the Russian Tea Room and I was like, ‘There she was,'” Ralph said, enamored. “I just got up and walked over to her. And she turned around in the way that you could smell her perfume. It was beautiful. And the smile left her face looking at me. And I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. She doesn’t like me because of the show.'”
“She said, ‘I know who you are.’ And I was just like, OK. And she turned around and she was gone,” Ralph said.
Ralph said they reconciled “years later” with the help of one of Ross’ sons (Ralph didn’t specify which, but Ross has two sons, Evan Ross and Ross Naess).
“How it was fixed is years later, we were together and she has beautiful children. And I don’t mean just the way they look. They’re just like great human beings, which lets me know she’s a great human being,” Ralph started. “Her son said, ‘She’s right there, mom. Right there.’ He was yelling at the time because we were all in the same place.”
“And she didn’t want to see me but then she saw me and she came over and we talked and it was wonderful,” Ralph said. “It was lipstick and lashes under the bridge. It was gone. She said, ‘Girl, that was such a long time ago. I understand now.’ I was like, ‘Aw, here’s the moment.’ It was great.”
“Dreamgirls” the Broadway musical landed 13 Tony nominations and won six. The film got eight Oscar nominations and won two, plus five Golden Globe nominations and three wins.
Ralph also took issue with the film, telling Essence in 2023 that it “ignored” the play’s cast.
“Yes, they ignored us when they made the movie. Whatever that choice was, it hurt my feelings because we literally created ‘Dreamgirls.’ Tom Eyen handpicked us, put us all together and we improvised and put those moments together that became that groundbreaking musical. And when they chose to go to Hollywood and make the movie, to act like we weren’t a part of it—there were so many things they could have done. They could have added us, but the choice was made not to. And God and Goddess know why. I’m just like, “It’s OK.” Because we are moving forward,” Ralph said.
Beyoncé sent Ralph flowers after the Emmy winner first won the award in 2022 for her work in “Abbott Elementary.”
“To the original Dreamgirl, sending you a beautiful congratulations,” the card read in a video Ralph posted of it on Instagram.
The full circle connection came when Ross sang happy birthday to Beyoncé along the “Renaissance” tour.
“Thank you so much,” Beyoncé beamed. “You are so amazing. This is the legendary Diana Ross.”
