Sharon Leal

Sharon Ann Leal (born October 17, 1972) is an American-Filipina actress and singer. She is known for her roles in movies such as Dreamgirls, This Christmas, Why Did I Get Married?, Why Did I Get Married Too? and her roles on the television shows Legacy, Guiding Light, and Boston Public.

Sharon Leal
Leal in 2011
Born (1972-10-17) October 17, 1972
OccupationActress, singer
Years active1997–present
Spouse(s)
Bev Land
(m. 2001; div. 2009)
Children1

Early life

Leal was born in Tucson, Arizona. Her mother, Angelita, is Filipina. Her father was an African-American military policeman who broke up with her mother before Sharon was born.[1][2] Shortly after, her mother married Jesse Leal, a Master Sergeant in the United States Air Force and a police officer at Clark Air Base, Philippines; he legally adopted Sharon.[3][4]

Career

Leal's career began with the role of Dahlia Crede in the CBS daytime serial Guiding Light. 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 also appeared on the 1999 original cast recording of the Off-Broadway musical Bright Lights, Big City alongside Patrick Wilson and Jesse L. Martin. She also appeared on the 2001 cast recording of Making Tracks.

From 2000 to 2004, Leal starred in the Fox prime time TV series Boston Public. Leal also had a role in the theatrical release Face the Music. She also appeared in a recurring role in the short-lived NBC series LAX, as the wife of airport co-director, Roger de Souza.

She also co-starred in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Dreamgirls as Michelle Morris, Effie White's replacement in the pop group The Dreams, with Beyoncé Knowles, Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx. In 2007 Leal also starred in This Christmas and in the Tyler Perry production Why Did I Get Married?. She played the character Vanessa Lodge in the series Hellcats, until it was cancelled in 2011. Leal played the supporting role in the movie 1982. A story of a drug addicted mother and a father's fight to protect his daughter.

Leal appears in seasons 2, 3, 5 and 6 of Supergirl 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.[3][5] The couple divorced in 2009.[6]

In 2009, Leal posed nude for the May issue of Allure magazine - alongside Padma Lakshmi, Lynn Collins, Chelsea Handler, and Eliza Dushku.[7]

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 Dreamgirls in their hometown.[8]

Filmography

Films

Year Name Role Notes
2000 Face the Music Tracie
2006 Dreamgirls Michelle Morris Nominated—Asian Excellence Award for Outstanding Film Supporting Actress
Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Acting Ensemble
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2007 Motives 2 Nina
Why Did I Get Married? Dianne Brock
This Christmas Kelli Whitfield Winner—Asian Excellence Award for Outstanding Film Actress
2008 Soul Men Cleo Whitfield
Linewatch Angela Dixon
2009 Limelight Nina
2010 Why Did I Get Married Too? Dianne Brock
2011 Little Murder Jennifer
2012 Woman Thou Art Loosed: On the 7th Day Kari Ames
2013 The Last Letter Cathrine Wright
2013 1982 Shenae Brown
2014 Freedom Vanessa
2014 Addicted Zoe
2016 No Regrets Sofia
2017 Shot Phoebe
2020 Blindfire Nika Wilkins
2021 A Holiday Chance Naomi Chance

Television

Year TV Series Role Notes
1998–1999 Legacy Marita Regular role: 18 episodes
1996–1999 Guiding Light Dahlia Crede Regular role: 218 episodes
2000–2004 Boston Public Marilyn Sudor Regular supporting role: 67 Episodes
2005 Las Vegas Nina Episode: "Sperm Whales and Spearmint Rhinos"
2004–2005 LAX Monique DeSouza Recurring role: 3 episodes
2007 CSI: Miami Lauren Sloan Episode: "Internal Affairs"
2009 Private Practice Dr. Sonya Nichols Recurring role: 5 episodes
2010–2011 Hellcats Vanessa Lodge Regular role: 21 episodes
2011 Suits Lisa Parker Recurring: 3 episodes
2012 Person of Interest Dr. Madeleine Enright Episode: "Critical"
2014 Perception Inspector Liza Brahms Episode: "Obsession"
2014–2016 Grimm Tyler "Zuri" Ellis Recurring: 5 episodes
2016 Recovery Road Charlotte Graham Main role
2016 Dead of Summer Renee Tyler Recurring: 2 episodes
2016–2021 Supergirl M'gann M'orzz/Miss Martian Recurring role
2018–2019 The Good Doctor Breeze Browne Recurring role
2018–2019 Instinct Lt. Jasmine Gooden Main role

References

  1. Robison, Ken (1994-06-12). "THE CALL OF BROADWAY FRESNO ACTORS TREADING BIGGER BOARDS". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
  2. "Sharon Leal as M'gann M'orzz on 'Supergirl': 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.
  3. "Extra Credit — Kids & Family Life, Boston Public : People.com". people.com. 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  4. "Sharon Leal Biography — Yahoo! Movies". Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  5. "News". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-06-30. 10.30.01 - The November 6th issue of Soap Opera Digest reports that Sharon Leal and fiancé Bev Land welcomed their first child, Kai Miles Land, into the world on September 13th.
  6. "Actress Sharon Leal". November 28, 2018.
  7. The Naked Truth: Five Celebrities Bare It All Allure. Archived on April 15, 2009.
  8. "Culture Club". Soap Opera Weekly. 2007-02-27. p. 22.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.