Sherri Shepherd Biography

Sherri Evonne Shepherd (born April 22, 1967) is an American comedienne, actress, and television personality. She is one of five co-hosts on the ABC daytime talkshow The View, currently hosts the Newlywed Game, and had a recurring role as Angie Jordan on the NBC series 30 Rock. As an actress, she has starred in the sitcom Less than Perfect and her own sitcom Sherri on Lifetime. Shepherd previously had a recurring role on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond as police Sgt. Judy Potterbrother, the partner of officer Robert Barone.

Early life

Shepherd was born in Chicago to Lawrence A. Shepherd (born 1943) and LaVerne Shepherd (1941-1991) as the eldest of three sisters. When she was 11, her family moved to Hoffman Estates, a Chicago northwest suburb. She attended Winston Churchill Elementary School and Eisenhower Junior High School of Community Consolidated School District 54 and Hoffman Estates High School of District 211.

Career

Acting

Shepherd worked a day job as a legal secretary while doing stand-up comedy at night. Her first TV role was on the show Cleghorne!, starring former Saturday Night Live cast member Ellen Cleghorne. Three years later, Shepherd pursued acting and stand-up comedy full-time, working again as a legal secretary for a day job. She had guest and recurring roles on Everybody Loves Raymond and Living Single as well as regular roles on Suddenly Susan and The Jamie Foxx Show. Perhaps her most successful role prior to The View was playing the main character of Ramona Platt (2002-2006) on the comedy Less than Perfect. In 2009 she starred for one season in Lifetime Television's Sherri, a sitcom about Shepherd's life.

Shepherd has branched out to film, with roles in Guess Who, Beauty Shop, Cellular, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Academy Award-winning film Precious. Her most recent film role is as Lula in One for the Money, starring Katherine Heigl. She still performs stand-up comedy at Los Angeles area clubs like the Comedy Store and the Laugh Factory, although she lives in New York. She has also been a frequent and popular guest on Ellen DeGeneres's syndicated daytime talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, for which she holds a record for being on the show the greatest number of times. She also had a recurring role on 30 Rock as Angie Jordan, and she has appeared as a special guest host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

Co-host on The View

In 2006, Sherri Shepherd became a frequent guest co-host on ABC's The View. She eventually became a permanent co-host on Monday, September 10, 2007. She co-hosted the 35th Daytime Emmy Awards on June 20, 2008. Her fellow co-host was All My Children star Cameron Mathison. Shepherd was nominated for her first Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host.

On May 14, 2009, she was nominated again for her second Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host, when nominations for 36th Daytime Emmy Awards were announced on the Today Show. Shepherd won her first Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show Host that year.

Criticized statements

Shepherd was criticized heavily after the September 18, 2007, broadcast of The View, in which she stated that she didn't "believe in evolution. Period." Co-host Whoopi Goldberg asked her, "Is the world flat?" She first responded, "I don't know," and expanded that she "never thought about it". Shepherd continued that it was more important to her that she thought about how she was "going to feed [her] child". Barbara Walters replied by pointing out, "You can do both." However, Shepherd then went on to quote Scripture. Shepherd later referred to her statement as a "brain fart" brought on by nerves and the following exchange between Barbara Walters and Sherri Shepherd occurred after that particularly embarrassing episode: Walters said, "Dear, the Earth is round", and Shepherd responded with: "Barbara, I know that!"

Similar criticism erupted after the December 4, 2007, broadcast of The View when, during a discussion initiated by Joy Behar about Epicurus, Shepherd attempted to assert that Christians existed in classical Greece, and that the Greeks threw them to the lions. When confronted on this point, she further claimed that "Jesus came first" (before Greeks and Romans) and stated, "I don't think anything predated Christians", to which Joy Behar responded: "The Jews."

Shepherd garnered ridicule after admitting to never voting partly due to her upbringing as a strict Jehovah's Witness. She was quoted as saying that she just "never knew the dates or anything"; she stated, "I've never voted for anything in my life." In January 2008, Sherri referred to R&B/gospel singer Shirley Caesar as "the black Patti LaBelle." LaBelle, like Caesar, is black.

Book

Shepherd authored the book Permission Slips: Every Woman's Guide to Giving Herself a Break, published in October 2009.

Dancing with the Stars

In March 2012, Shepherd participated as a celebrity contestant on the fourteenth season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars. Her professional partner was announced as Val Chmerkovskiy, however the couple were eliminated on the fourth week of competition.

Week #	Dance/Song	Judges' score			Result
		Inaba	Goodman	Tonioli
1	Foxtrot / "Sherry"	8	7	8	No Elimination
2	Jive / "Proud Mary"	8	7	8	Safe
3	Rumba / "If I Could"	8	8	8	Safe
4	Tango / "Come On Feel the Noise"	7	7	7	Eliminated

Personal life

In 2001, Shepherd married comedian Jeff Tarpley (also referred to as Jeff T. Aware). Their only child, Jeffrey, was born in April 2005. Previously, Shepherd had announced that she was expecting fraternal twins (one boy, one girl), but miscarried her daughter, and instead gave birth three months prematurely. The couple separated in 2006 and divorced in 2009 after she discovered Tarpley was having an affair, an event that inspired her sitcom Sherri.

Shepherd got engaged on December 26, 2010, to TV writer Lamar Sally, whom she had been seeing for over a year. They were wed on August 13, 2011, at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. Shepherd's eight bridesmaids included The View co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck, comedian Niecy Nash, Community's Yvette Nicole Brown, and comedian, actress Kym Whitley. Shepherd's son Jeffrey walked her down the aisle.

A devout Christian, she has stated about the role God has played in her life and career: "If I didn't have God, I would have been dead." She has mentioned on The View that she is opposed to same-sex marriage as her faith prohibits such unions.

Shepherd has admitted to having "many abortions".

She suffers from type 2 diabetes after having had pre-diabetes for years.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	King of the Open Mics	Marci
2003	Pauly Shore Is Dead	Herself
2004	Cellular	Jaded Cashier
2005	Beauty Shop	Ida
2005	Guess Who	Sydney
2007	Who's Your Caddy	Lady G
2007	Transformers	Big Rhonda	(IMAX re-release version only)
2008	Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa	Florrie	Animated; voice
2009	Madea Goes to Jail	Herself
2009	Precious	Cornrows	Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cast Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble Nominated - Critics' Choice Award for Best Acting Ensemble Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated - Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble
2011	Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son	Beverly Townsend
2012	One for the Money	Lula
2012	Abducted: The Carlina White Story	Joy White
2012	Think Like a Man	Vicki
2014	Finally Famous

Television

Year	Title	Role	Episodes	Notes
1995	Cleghorne!	Victoria	6 episodes
1997	Claude's Crib	Lorene	1 episode
1997	Living Single	Comedienne	1 episode
1997, 1999-2000	Suddenly Susan	Roni, Miranda Charles	23 episodes
1998	Friends	Rhonda, The Tour Guide	1 episode
1998-1999	Holding the Baby	Miss Boggs	8 episodes
1998-2003	Everybody Loves Raymond	Officer Judy Roseman	9 episodes
1999-2001	The Jamie Foxx Show	Sheila Yarborough	10 episodes
2000	The Trouble with Normal	Nina	1 episode
2001	Emeril	Melva LeBlanc	11 episodes
2001	Rendez View	Herself	1 episode
2002	Holla	Herself	1 episode
2002	Men, Women & Dogs	Dr. Michaels	1 episode
2002	My Adventures in Television	Joanna Walker	8 episodes
2002-2004	Pyramid	Herself	3 episodes
2002-2006	Less than Perfect	Ramona Platt	79 episodes	Nominated - BET Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
2003	Joan of Arcadia	MVA Clerk Good	1 episode
2003-2004	Hollywood Squares	Herself	30 episodes
2003-2005	Jimmy Kimmel Live!	Herself	3 episodes
2004	50 Most Outrageous Moments on TV	Herself	1 episode
2004	My Coolest Years	Herself	unknown episodes
2004	E! 101 Most Awesome Moments in Entertainment	Herself	1 episode
2004	The Sharon Osbourne Show	Herself	1 episode
2004	The Wayne Brady Show	Herself	1 episode
2004-2006	Brandy & Mr. Whiskers	Cheryl/Meryl (voice)	17 episodes
2004-2006	The Ellen DeGeneres Show	Herself	9 episodes
2004-2005, 2007	Kim Possible	M.C Honey (voice)	3 episodes
2005	Big Time	Herself	1 episode
2006	Capitol Law	Glynda Johnson	TV pilot
2006	The Megan Mullally Show	Herself	1 episode
2007-present	The View	Herself	600 episodes	Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host (Nominated in 2011, 2010, 2009 & 2008, winning in 2009) NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Talk Series (Nominated in 2009, 2010, 2011, winning in 2009 & 2011)
2007	The Wedding Bells	Debbie Quill	4 episodes
2007	Wheel of Fortune	Herself	1 episode
2007-2008, 2012, 2013	The Tonight Show with Jay Leno	Herself	9 episodes
2007-2010	Entertainment Tonight	Herself	25 episodes
2007, 2009-2013	30 Rock	Angie Jordan	11 episodes
2007, 2009	The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson	Herself	3 episodes
2008	Entourage	Herself	1 episode
2008-2013	Rachael Ray	Herself	8 episode
2009	Larry King Live	Herself	2 episodes
2009	Sherri	Sherri Robinson	13 episodes	Gracie Allen Award for Outstanding Female Lead in a Comedy Series Nominated - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
2009	The Bonnie Hunt Show	Herself	2 episodes
2009, 2011	The Joy Behar Show	Herself	2 episodes
2009	The Mo'Nique Show	Herself	1 episode
2009	WWE Raw	Herself	1 episode
2009	WWE Smackdown	Herself	1 episode
2009, 2011	Who Wants to Be a Millionaire	Herself	Hosted 5 episodes
2010	The Electric Company	Herself	1 episode
2010	82nd Academy Awards	Herself	Red Carpet co-host
2010	The Emeril Lagasse Show	Herself	1 episode
2010	Nickelodeon MegaMusic Fest	Herself	1 episode
2010-present	Newlywed Game	Herself	Host, 195 episodes
2010, 2011	The Nate Berkus Show	Herself	1 episode
2010	Celebrity Holiday Homes	Herself	1 episode
2010	Sesame Street	Herself	1 episode
2010	WWE Tribute to the Troops	Herself	1 episode
2011	Hot in Cleveland	Judge Lesser	2 episodes
2011	The Oprah Winfrey Show	Herself	1 episodes
2011	GMA Dove Award	Herself	Host
2011	Season 25: Oprah Behind The Scenes	Herself
2011	38th Daytime Emmy Awards	Herself	Presenter
2011	Neicy Nash Wedding Bash	Herself
2011	The Early Show	Herself	1 episode
2011	VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul	Herself	Presenter
2011	Wedding Fabulous: Sherri Shepherd Gets Married	Herself
2011	Top 10 Wedding of 2011	Herself
2012	The Daily Show	Herself	1 episode
2012, 2013	Wendy Williams Show	Herself	3 episode
2012	The Colbert Report	Herself	1 episode
2012	Dancing With The Stars	Herself	8 episodes	Contestant
2012	Jimmy Kimmel Live!	Herself	1 episode
2012, 2013	The Chew	Herself	1 episode
2013	Good Day L.A.	Herself	1 episode
2013	The Steve Harvey Show	Herself	1 episode
2013	The Dr. Oz Show	Herself	1 episode
2013	The Chew	Herself	1 episode
2013	Showbiz Tonight	Herself	1 episode
2013-present	How I Met Your Mother	Daphney	Season 9,

Broadway

Year	Title	Role
2010	Love, Loss and What I Wore	herself
2012	Newsies	herself

Awards and nominations

Daytime Emmy Award

• 2008 Nomination for Outstanding Talk Show Host(s) (The View)
• 2009 Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host(s) (The View)
• 2010 Nomination for Outstanding Talk Show Host(s) (The View)
• 2011 Nomination for Outstanding Talk Show Host(s) (The View)
• 2012 Nomination for Outstanding Talk Show Host(s) (The View)
• 2013 Nomination for Outstanding Talk Show Host(s) (The View)

Screen Actors Guild Awards

• 2010 Nomination for Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture Precious (Shared with rest of cast)

Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards

• 2009 Nomination for Best Ensemble, Precious (Shared with rest of cast)

Boston Society of Film Critics Awards

• 2009 Award for Best Ensemble Cast (Precious)

Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards

• 2010 Nomination for Best Acting Ensemble, Precious (Shared with rest of cast)

Black Reel Awards

• 2010 Nomination for Best Ensemble Cast, Precious (Shared with rest of cast)

BET Comedy Awards

• 2005 Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (Less than Perfect)

NAACP Image Awards

• 2009 Award for Outstanding Talk Series (The View)
• 2010 Nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series (Sherri)
• 2010 Nomination for Outstanding Talk Series (The View)
• 2011 Award for Outstanding Talk Series (The View)

Gracie Awards

• 2010 Award for Leading Actress in a Comedy Series (Sherri)

Braveheart Awards

• 2010 Powerful Women in Hollywood