Sheryl Patrice Underwood (born October 28, 1963) is an American comedian, actress, and television host. She first rose to prominence in the comedy world as the first female finalist in 1989's Miller Lite Comedy Search. Underwood was one of the hosts on the CBS Daytime talk show The Talk from September 2011 to December 2024, becoming the show's longest running co-host. She received a Daytime Emmy Award in 2017 and has been nominated seven times overall.
Early life Underwood was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and later moved to Atwater, California, where she attended high school.Sheryl Underwood by Diana Gibbs on Prezi Retrieved November 27, 2016. Her sister, Frankie, was diagnosed with polio. Sheryl is now Frankie's caregiver.
Professional career After graduating college, Underwood joined the United States Air Force, where she served two years in the reserves.Rodriquez Jr., Ismael. "Celebrating Iconic Black Veterans", VFW Magazine, Veterans of Foreign Wars, volume 108, number 5, February 2021, p. 20. She later gained public notice as the first female finalist in the Miller Lite Comedy Search in 1989. She won the BET "Funniest Female Comedian on Comic View" award in 1994 and the BET Comedy Awards' Platinum Mic Viewers Choice Award in 2005.
Following her stand up success, Underwood took a number of minor acting roles, including Bad Mouth Bessie in the 1998 film I Got the Hook Up and Catfish Rita in the 2005 film Beauty Shop.
Underwood was the host of BET's Comic View and executive producer and host of the limited run comedy/variety series Holla (September 2002 – January 2003).
Underwood was a contributor on the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show until June 2010 when she joined The Steve Harvey Morning Show as a contributor. She briefly hosted her own radio program, Sheryl Underwood and Company, for Radio One-owned Syndication One News/Talk and XM Satellite Radio's Channel 169 (The Power). On Tuesday nights, Underwood hosts The Sheryl Underwood Show on Jamie Foxx's Sirius Satellite Radio channel, The Foxxhole (Sirius 106)
In 2011, Underwood became a co-host of the CBS Daytime talk show The Talk in its second season, replacing Leah Remini. She remained on the show until it ended in December 2024.
Underwood signed a multi-year development deal with CBS Studios in 2022.
Personal life Underwood holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in liberal arts from the University of Illinois at Chicago and master's degrees in media management and mass communication from Governors State University. Underwood once served in the U.S. Armed Forces, and frequently makes jokes about "all the creative places you can get busy on a military base."
Underwood identifies as a lifelong Republican. However, she campaigned for Barack Obama's re-election in 2012 United States presidential election. Underwood also campaigned for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election "because we have to protect the legacy of President Obama. Low voter turnout benefits Donald Trump and the Republicans. He can't win."
Underwood is a lifetime member of Zeta Phi Beta sorority, first joining in 1990. She served as president of the organization's Omicron Rho Zeta chapter, as the National Chair of Honorary Members, National Executive Board Chair and International Grand Basileus.
In addition to Zeta Phi Beta, Underwood is also a member of the National Council of Negro Women and the NAACP. She also founded the African-American Female Comedian Association.
In the fall of 2011, Underwood revealed that after dating seven years, her husband—who might have suffered from clinical depression—died by suicide after they had been married three years.
Zeta Phi Beta presidency Underwood was elected as the 23rd International Grand Basileus (President) during Zeta Phi Beta's biennial business meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2008. Her election as Grand Basileus was disputed, but District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Gerald I. Fisher dismissed a lawsuit against the sorority and Underwood that asked the court to unseat her.
Filmography Year Work Role 1992 Def Comedy Jam Frequent Performer 1993 Soul Train Comedy Awards Presenter 1997 Make Me Laugh Herself1998 Bulworth Woman in Frankie's I Got the Hook-Up Bad Mouth Bessie 2000 Oh Drama! (TV series) Host 2001 Nikki (episode: "Working Girl") Janet 2002 Holla Host Executive Producer Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn Herself 2004 BET Comedy Awards 2005 Beauty Shop Catfish Rita The 2nd Annual BET Comedy Awards Herself Weekends at the D.L. Made You Look: Top 25 Moments of BET History Getting Played 2007 Baisden After Dark 2011 Comics Unleashed 2011–2024 The Talk Co-host 2012–13 The Young and the Restless Justice of the Peace2016 The Bold and the Beautiful (2016, 2018) Emmy Supergirl (episode: "Falling") Herself The Odd Couple Diane 2017–19 Funny You Should Ask Herself 2018 Jane the Virgin (episode: "Chapter Seventy-Four") Herself 2019 I Got the Hook Up 2 Bad Mouth Bessie 2026 The Roast of Kevin Hart Herself
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