Sharon Leal

Sharon Ann Leal (born October 17, 1972, in Tucson, Arizona) is an American actress and singer of Filipino and African-American descent. A military brat, she moved with her family to the Philippines until age six before settling in Fresno, California, where she attended Roosevelt High School of the Arts. She won a vocal scholarship at the 1993 Santa Cruz Jazz Festival, which led her to study with Seth Riggs (Michael Jackson's voice coach). She made her television debut on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light (1996–1999) as Dahlia Crede, and later joined the Broadway company of Rent, going on to play Mimi in the first national tour. Her breakthrough television role was Marilyn Sudor on Fox's Boston Public (2000–2004, 81 episodes). In film, she is best known for playing Michelle Morris in Dreamgirls (2006, alongside Beyoncé, Jennifer Hudson, and Jamie Foxx), as well as This Christmas (2007), Why Did I Get Married? (2007), Soul Men (2008), and Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010). On television she has also starred in Hellcats (2010, as Vanessa Lodge), Supergirl (2016–2021, as M'gann M'orzz/Miss Martian), Instinct (2018, as Jasmine Gooden), The Good Doctor (2018–2019), Recovery Road (2016), and Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin (2022, as Sidney Haworthe). She was married to filmmaker Bev Land from 2001 to 2007 and has a son, Kai.

Sharon Leal ist eine US-amerikanische Schauspielerin. Sie wuchs in der zentralkalifornischen Stadt Fresno auf. Sie begann schon früh mit dem Singen und entdeckte ihre Leidenschaft für die Schauspielerei während ihrer Zeit an der Roosevelt High School For The Performing Arts. Ihre Karriere begann in regionalen Theaterproduktionen von Musicals wie Ain't Misbehavin, Into the Woods und Little Shop of Horrors. Nach ihrem Umzug nach New York hatte Leal ihren Durchbruch dank einer Rolle in der Fernsehserie Springfield Story. Obwohl ihre TV-Karriere Gestalt annahm, blieb sie ihrer Liebe zum Theater treu und stand für Hauptrollen in den Musicals Miss Saigon und Rent auf den Bühnen am Broadway. Sharon Leal erlebte ihr Filmdebüt im 2006 produzierten US-Filmdrama von Bill Condon Dreamgirls. Sie spielte neben Beyoncé Knowles, Anika Noni Rose und Jennifer Hudson die Rolle der Michelle Morris, die für die verstoßene Effie Melody White in die Gruppe der Dreams einberufen wurde. Der Film handelt sich um eine Adaption des gleichnamigen 1981er Broadway-Musicals von Henry Krieger und Tom Eyen.