Sheryl Lee Ralph wedding No. 2, 'Abbott' star renews vows in opulent ceremony
Sheryl Lee Ralph is reupping her wedding vows 20 years after tying the knot.
The "Abbott Elementary" star, known for playing the firm-but-loving kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard on the ABC sitcom, recently hosted her own a vow renewal ceremony to mark two decades of marriage with her husband, Pennsylvania state Senator Vincent Hughes.
The event, originally intended to be an intimate gathering, wound up welcoming some 250 guests at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where Ralph walked up the storied steps in a shawl with an 80-foot train, according to Vogue.
"How could I walk up all of those steps without leaving a trail of something for everybody to look at," Ralph, 68, told the outlet.
She climbed the steps – famous for their appearance in a workout montage from "Rocky" – and met Hughes halfway up, before ascending together to the top, where the ceremony kicked off.
Ralph, a Broadway icon whose second act with "Abbott" has made her an even bigger star, made headlines earlier this year when she revealed that she and Hughes don't live together. Her work in entertainment keeps her in Los Angeles, she said at the time, and his as a state legislator keeps him in Philadelphia – so they make it work long distance.
"I wasn't at a place where I was willing to give up my career, but I also didn't want to give up having a stable relationship with the kind of man that I knew would be there for me," the actress told Vogue.
The pair married in 2005. To mark their anniversary, Ralph wanted to lean into her stage roots.
"I come from the stage, and I love the drama of what you bring on the stage," she said of her fashion choices.
Ralph wore a custom gown and Dior pumps. The shawl, in place of a veil, was carried by 22 ballerinas from the city's Philadanco company.
A vow renewal represents a celebration not of new love, but of an old love evolved, Ralph told Vogue.
"In marriage, we have so many things that happen in life," she said. "People live. People die. Relationships change. You change. Your partner changes. Your family, your immediate family, your extended family – there are changes in life."
"Then there’s just the everyday of it. How are you able to get back up again and continue being together? I love that sentiment," she added, referencing the fighting spirit behind the movie that made Philly's signature steps famous.