Yahoo Lifestyle Watch Sheryl Lee Ralph in shock after discovering her ancestor was a free Black man: 'What?' (exclusive)
The "Abbott Elementary" star was stunned when "Finding Your Roots" host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. delivered the news.
PBS
Sheryl Lee Ralph on 'Finding Your Roots'Sheryl Lee Ralph is the latest star to have her world rocked by a startling Finding Your Roots discovery.
On the upcoming April 1 episode of the PBS genealogy series, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the long-lost roots of the Abbott Elementary star — and stuns her with the revelation that one of her African American ancestors was a free Black man in the Antebellum era. In an exclusive glimpse at the episode, Ralph absorbs the news.
"We found him in the 1860 census for North Carolina, listed by name. Which can only mean one thing," Gates began. "He was free. He wasn't a slave."
Ralph, who appeared taken aback, replied, "...What?" Watch the exclusive clip below.
"You descend from a free person of color," Gates reiterated.
Again, Ralph was stunned by his words. "Oh my god," she said softly.
When Gates questioned how the news made her feel, the Emmy-winner didn't miss a beat.
"Very good. And it doesn't surprise me," she said with pride. "You know, when I look at my family, far back as I can look, I always see them owning something. I always see them striving towards something, I always see them working."
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She added, "And [people] would say things like, 'Hm. That Ralph family.' And we've been carrying it with us all these years." Watch the exclusive video below.
PBS
Sheryl Lee Ralph and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. on 'Finding Your Roots'Previous episodes of the show have turned up similarly dramatic and emotional reveals for other celebrities looking into their family trees. Earlier this year, Amanda Seyfried was moved by the discovery that her third great-grandfather was gruesomely murdered.
Finding Your Roots has also uncovered that Shonda Rhimes, Joe Manganiello, and Maya Rudolph are descended from people who were enslaved prior to the American Civil War. Elsewhere, Brendan Fraser learned that his great, great grandfather shot a rival who replaced him while on strike at a coal mine and Michael Douglas found out he has a distant familial connection to Scarlett Johansson.
Related: The View star Sunny Hostin 'in shock' as Finding Your Roots reveals family owned slaves
Season 11 of the show has already featured Kristen Bell, Dax Shepard, Chrissy Teigen, Joy Behar, Sharon Stone, Melanie Lynskey, Michael Imperioli, and more, with Laurence Fishburne set to appear in a future episode.
To see the full story of Ralph's journey, tune in to the "Moving On Up" episode of Finding Your Roots, airing April 1 at 8 p.m. ET on PBS.
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