April 02, 2025
CraSH/imageSPACE; Sipa USA
'Abbott Elementary' star Sheryl Lee Ralph got a deep dive into her family history on the latest episode of 'Finding Your Roots' on PBS.
Sheryl Lee Ralph got emotional while diving deeper into her family history and was shocked to discover a famous relative she never knew she had during the latest episode of "Finding Your Roots" on PBS.
On the series, hosted by historian Henry Louis Gates Jr., celebrities learn more about their ancestry after genealogists comb through centuries of paper trails and DNA experts perform genetic analysis. Thanks to a careful look at DNA, Ralph, who stars on the Philly-set sitcom "Abbott Elementary," found out she's related to actor Samuel L. Jackson, known for roles in “Pulp Fiction,” “Snakes on a Plane,” and the blockbuster Marvel and "Star Wars" franchises.
"Are you kidding me? And I like him so much," Ralph said with a laugh after Gates unveiled her famous distant cousin.
The connection was made after experts compared Ralph's DNA to other celebrities who've participated in the series. Jackson, who also starred in M. Night Shyamalan's "Unbreakable" and "Glass," was featured in a 2012 "Finding Your Roots" episode. Gates explained that Ralph, 68, and Jackson, 76, share a long stretch of DNA on their 16th chromosomes, meaning they have a common ancestor somewhere in their family.
Despite her initial surprise, Ralph went on to explain that Jackson has similarities to a close relative.
"And the thing is, Samuel L. reminds me of my brother Timothy," she said. "... It's in the DNA."
During the episode, Ralph, who was born in Connecticut and grew up in New York, reflected on her decades-long career in acting, which she found a passion for at Rutgers University despite her mother's wishes for her to become a doctor. She also heard many details and stories about her Jamaican ancestors for the first time, since Ralph said her mother rarely talked about them, and learned more about her North Carolina roots on her father's side, which included some enslaved people and others who were born free.
Oh what a joy it was @HenryLouisGates to find my roots with you!!! Thank you 🙏 https://t.co/vWsDCzSxDv
— sheryl lee ralph (@thesherylralph) April 2, 2025
Ralph was touched by the stories of resilience in her family, such as the successes of her paternal great-great grandfather George Thomas Ralph. He was born free in 1850, and as a young child, worked as an apprentice for a white farmer who did not pay him nor teach him how to read and write — skills that would have been required for him to be taught if he was white. Despite these setbacks, he went on to become a farmer, raise a family and get an education.
"I come from good people, and I come from people who never gave up and kept right on," Ralph said. "And they plant the seeds that are still growing now."
Monday's episode of "Finding Your Roots," which can be watched online, also looked into the background of historian Lonnie Bunch, who grew up in Belleville, New Jersey.
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