Sharon Leal Biography
An actress with 50 credits to her name, however, Sharon Leal is probably still known best for her role as Dahlia Crede in the romantic drama series “Guiding Light”, starring Kim Zimmer, Maureen Garrett and Beth Chamberlin. From 1996 to 1999, Sharon appeared in 233 episodes of this long-running soap opera, centered on the middle-class family, the Bauers.
To the younger audience, Sharon is perhaps known best as Sidney Hayworhte in the series “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin”, which premiered in July 2022, while movie lovers will recognize Sharon for her roles in “Dreamgirls”, “Addicted”, “No Regrets” and “Paper Friends”, among many others.
Early life, parents, and education
Born Sharon Ann Leal under the zodiac sign of Libra on 20 October 1972, she’s aged 50 as of February 2023. Her birth town is Tucson, Arizona USA, however, she spent her early days in the Philippines. She holds American nationality, and her ethnicity is of mixed African-American and Filipino descent. Her mother Angelita is Filipina, and was in a relationship with an African-American, Jesse Leal, a former Master Sergeant in the US Air Force and worked as a police officer at Clark Air Base, a US/Philippine Air Force base. When Sharon was six years old, she moved with her parents to Fresno, California.
Angelita later married a man known as Elmer Manankil, and from this marriage, Sharon has a half-sister, Kristina. The family lived in Fresno, where Sharon attended Roosevelt High School of the Arts. She had an interest in performing from an early age, so she studied dance, voice and acting, and sang in a choir – her dream was Broadway. Upon matriculating in 1990, Sharon didn’t go to college but began performing in local theatre.
Subsequently, she moved to New York City to try her luck on the Broadway stage, and in 1996, she landed the lead role of Mimi in the play “Rent” by Jonathan Larson.
Roles in series
Sharon made her television debut as Dahlia Crede in “Guiding Light”, and concurrently she was seen as Marita Peters in 18 episodes of the series “Legacy” (1998-1999). She followed with her role as Marilyn Sudor in “Boston Public” from 2000 through 2004, making an appearance in 73 episodes of this comedy-drama that had 29 award nominations and 13 wins, including one Primetime Emmy.
In the following years, Sharon guest starred in “LAX” (2004), “Las Vegas” (2005), “CSI: Miami” (2007), and “Private Practice” in 2009. During 2010 and 2011, Sharon portrayed Vanessa Lodge in the comedy-drama “Hellcats”, also starring Ashley Tisdale, Aly Michalka, and Robbie James. The series followed the story of the competitive college cheerleading world.
Next, Sharon was seen in two episodes of the hit series “Suits” (2011 and 2014) before she was cast to play Zuri Ellis in “Grimm” in five episodes from 2014 through 2016, of this fantasy crime-drama about a detective who finds out that he comes from a family of hunters who fought with supernatural forces – it was twice nominated for the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA Saturn Award – Best Network Television Series.
Sharon Leal Instagram.#Supergirl #MgannMorzz #Martian pic.twitter.com/5BJGOOnSLQ
— Buddha aka Me 🌈🏳️⚧️♿ cis #TransIsBeautiful (@Buddha_aka_me) October 28, 2020
In 2016, Sharon was cast to play Charlotte Graham in “Recovery Road”, followed by her role as M’gann M’orzz in the series “Supergirl” (2016-2021), which followed the life and adventures of Superman’s cousin, starring Melissa Benoist, David Harewood and Chyler Leigh; the series had 52 award nominations and won 15.
Concurrently, Sharon was seen as Lieutenant Jasmine Gooden in the series “Instinct” (2018-2019), and guest-starred in four episodes of the popular series “The Good Doctor” (2018-2019), followed by her role as Michelle in “Council of Dads” in 2020.
As mentioned, most recently, Sharon was seen as Sidney in “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin”, a spin-off from the original series “Pretty Little Liars”, which aired for seven seasons from 2010 to 2017. HBO Max has confirmed that the sequel will be back for a second season, and although unconfirmed, Sharon is also expected to return.
Roles in movies
Sharon made her big-screen debut playing Tracie in the 2001 movie “Face the Music”, followed by her role as Nikki in the short movie “What Are the Odds” in 2004. Two years later, she was cast to play Michelle Morris in “Dreamgirls”, a musical drama starring Eddie Murphy, Beyoncé and Jamie Foxx. The movie followed the trio of African-American female soul singers in the early ‘60s, and had 92 award nominations and won 67, including two Oscars – Best Achievement in Sound Mixing, and Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Jennifer Hudson).
Sharon shares with the rest of the crew three award nominations – The Critics Choice Award for Best Acting Ensemble, the Gold Derby Award for Ensemble Cast, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
Her first lead role came in the 2007 comedy “Why Did I Get Married?” Sharon played Diane in this big-screen adaptation of Tyler Perry’s play of the same title, and was seen opposite Janet Jackson and Tyler, who also directed the film, which was nominated for the Image Award- Outstanding Motion Picture.
Later that year, Sharon was cast to play Kelli in the family comedy “This Christmas”, followed by her roles in “Linewatch” and “Soul Men” in 2008. Two years later, she reprised her role as Diane in “Why Did I Get Married Too?” which followed the story of four couples who struggled to save their marriages while battling with mental, emotional, physical and financial issues. However, although this sequel had five award nominations and won one, it was poorly rated by the audience (4.7/10).
Sharon followed with her role as Jennifer in the 2011 movie “Ghost of New Orleans”. Next, she was seen in “Woman Thou Art Loosed: On the 7th Day” (2012), “1982” (2013), “Freedom” and “Addicted” in 2014. In the following year, she portrayed Annie in the drama “White Water”, starring opposite Storm Reid and Larenz Tate in this story about a seven-year-old African-American boy in segregated Alabama, who was obsessed with taste the water from the fountain which was intended only for white people.
In 2016, Sharon was seen as Sofia in the comedy “No Regrets”, also starring Brian White and Monica Calhoun, followed by her role as Phoebe in the 2017 short movie “Shot”. She followed with her roles in the 2018 movies “Amateur” and “Bella’s Story”, before her role as London in the 2019 drama “Paper Friends”, which had no nominations, but the audience loved this story about five college friends who decide to meet after many years, and rated it 7.7/10.
Most recently, Sharon was seen in “Blindfire” (2020), followed by her roles in “A Holiday Chance” and “Traces” in 2021.
Husband and children
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Sharon and her now ex-husband, Bev Land, are both tight-lipped about how and when they met, but the two dated for several years before Sharon gave birth to their son, Kai Miles, on 13 September 2001, and the couple married In October of that year,. Despite appearing to be a happy couple, Sharon and Bev divorced in 2009.
Bev Land, whose real name is John Beverly Amos Land, is also an actor, and filmmaker. Since 2013 he’s been married to Dania Ramirez, with whom he has two children.
When it comes to Sharon’s succeeding love life, in 2010 she began dating Canadian director and award-winning choreographer Paul Becker. As of February 2023, the two are still in a relationship.
Net worth
Sharon has made a good living for herself as a result of her acting career, and according to sources, her net worth has been estimated at over $4 million, as of early 2023.
