W
hen longtime stand-
up comedian Sheryl
Underwood landed
her co-hosting
gig on the hit CBS
show The Talk in2011, it was an honest-to-goodness dream
come true. “I don’t think people really know
how happy I feel to be me, because I never
thought I was going to get this,” Sheryl, 55,
tells Closer. “I’m a Def Comedy Jam/BET
street comic, so for people to relate to me
and trust me.... I’m about to cry. I’m praying
that we can stay on for 20 years.” Sheryl still
wants to spread her wings, though, and has
guest-starred on everything from Jane the
Virgin to The Odd Couple. “I want to stop
[each day] at 12:15, go shoot my sitcom and
then, during hiatus, do some big-time action
film where Tom Cruise and I fall in love...
and then he and Keanu Reeves fight over
me. Sorry, is that too much?” she says with
a laugh. After overcoming several personal
tragedies, from an abusive childhood to her
husband’s 1990 suicide, she deserves all that
and more. We caught up with this funnylady
to talk T he Talk — and find out how she’s
made her dreams come true.
How would you describe this time
in your life?
I have so many great things going on in
my career, and I love that people can see
changes in me. Patti LaBelle — we’ve known
each other for years. She came on the show
and hugged me and said, “Girl, you look
good!” I thought it was really great.Have you had any starstruck moments
while co-hosting The Talk?
When Judith Light came on to promote
The Nellie Bly Story, I kind of lost it. [Laughs]
I asked the show to forgive me because I
watched her forever on One Life to Live. Keanu
Reeves is very charming and dashing. During
the break I asked him, “Where do you find the
humanity of your character, John Wick?” You
would’ve thought I asked him to tell me the
Declaration of Independence! He lit up and
started to break it all down.The Talk’s been through a lot of changes.
How do you feel about Carrie Ann Inaba
joining? And have you been in touch with
Julie Chen?
Julie’s really busy because she’s got Celebrit y
Big Brother, but we still see each other because
we’re on the lot together. She really was a great
mentor to me. I’ve learned things from her, like
how to read the teleprompter and being able to
focus on doing a two-minute segment. She’d set
me up with a joke and I’d hit it out of the park.
I hope people saw the love and connection we
had with each other. Now Carrie Ann is as
much of a jokester. And I love her — she’s going
to teach me how to walk in heels!Sheryl(with
f C I O E G c T s