Sheryl Underwood (born (1963-10-28)October 28, 1963) is an American comedian, actress and television host. She first rose to prominence in the comedy world as the first female finalist in 1989's Miller Lite Comedy Search. She is well-known for hosting BET Comic View, and is currently one of the five hosts on the daytime chat show The Talk on CBS, a role she first stepped into in the autumn of 2011.

Biography

“

I would call myself a sexually progressive, God-fearing, black Republican.

”


— Sheryl Underwood,

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Arts from the University of Illinois at Chicago and Master's degrees in Media Management and Mass Communication from Governors State University. Underwood once served in the U.S. Armed Forces, and frequently makes jokes about "all the creative places you can get busy on a military base."

Underwood is a lifelong Republican. However she campaigned for Barack Obama's re-election in United States presidential election, 2012.

Underwood is a lifetime member of Zeta Phi Beta sorority, first joining in 1990. She served as president of the organization's Omicron Rho Zeta chapter, as the National Chair of Honorary Members, National Executive Board Chair and International Grand Basileus. She also chartered a graduate chapter of Zeta Phi Beta in Inglewood, California.

In addition to the Zeta Phi Beta sorority, Underwood is also a member of the National Council of Negro Women and the NAACP. She also founded the African-American Female Comedian Association.

In the fall of 2011, Underwood revealed that after dating seven years, her husband--who might have suffered from clinical depression--committed suicide after they had been married three years.

On The Talk, Underwood revealed that she was born with a twin that didn't survive. She went on to say that she had been lied to by her mother, who said that her father murdered her sister. Underwood admitted to carrying her sister's birth certificate around with her. She even stated that her mother stabbed her father, who survived, after Underwood had gotten close to her father, which her mother wanted to prevent after she lied to Underwood about her father being a murderer.


Zeta Phi Beta presidency
Underwood was elected as the 23rd International Grand Basileus (President) during Zeta Phi Beta's biennial business meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2008. Her election as Grand Basileus was disputed, but District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Gerald I. Fisher dismissed a lawsuit against the sorority and Underwood that asked the court to unseat her. Her election made her the first professional entertainer to hold the highest elected office of a National Pan-Hellenic Council organization.