Sherly Lee Ralph has a lesson or two on acing red carpet fashion. Speaking with E! at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards, the Abbott Elementary star, 69, revealed the two hacks she relies on to make her uncomfortable footwear bearable.
“When you’re coming down these red carpets it’s not time for hiccups,” she explained. “I live by Lidocaine if the shoe even has the possibility of being uncomfortable and then I spray the shoe with spray adhesive, get my foot in and there is no flip-floppage.”
Ralph’s arrival at the star-studded awards show, where *Abbott Elementary* is up for Best Comedy Series, was certainly anything but a flop. She made an entrance in a plum Tony Ward Couture gown styled by her daughter, Ivy “Coco” Maurice. The design featured beading on the halter neckline and textured embellishments on the flared pocketed skirt, which actually covered her shoe of choice for the night.
Her hair was styled in a long ponytail, showcasing her statement earrings.
In a 2023 interview with PEOPLE, the *Dreamgirls* star opened up about the ways Coco “totally elevated” her style. She explained that her youngest daughter has “given me a look that other women look at and say, ‘Oh my God, I need to try that,’ or, ‘Why didn’t I try being more colorful?’ or, ‘I can add just a little bit of sparkle.’ And I’m like, ‘My God, this is my child,’” she said, adding, “I did not waste one dollar on her education. Not one dollar was wasted.”
Along with Coco, Ralph also shares son Etienne with her ex-husband, Eric Maurice, whom she divorced in 2001.
And while her children may have a connection to Hollywood through her legacy, Ralph told PEOPLE, “They’re not looking at me to help them do this or that. They’re not using nepotism. They’re not coming to me saying, ‘Can you call this? Can you do that?’ They’re doing it themselves, and I just respect them so much for that.
“Sometimes I say, ‘Well, can I help?’ They’re like, ‘No, mom, we got this. We got this.’ And I’m like, ‘Wow, you really do got this,’” she said.
https://people.com/critics-choice-awards-2026-sheryl-lee-ralph-jokes-that-gluing-her-shoes-helps-her-survive-red-carpets-11878880
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