Amber Riley

Riley began her acting career in 2002 when she was cast in St. Sass, a television pilot created by Ryan Murphy that was not picked up. In 2008, she was cast as Mercedes Jones on the comedy-drama television series Glee, serving as a main cast member for five of the show's six seasons and receiving guest star credit during its fifth season. She performed numerous songs throughout the series, including "Respect," "Bust Your Windows," "Hate on Me," "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," "Beautiful," "Bridge over Troubled Water," "I Look to You," "Ain't No Way," "Try a Little Tenderness," "Spotlight" and "All I Want for Christmas Is You." She also portrayed Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the episode "The Rocky Horror Glee Show," performing "Sweet Transvestite." For her work on Glee, Riley won a Screen Actors Guild Award and received nominations for a Grammy Award, three NAACP Image Awards and three Teen Choice Awards.

In 2013, Riley won the 17th season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars, where she was partnered with Derek Hough. She performed throughout the season and became the first and only African-American woman to win the competition.

In 2014, Riley's debut single, "Colorblind," premiered on The Queen Latifah Show. The song was also performed by Riley during the fifth season of Glee and was released on the EP accompanying the episode "Bash." In 2015, she portrayed Addaperle, the Good Witch of the North, in NBC's live television production The Wiz Live!. In 2016, she recorded two tracks for Todrick Hall's visual album Straight Outta Oz. She also performed the national anthem at the second game of the 2016 NHL Stadium Series. Riley sang the opening theme song for the animated children's series Doc McStuffins for its fourth and fifth seasons.

In 2016, Riley began performances as Effie White in the West End production of Dreamgirls at the Savoy Theatre. The production marked the West End's first staging of the musical and ran through October 2017. Riley received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical, the Evening Standard Theatre Award and a WhatsOnStage Award for her performance. A live cast recording of the production was released in 2017.

In 2017, Riley formed the musical theatre group Leading Ladies with Beverley Knight and Cassidy Janson. Their debut album, Songs from the Stage, was released that year and featured cover songs from Cats, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Rent and other stage productions. The album reached the top 20 of the UK Albums Chart. Also in 2017, Riley served as a judge during the auditions stage of the BBC One reality music competition Let It Shine.

In 2019, Riley portrayed Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors at Pasadena Playhouse. She also began recording her debut solo EP under the name RILEY. In 2020, she released the singles "A Moment" and "BGE," followed by the self-titled EP RILEY on Oct. 2. She subsequently released a music video for "Creepin'" that year.

In 2021, Riley starred in the BET+ film Christmas Déjà Vu. She also starred as Simone Hicks in the Lifetime thriller Single Black Female, with the film series continuing with sequels released in 2024 and 2025. Riley served as an executive producer on the two sequels.

In 2022, Riley competed as Harp on the eighth season of The Masked Singer and won the season. In 2023, she competed as Jellyfish on the fourth season of The Masked Singer UK, finishing in fourth place. Also in 2023, she served as a judge on the British reality talent competition Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream.

Since 2024, Riley has voiced Ursula in the Disney Jr. animated series Ariel. Her work on the series earned her a nomination for a Children's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice Performer in a Preschool Program. In 2025, she starred as the title character in the CW film Savvy Sheldon Feels Good As Hell, which premiered on Nov. 30, 2025.

Riley's additional recording credits include co-writing the song "Leave a Light On" for The Saturdays' 2013 album Living for the Weekend. She has also performed the national anthem at the White House in 2010 and at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, as well as at the 2016 NHL Stadium Series.