Amber Riley is popularly known for her character as Mercedes Jones on the comedy series Glee. She is also an author and singer, who has many awards and nominations under her belt ands is loved by fans and critics alike, who appreciate her for her acting skills. Personal Life
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Amber Patrice Riley is an American actress born on 15th February 1989 to Elwin Riley and Tiny Hightower in Los Angeles, California. She is the youngest of her siblings, her elder sisters are Toyia and Ashley. She studied at La Mirada High School, La Mirada of California in the year 2004.
Amber has always been a cheerful person and likes to associate herself with similar people. She is against bullying; when in high school, she moved away from her then best friend, who often bullied fellow classmates. As a teenager, Riley auditioned for the second season of American Idol but was rejected by the producers of the show. She has performed in Los Angeles Opera.
Riley and her dance partner Derek Hough were the winners of the television dance show Dancing with the Stars in its seventeenth season. She is a big fan of Michael Jackson and Adele. Riley considers herself as slightly germ phobic. She aims at using her fame for the benefit of others and wants to be an inspiration for girls. She has fully embraced her body and its flaws and leads a healthy and happy life where there is no space for any negativity. Career
Amber Riley rose to fame in 2008 when she acted as Mercedes Jones one of the lead cast members on the FOX series Glee, which released in 2009.Her solo performances in the show include, I Look to You, Try a Little Tenderness, And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going and others. For this role, she has been a recipient of Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2010 and has three Teen Choice nominations, three Grammy nominations, and three NAACP Image nominations.
Riley wrote a few lines for the track Leave a Light On for The Saturdays, a British singing group. Her debut as a solo singer titled ‘Colourblind’ was first performed live on The Queen Latifah Show on 2014.She has starred in the television film My One Christmas Wish as Jackie Turner. The famous show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend had Riley on one of their episodes.
In 2016, Riley played the lead Effie White in Dreamgirls that was showcased in Savoy Theatre, West End, she went on to win the Laurence Oliver Award for Best Actress in a Musical (2017) for her phenomenal acting. She has recorded a few tracks for the album Straight Outta Oz. Amber appeared on Let It Shine a talent show on BBC One as a judge. Leading Ladies is her musical group with Beverley Knight and Cassidy Janson, their first album was Song from the Stage (2017). Riley along with Ashley, her elder sister has launched an online boutique store for plus-size clothing, in 2014.
Last Modified: Mar 7, 2020
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