Quinta Brunson and Sheryl Lee Ralph stun in floor-sweeping gowns

Abbott Elementary stars Quinta Brunson and Sheryl Lee Ralph looked stunning as they made their appearance on the red carpet of the annual  before winning the Outstanding Comedy Series honor.

The 33-year-old actress was eye-catching in a strapless floor-sweeping gown adorned with reflective circle panels while the 66-year-old Tony winner wore an orange, mermaid fishtail style dress.

Brunson was nominated in four separate categories and won two awards – Outstanding Actress in the comedy series category and Breakthrough Creative in the TV category.

While posing on the red carpet, she wore a strapless, fitted dress with an elegant draped train and a sexy thigh-high slit.

Ralph – who was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in the comedy series category but lost to her costar Janelle James – donned a tight-fitting dress with a sweetheart neckline and an ikat-print design.

Brunson – who was also nominated for Entertainer of the Year and Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series for her work in Development Day – wore silver stiletto heels to match the mirrored dress with various reflective sequins of different sizes.

For jewelry, she accessorized with a pair of dangling statement earrings and wore several sparkling rings.

She styled her hair with a chic middle part and opted for a makeup look featuring silver eyeshadow and rosy cheeks.

Her costar in the hit ABC comedy series wore a light orange dress with a brown flared base.

She styled her hair in a sleek but voluminous bun to show off a pair of organically-shaped, gold hoop earrings.  

The debut season of mockumentary sitcom Abbott Elementary premiered in December 2021 and has received multiple accolades recognizing the success of the series.

While accepting the award for Outstanding Comedy Series, Brunson was joined by the rest of her castmates and gave a speech thanking the recognition for their ‘brand new show’ and praising Black-ish.

‘I just want to say thank you so much,’ she said.’We are a brand new show. Watching all the other shows up there that paved the way for us – shows that have helped push us through the door at ABC like Black-ish.

‘Congratulations on a fantastic last season of Black-ish,’ she continued.’We are so grateful. We were blessed to have wonderful experiences this awards season, but there’s nothing like winning an NAACP award.’ 

She added: ‘We’re happy that we get to make this show that is accessible to everyone but for and by us.’

The 54th NAACP Image Awards were hosted in Downtown Los Angeles at L.A.Live Event Deck by Queen Latifah on Saturday. 

The event honors outstanding representations and achievements of people of color in motion pictures, television, music, and literature in the year 2022. 

The nominations were announced on Thursday, January 12, 2023, and the ceremony will air on Saturday, February 25 at 8 p.m.ET on BET.  

Beyoncé and Rihanna were among the winners included in night one of the weeklong non-televised categories getting awarded ahead of Saturday’s main ceremony.

Beyoncé won for the Outstanding Female Artist, Outstanding Soul/R&B Song for Cuff It and Outstanding Album for Renaissance.While Rihanna won for Outstanding Video/Visual Album for Lift Me Up, with her film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever taking the trophy for the Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album category.

Reginald Hudlin, Giancarlo Esposito, Brittani Nichols and Marissa Jo Cerar were some of the winners revealed on Thursday, during the fourth night.

Hudlin received the Outstanding Directing in a Documentary prize for his Sidney Poitier documentary Sidney. 

Esposito received a nod for directing a drama series for a Season 6 episode of Better Call Saul, and Angela Barnes won for directing a comedy for Atlanta. The night prior Quinta, Keke Palmer, and Nia Long, were among those who received nods.

Brunson won for Outstanding Breakthrough Creative (Television) for her ABC show Abbott Elementary.Palmer won Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance – Motion Picture for her work on Lightyear. Long won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special for The Best Man: The Final Chapters. 

Serena Williams will be honored with the Jackie Robinson Sports Award and Gabrielle Union-Wade and Dwyane Wade will be recognized with the President’s Award.

Presenters include Zendaya, Taye Diggs, Issa Rae, Cliff ‘Method Man’ Smith, Jonathan Majors, Janelle Monáe, Tracee Ellis Ross, Kerry Washington, and Sheryl Lee Ralph.

Host Queen Latifah said in a statement, naga902 ‘It’s an honor to host the 54th NAACP Image Awards, especially in the year we are celebrating 50 years of Hip Hop.

‘This is a night to celebrate Black excellence and Black contribution to our industry and beyond.Celebrating one another, lifting each other up and you know we’ll have fun doing it!’

Kyle Bowser, who’s the senior vice president of the NAACP’s Hollywood Bureau told