Amber Patrice Riley (born February 15, 1986), sometimes known mononymously as RILEY, is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her portrayal of

Mercedes Jones Mercedes Jones is a fictional character from the Fox popular musical comedy-drama series ''Glee''. The character is portrayed by actress Amber Riley, and has appeared in ''Glee'' from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Mercedes w ...

on the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

comedy-drama series ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

'' (2009–2015). For her performance on the series, she and the rest of the cast won a

Screen Actors Guild Award Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1952 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

, and have been nominated for three

Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards is an annual awards show that airs on the Fox television network. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, film, sports, television, fashion, social media, and more, voted by viewers living in the United S ...

, three

NAACP Image Awards The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

, and a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

. In 2016, Riley originated the lead role of

Effie White ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others, ...

in the West End debut of ''

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others,Gro ...

''. She won the

Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awar ...

and

Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Musical Performance The Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Musical Performance is an annual award presented since 2013 by the Evening Standard in recognition of achievement in British theatre. Winners and nominees {, class="wikitable" style="width:98%;" ! st ...

in 2017 for her work. Riley won

season 17 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...

of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

'' in 2013. In 2017, Riley appeared as a judge on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

musical theatre talent show '' Let It Shine'' and formed a musical theatre

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

with

Beverley Knight Beverley Knight (born Beverley Anne Smith, 22 March 1973) is an English recording artist and musical theatre actress. She released her first album, ''The B-Funk'', in 1995. Heavily influenced by American soul music icons such as Sam Cooke and ...

and

Cassidy Janson Cassidy Janson (born 30 July 1980) is a British actress, known for her work in musical theatre. She won the 2020 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Performance in a Musical for ''& Juliet''. Stage career In 2005 Janson appeared in '' Tick, Ti ...

, known collectively as

Leading Ladies ''Leading Ladies'' is a comedy play by Ken Ludwig. It involves two Shakespearean actors who find themselves in the Amish country of York, Pennsylvania, mounting Shakespeare plays. The play, a co-production of the Alley Theatre (Houston) and The ...

and signed to

East West Records East West Records (stylized as east''west'') is a record label formed in 1955, distributed and owned by Warner Music Group, headquartered in London, England. History Upon its creation in 1955 by Atlantic Records, the label had one hit with th ...

Warner Warner can refer to: People * Warner (writer) * Warner (given name) * Warner (surname) Fictional characters * Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs'' * Aaron Warner, a character in ''Shatter Me s ...

. Her debut album, ''

Songs from the Stage ''Songs from the Stage'' is the debut album from British-American girl group Leading Ladies, featuring Amber Riley, Beverley Knight and Cassidy Janson. The album was released on 17 November 2017. It was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2018 ...

'', was released on November 17, 2017. In 2022, Riley won

season 8 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In tempera ...

of ''

The Masked Singer ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''.

Early life

Riley was born in

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, with a mother of the maiden name Hightower. She has two older sisters, Toiya and Ashley.. Riley auditioned for ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' when she was 17 years old, during the show's second season, but was turned down by the producers. She graduated from

La Mirada High School La Mirada High School is a public high school in La Mirada, California. It is a member school of the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District which was built in 1960 as one of three high schools in the district. After the Norwalk/La Mirada Schoo ...

La Mirada, California La Mirada (Spanish for "The Look") is a city in southeast Los Angeles County, California United States, and is one of the Gateway Cities. The population was 48,527 at the 2010 census, up from 46,783 at the 2000 census. The La Mirada Theatre for ...

in 2004.

Career

2009–2019: Breakthrough with ''Glee'' and other appearances

In 2008, Riley was cast in the role of

on the comedy-drama television series ''

'', and appeared as a main cast member for all but one of the six seasons—she received guest star credit during season 5. Riley performed numerous solos throughout the series' run, including "

Respect Respect, also called esteem, is a positive feeling or action shown towards someone or something considered important or held in high esteem or regard. It conveys a sense of admiration for good or valuable qualities. It is also the process of ...

", "

Bust Your Windows "Bust Your Windows" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Jazmine Sullivan from her debut album ''Fearless''. The song was available as a digital download on Amazon in the U.S. on September 16, 2008. The song was then later released as a ...

", " Hate on Me", "

And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (also known in short as just "And I Am Telling You") is a torch song from the Broadway musical ''Dreamgirls'', with lyrics by Tom Eyen and music by Henry Krieger. In the context of the musical, "And I Am Tell ...

", "

Beautiful Beautiful, an adjective used to describe things as possessing beauty, may refer to: Film and theater * ''Beautiful'' (2000 film), an American film directed by Sally Field * ''Beautiful'' (2008 film), a South Korean film directed by Juhn Jai-h ...

", " Bridge over Troubled Water", " I Look to You", "

Ain't No Way "Ain't No Way" is a song written by singer-songwriter Carolyn Franklin and sung by her elder sister Aretha Franklin as the B-side to her 1968 hit, "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone". This song should not be confused with a different song ...

", "

Try a Little Tenderness "Try a Little Tenderness" is a song written by Jimmy Campbell, Reg Connelly, and Harry M. Woods. Original version It was first recorded on December 8, 1932, by the Ray Noble Orchestra, with vocals by Val Rosing. Another version, also recorded ...

", "

Spotlight Spotlight or spot light may refer to: Lighting * Spot lights, automotive auxiliary lamps * Spotlight (theatre lighting) * Spotlight, a searchlight * Stage lighting instrument, stage lighting instruments, of several types Art, entertainment, an ...

", " All I Want for Christmas Is You" and, three days after Whitney Houston's death, performed a tribute version of "

I Will Always Love You "I Will Always Love You" is a song written and originally recorded in 1973 by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. Written as a farewell to her business partner and mentor Porter Wagoner, expressing Parton's decision to pursue a solo career, ...

". She also played Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the episode "

The Rocky Horror Glee Show "The Rocky Glee Horror Show" is the fifth episode of the second season of the American television series ''Glee'', and the twenty-seventh episode overall. It was written by series creator Ryan Murphy, from a story by Murphy and Tim Wollaston, d ...

", singing the lead on the song "

Sweet Transvestite "Sweet Transvestite" is a song from the 1973 British musical stage production ''The Rocky Horror Show'' and its 1975 film counterpart ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show''. The song is performed by the character, Dr Frank N. Furter, originally played ...

" to generally positive reviews from critics. For her role as Mercedes Jones, Riley won a

and received nominations for three

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

s and three

. Riley appeared at the

2010 MTV Video Music Awards The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 12, 2010 at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. Chelsea Handler hosted the event, the first woman in sixteen years – since the 1994 MTV ...

and later sang the national anthem at the

2012 Democratic National Convention The 2012 Democratic National Convention was a gathering, held from September 3–6, 2012, at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina, in which delegates of the Democratic Party nominated President Barack Obama and Vice Presid ...

. She also co-wrote a track titled "Leave a Light On" for British group

The Saturdays The Saturdays were a British-Irish girl group based in London, England. The group formed during the summer of 2007 and have been on hiatus since 2014. The lineup consists of Frankie Bridge, Una Healy, Rochelle Humes, Mollie King, and Vanessa Wh ...

, which is featured on their album '' Living for the Weekend''. In January 2014, Riley and her sister Ashley launched a plus size online clothing boutique, Rileyland Fashions. She also models the garments. Riley's debut single, "Colorblind", premiered live on April 3, 2014, on ''

The Queen Latifah Show ''The Queen Latifah Show'' was the title of two American television talk shows hosted by Queen Latifah. The original ''The Queen Latifah Show'' ran from September 13, 1999, to August 31, 2001. The revamped ''The Queen Latifah Show'' debuted Septem ...

''. The song was written by

Emeli Sandé Adele Emily Sandé, ( ; born 10 March 1987), known professionally as Emeli Sandé, is a Scottish singer and songwriter. Born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, and raised in Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, by an English mother and a Zambian fathe ...

Claude Kelly Claude Kelly (born December 27, 1980)Shirley Halperin and Bob Love"THR Names Music's 35 Top Hitmakers,"''The Hollywood Reporter'', February 6, 2013. is an American singer, songwriter and music producer. He is a four-time Grammy Award nominee, a ...

and

Steve Mac Steve McCutcheon (born 15 January 1972), known professionally as Steve Mac, is a British record producer, songwriter and musician. A multi-award-winning producer, he is one of the most prolific songwriters and record producers in modern British ...

, and was released as a digital download on April 8, 2014. It was expected to be the lead single off her debut album. The song was also performed by Riley on ''Glee''. In 2015, it was reported that Riley would star in a Christmas television film, her first movie role, and her first acting role, since ''Glee''. In December 2015, she portrayed Addaperle, the Good Witch of the North, in NBC's live performance of ''

The Wiz ''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown (writer), William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's childr ...

''. In February 2016, it was announced that Riley would portray the lead role of Effie White in ''

'', at the

Savoy Theatre The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy Pala ...

in London's West End, beginning performances in November 2016. Riley recorded a number of tracks for

Todrick Hall Todrick Hall (born April 4, 1985) is an American singer, choreographer, and YouTuber. He gained national attention on the ninth season of the televised singing competition ''American Idol''. Following this, he amassed a huge following on YouTu ...

's visual album ''

Straight Outta Oz ''Straight Outta Oz'' is the second solo studio album and original musical, written and produced by American singer-songwriter and YouTube celebrity Todrick Hall with music produced by Jeeve Ducornet and wiidope, released on 23 June 2016. Featured ...

''. Also in 2016 she performed the national anthem at the second game of the

2016 NHL Stadium Series The 2016 NHL Stadium Series (branded as the 2016 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series for sponsorship reasons) was a series of two List of outdoor ice hockey games, outdoor regular season National Hockey League (NHL) games played during the 2015–16 N ...

featuring the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

and

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

Coors Field Coors Field is a baseball stadium in downtown Denver, Colorado. It is the home field of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies. Opened in 1995, the park is located in Denver's Lower Downtown neighborhood, two blocks from Union Station. The sta ...

. In 2017, Riley teamed up with British singers

and

to form a musical theatre

, known collectively as the Leading Ladies. Their debut album, ''Songs from the Stage'', was released on November 17, 2017 and features covers songs from ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

'', ''

'' and ''

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

'' among others. In 2019, she took on the role of Audrey II, the carnivorous singing plant, in '' Little Shop of Horrors'' at

Pasadena Playhouse The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California, United States. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engage ...

''Dancing with the Stars''

In 2013, Riley won the seventeenth season of

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's dancing competition ''

''. She was partnered with the show's one and only six-time champion,

Derek Hough Derek Bruce Hough (; born May 17, 1985) is an American professional Latin and ballroom dancer, choreographer, actor and singer. From 2007 to 2016, Hough was a professional dancer on the ABC dance competition series ''Dancing with the Stars'', wi ...

. Riley and Hough tied the record for highest first-week score of 27, received 5 perfect scores of 30, and only received a score lower than 8 one time. Riley is the first African-American woman to win ''Dancing With the Stars''. ;Performances

2020: ''RILEY''

On February 28, 2020, Riley confirmed she finished recording songs for her debut extended play. Following her ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, Los ...

'' performance on August 28 it was announced her EP would be released on October 2. She later confirmed she would be performing under the name "Riley" (stylized in

all caps In typography, all caps (short for "all capitals") refers to text or a font in which all letters are capital letters, for example: "THIS TEXT IS IN ALL CAPS". All caps may be used for emphasis (for a word or phrase). They are commonly seen in ...

as "RILEY") and released the single "A Moment" on September 4. "BGE" (

initialism An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

for ''big girl energy'') was released as the second single from the EP on September 18, alongside its music video. The EP was released on October 2, 2020, featuring a total of six tracks. On October 8, 2020 she released a music video for the track "Creepin'".

2022: ''The Masked Singer''

In 2022, Riley competed in season eight of ''

'' as "

Harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

". She won the season. ;Performances

Filmography

Stage

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

Guest appearances

Soundtrack appearances

* '' Glee: The Music, Volume 1'' (2009) * '' Glee: The Music, Volume 2'' (2009) * '' Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna'' (2010) * '' Glee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers'' (2010) * '' Glee: The Music, Journey to Regionals'' (2010) * ''Glee: The Music, The Complete Season One'' (2010) * ''Glee: The Music, Best of Season One'' (2010) * '' Glee: The Music, The Rocky Horror Glee Show'' (2010) * '' Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album''(2010) * '' Glee: The Music, Volume 4'' (2010) * ''Glee: The Music, Love Songs'' (2010) * '' Glee: The Music, Volume 5'' (2011) * '' Glee: The Music, Volume 6'' (2011) * '' Glee: The 3D Concert Movie (Motion Picture Soundtrack)'' (2011) * ''Glee: The Music, Dance Party'' (2011) * '' Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Volume 2'' (2011) * '' Glee: The Music, Volume 7'' (2011) * '' Glee: The Music, The Graduation Album'' (2012) * ''Glee: The Music, The Complete Season Two'' (2012) * ''Glee: The Music, The Complete Season Three'' (2012) * '' Glee: The Music Presents Glease'' (2012) * '' Glee: The Quarterback'' (2013) * ''Glee: The Music, The Complete Season Four'' (2014) * ''Glee: The Music - Celebrating 100 Episodes'' (2014) * ''Glee: The Music, Bash'' (2014) * ''Glee: The Music, Tested'' (2014) * ''Glee: The Music, Opening Night'' (2014) * ''Glee: The Music, The Back Up Plan'' (2014) * ''Glee: The Music, Old Dog, New Tricks'' (2014) * ''Glee: The Music, The Untitled Rachel Barry Project'' (2014) * ''Glee: The Music, Homecoming'' (2015) * ''Glee: The Music, What the World Needs Now is Love'' (2015) * ''Glee: The Music, Transitioning'' (2015) * ''Glee: The Music, A Wedding'' (2015) * ''Glee: The Music, 2009'' (2015) * ''Glee: The Music, Dreams Come True'' (2015) * ''

The Wiz Live! ''The Wiz Live!'' is an American television special that aired live on NBC on December 3, 2015. Produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, it is a performance of a new adaptation of the 1975 Broadway musical ''The Wiz'', a soul/ R&B reinterpretation o ...

'' (2015) * '' Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (Season 1, Vol. 2)'' (2016) * '' Dreamgirls (Original London Cast Recording)'' (2017) * ''

The Little Mermaid Live! ''The Wonderful World of Disney Presents The Little Mermaid Live!'', or simply ''The Little Mermaid Live!'' is a musical television special created for ABC, based on the 1989 film ''The Little Mermaid''. It is produced by Done and Dusted and dir ...

'' (2019)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Amber 1986 births 21st-century American singers 21st-century American actresses Activists from Los Angeles Actresses from Los Angeles African-American actresses African-American women singers American Idol participants American sopranos American stage actresses American television actresses Dancing with the Stars (American TV series) winners Living people Schoolboy Records artists Singers from Los Angeles Laurence Olivier Award winners 21st-century American women singers Leading Ladies (group) members