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 on the Fox comedy-drama series '' Glee'' (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 ...

, three NAACP Image Awards, 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 pr ...

. In 2016, Riley originated the lead role of Effie White in the West End debut of '' Dreamgirls''. 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 Awa ...

and Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Musical Performance in 2017 for her work. Riley won season 17 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 form ...

'' 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, ...

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

/ Warner. Her debut album, '' Songs from the Stage'', was released on November 17, 2017. In 2022, Riley won season 8 of '' The Masked Singer''.

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 List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, 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 ...

'' 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 in La Mirada, California in 2004.

Career

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

In 2008, Riley was cast in the role of Mercedes Jones on the comedy-drama television series '' Glee'', 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", "

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 ...

", " 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", " 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", 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 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 Presi ...

. 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 Vaness ...

, 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 song was written by Emeli Sandé, Claude Kelly and Steve Mac, 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''. In February 2016, it was announced that Riley would portray the lead role of Effie White in '' Dreamgirls'', at the Savoy Theatre in London's West End, beginning performances in November 2016. Riley recorded a number of tracks for Todrick Hall'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 outdoor regular season National Hockey League (NHL) games played during the 2015–16 NHL season. The 2016 Stadium Seri ...

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 in the Eastern Conference, and are ...

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 (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (N ...

at Coors Field. In 2017, Riley teamed up with British singers

and

to form a musical theatre supergroup, 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 o ...

'', '' Beautiful'' 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 Little Shop of Horrors may refer to: * ''The Little Shop of Horrors'', a 1960 film directed by Roger Corman ** ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (musical), a 1982 musical based on the 1960 film ** ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (film), a 1986 film adaptati ...

'' at Pasadena Playhouse.

''Dancing with the Stars''

In 2013, Riley won the seventeenth season of ABC's dancing competition ''

''. She was partnered with the show's one and only six-time champion, Derek Hough. 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 ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, California, as part of ABC's ...

'' 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 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 '' The Masked Singer'' as " Harp". 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!'' (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 di ...

'' (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