Sheryl Lee Ralph Celebrates Son Etienne’s Engagement: ‘I’m So Inspired, I Love It’

Sheryl Lee Ralph is excited about her growing family!

“I’m so happy, I’m so inspired, I love it!” Ralph, 66, said of her son Etienne Maurice’s recent engagement while chatting with Entertainment Tonight. In the interview published Wednesday, the Abbott Elementary actress gushed over the July proposal. 

Sheryl Lee Ralph.
Chris Haston/NBC via Getty

“The fact that Stephanie just fits and blends so well into our family, you know, that’s all you can ask, that your children are happy in different stages of their life,” Ralph said her son’s engagement to the bride-to-be, ABC News journalist Stephanie Wash. 

“Now if I can see that happen for my daughter, I will be ecstatic!” Ralph added, referencing 28-year-old Ivy-Victoria. The Emmy Award winner shares both children with ex-husband Eric Maurice, whom she divorced in 2001.

Etienne Maurice and Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Ivy-Victoria Maurice.

Michael Kovac/Getty

During her chat with ET, she shared that the engagement is still new, so she will give the happy couple time to settle into their new roles before jumping into wedding planner mode. “They’re just at the beginning of it, so, when they need help, they’ll ask me, and I will be there to give it,” Ralph confessed.

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And while she hasn’t finalized any plans for the ceremony, the Broadway star does have some ideas of what she’d like to see. “I want the music to be good. I want it to be just wonderfully outstanding because these are the days that, as you go through your marriage, you have to look back on what is probably your happiest day together and remember that day,” the Moesha alum shared.

Ralph offered up some advice for the union-to-be, adding, “When your partner gets on your last nerve and you need to be reminded, ‘Why did I do this? Why did I get married? What was it again about this person?’ But then, you think about your wedding and go, ‘Oh, now I understand. Now I remember that.’ And then you just shut your mouth, and you just let that go by.”

Etienne Maurice, Sheryl Lee Ralph.

Steve Granitz/FilmMagic

Although the wedding date may not be set, Ralph’s already picked out her nickname for whenever a baby may arrive, stating that she wants to be known as “Glamma.” The Dreamgirls actress quipped, “We called my grandmother Nana, they called my mother Grandi, and I said, ‘Nuh-uh, Glamma.’ Glam-mom, Glamma that works [too], they can say that. I’ll be the G-mama, yes.”

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Maurice and Wash shared news of their engagement through a social media post last month. “From strangers to soulmates. July 6th will always be the day our lives changed. Issa fiancé! #HappilyMauriced,” he wrote on a joint Instagram post with his future spouse. They dated for two years before he popped the question in front of a New York cityscape. Some of their closest family members were present for the big moment. 

“Words can’t express the overflowing joy in my heart as I witness my family growing in love. Seeing my son take this beautiful step of engagement fills my spirit with so much gratitude and excitement. Lord I can’t take it!” Ralph wrote on Instagram at the time as she shared group photos from the big day. 

On Tuesday, PEOPLE caught up with Ralph as she discussed her partnership with MadeGood and its back-to-school campaign. During the interview, the proud parent revealed how grateful she is that her son is still here after two harrowing events a decade ago.

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In 2013, Maurice was involved in both a car accident and a mugging where he was shot three times — including a bullet that grazed his forehead. “There are moments in your children’s lives that will bring you to your knees,” Ralph admitted. 

“Sometimes in exhaustion. God’s willing, it is in prayer. People talk about testimony. The test has become a testimony. The pain has brought him through with greater purpose. And through his own experiences in life, he is able to be of better help and service to others,” she continued.

Since the incidents, Maurice has become the CEO and founder of WalkGood, a Los Angeles-based company that connects people from “all walks of life” through the arts, health, and wellness.

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Source: HIS Education