Introduction
Amber Patrice Riley (born February 15, 1986) is an American actress, singer and author. 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 won a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for three Teen Choice Awards, three NAACP Image Awards, and a Grammy Award.
In November 2016, Riley led the West End debut of Dreamgirls, playing the lead role of Effie White. She won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2017 for her role in Dreamgirls.
Riley won season 17 of Dancing with the Stars in 2013. In 2017, Riley appeared as a judge on BBC One musical theatre talent show Let It Shine and formed a musical theatre supergroup with Beverley Knight and Cassidy Janson, known collectively as Leading Ladies and signed to East West Records/Warner. Their debut album, Songs from the Stage, was released on November 17, 2017.
Early life
Riley was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Tiny (née Hightower) and Elwin Riley. She has two older sisters, Toyia and Ashley. Riley auditioned for American Idol 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
Acting and singing
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", "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". She also played Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the episode "The Rocky Horror Glee Show", singing the lead on the song "Sweet Transvestite" to generally positive reviews from critics. For her role as Mercedes Jones, Riley won a Screen Actors Guild Award and received nominations for three NAACP Image Awards and three Teen Choice Awards.
Riley appeared at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, sang the national anthem at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, and is currently working on a debut solo studio album. She also co-wrote a track titled "Leave a Light On" for British group The Saturdays, which is featured on their album Living for the Weekend. 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. 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.
In 2017, Riley teamed up with British singers Beverley Knight and Cassidy Janson 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, Beautiful and Rent among others.
In 2019, she took on the role of Audrey II, the carnivorous singing plant, in Little Shop of Horrors at Pasadena Playhouse.
On 28 February 2020 Riley confirmed she finished recording songs for her debut extended play.
Dancing with the Stars
In 2013, Riley won the seventeenth season of ABC's dancing competition Dancing with the Stars. 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
| Week # | Dance/song | Judges' score | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inaba | Goodman | Tonioli | |||
| 1 | Cha-Cha-Cha/"Wings" | 9 | 9 | 9 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Jive/"Reet Petite" | 8 | 8 | 8 | Safe |
| 3 | Charleston/"Bang Bang" | 8 | 8 | 8 | Safe |
| 4 | Tango/"Love Lockdown" | 9 | 9 | 9 | Safe |
| 5 | Foxtrot/"Try a Little Tenderness" | 9 | 7 | 10 | Safe |
| 6 | Samba/"Get It Right" Switch-Up Challenge |
10 Awarded |
8 4 |
10 Points |
No Elimination |
| 7 | Paso Doble/"Diablo Rojo" Group Dance Freestyle/"The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)" |
10 10 |
10 10 |
9 10 |
Safe |
| 8 | Rumba/"If I Could Turn Back Time" | 9 | 9 | 10 | Safe (Immunity) |
| 9 | Quickstep/"That's It!" Salsa (Trio challenge)/"Que Viva la Vida" |
8 9 |
8 9 |
8 9 |
Safe |
| 10 |
Jazz/"Locked Out of Heaven" Viennese Waltz/"Locked Out of Heaven" (Acoustic Version) |
10 10 |
10/9 10/10 |
10 10 |
Safe |
| 11 |
Charleston/"Bang Bang" Samba relay/"No Scrubs" Freestyle/"Can You Do This" |
10 Awarded 10 |
10 4 10 |
10 points 10 |
Safe |
| Quickstep & Samba Fusion/"(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" | 10 | 10 | 10 | Won | |
| In week four, judge Len Goodman was absent and guest judge Julianne Hough filled in for him. In week eight, judge Len Goodman was absent and guest judge Cher filled in for him. The dancer Hough and Riley chose for the Trio Challenge is Mark Ballas. Scores from guest judge Maksim Chmerkovskiy. | |||||
Fashion
In January 2014, Riley and her sister Ashley launched a plus-size online clothing boutique, Rileyland Fashions. She also models the garments.
Stage
| Year | Title | Role | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Cotton Club Parade | Performer | New York City Center, Off-Broadway |
| 2014 | Hair | Dionne | Hollywood Bowl |
| 2016–2017 | Dreamgirls | Effie White | Savoy Theatre, West End |
| 2019 | Little Shop of Horrors | Audrey II | Pasadena Playhouse |
Discography
Albums
| Title | Details | Charts |
|---|---|---|
| UK | ||
| Songs from the Stage |
|
19 |
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | |||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | "Colorblind" | — | TBA | ||||||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||||
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Teen Choice Award for Choice TV: Female Scene Stealer | Glee | Nominated |
| Teen Choice Award for Choice Music: Group (shared with Glee cast) | Nominated | ||
| Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Won | ||
| 2011 | Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals | Nominated | |
| NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Nominated | ||
| Teen Choice Award for Choice TV: Female Scene Stealer | Nominated | ||
| 2012 | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Nominated | |
| 2013 | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series | Nominated | |
| 2017 | Whatsonstage.com Award for Best Actress in a Musical | Dreamgirls | Won |
| Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical | Won | ||
| Evening Standard Award for Best Musical Performance | Won | ||
| 2018 | Classic Brit Award for Album of the Year | Songs from the Stage | Nominated |