Sheryl Lee Ralph Opens Up About Her Son's Car Accident

Sheryl Lee Ralph is opening up about some of the most difficult moments in her life.

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 In AARP Magazine’s August/September cover story, the 66-year-old remembered the moment she heard that her son Etienne had been involved in two terrifying incidents that changed his life forever.

“When Etienne was in college, he had a car accident and suffered a concussion. It changed his whole brain,” the Abbott Elementary actress explained. “Then he got mugged, and they shot him three times. He woke up in the hospital with two bullets in his leg and a wound in his forehead where a bullet had grazed him.”

Ralph went on to say that when she heard her son had been shot, she “collapsed and dropped the phone.”

“I didn’t even listen to the rest. But they didn’t kill him, thank God,” she said. “Now he runs his own production company and nonprofit, WalkGoodLA, which is centered around healing, mental health and overall well-being.”

The star shares Etienne, 31, and her daughter Ivy-Victoria, 28, with ex-husband Eric Maurice, whom she divorced in 2001.

The actress also revealed in her cover story that she always “knew I was going to be somebody’s mother,” going on to call her children her “greatest gift.”

“When I met their father, my first husband, I could see my children just as clearly as they are in life right now, and I said, ‘Oh, I know the assignment right here,’” she said. “We got married and had our son, Etienne, and our daughter, Coco. The marriage lasted almost 10 years.”

Ralph continued, “If I had a regret in life, it would be that I didn’t have more children. But I have two beautiful children.”

You can read more from Sheryl Lee Ralph’s AARP Magazine cover story here.