Benedicte Aubert Ringnes

Sharon Leal, born October 17, 1972, is an American actress. Leal was born in Tucson, Arizona, to a Filipino mother, Angelita, and an African-American father. Her stepfather, Jesse Leal, a Master Sergeant in the US Air Force and a police officer at Clark Air Base, Philippines, legally adopted Leal in 1972 after marrying her mother. Leal's mother, a homemaker, later remarried Elmer Manankil, the father of Leal's younger sister, Kristina. Bev Kara, Leal's husband, with whom she has a son, Kai Miles, born in 2001, is currently involved in divorce proceedings with Leal, which she briefly discussed in an Essence interview. Former Guiding Light costar, Yvonna Wright, said that she and Leal became close friends; the two played together in a community production of Dreamgirls in their hometown.