Playing dedicated young teacher Marilyn Sudor on the David E. Kelley Fox drama "Boston Public" introduced beautiful African-American actress Sharon Leal to a wide audience, but she was already familiar to many thanks to her two-and-a-half-year (1996-98) stint on the CBS soap "Guiding Light", a regular role on the 1998-99 UPN drama "Legacy" and extensive stage work. Born in Tucson, Arizona and raised in Fresno, California, Leal began her acting training on the West Coast but headed east to New York City to jump-start her career. Landing a role on "Guiding Light" as the likable Dahlia Crede offered the actress a great opportunity to hone her craft, and the notoriously rough working week daytime performers put in was good training for Broadway, where the actress would land parts in "Miss Saigon" and "Rent". As the understudy for the lead role of Mimi in the latter, Leal was often called upon to strut her stuff and showcase her more-than-capable singing voice. Starring as Mimi in the 1999 San Francisco leg of the touring company of "Rent", she was able to really make the character her own, and many fans of the cult-inspiring play have marked her portrayal as among the show's best.
Back on the small screen, Leal was a regular on the post-Civil War-set Southern drama series "Legacy", playing Marita Peters, the kind and captivating young woman who has won the heart of industrious aspiring politician Sean Logan (Grayson McCouch) though their taboo interracial romance could ruin his career. Leal's luminous beauty, innocent charm and bright smile were put to good use in her role as idealistic educator Marilyn Sudor on "Boston Public". Putting concern for her students above all and often paying the price for her naivete, Marilyn was among the most sympathetic and relatable characters on the often over-the-top series and was well-liked by her fictional students as well, who not surprisingly voted her most attractive teacher in an extracurricular poll. When "Boston Public" was picked up for a second season following its 2000-2001 freshman run, fans of Leal were pleased to be able to continue to watch the actress work weekly.
In features, Leal co-starred in "Face the Music" (2001), a romantic comedy chronicling the ridiculous lengths a band will go to in order to make it in the music industry. Luckily for singer-actress Leal, and thanks in no small part to her talent and perseverance, her own career seemed to be far from such desperate days,