Cheryl Pepsii Riley

October 18, 1968

Cheryl Bridget 'Pepsii' Riley is an American singer and actress. Riley is best known for her music during the late 1980s through the early 1990s, most notable; 1988's R&B ballad "Thanks for My Child". Riley also starred in multiple Tyler Perry stage plays and films. After high school, Riley worked as a nurse for disabled children before beginning her singing career. Riley began her music career as a lead singer in the band Stargaze, who released the single "You Can't Have It" in 1982. In November 1988, Riley topped the US R&B chart and hit the Top 40 on the pop chart at No. 32 with the ballad, "Thanks for My Child," a song written by Full Force. Her second LP, Chapters, was issued and yielded the singles "How Can You Hurt The One You Love" and a cover of Aretha Franklin's 1968 hit "Ain't No Way". Her third album All That! was released by Reprise, and featured the singles "Gimme" and "Guess I'm In Love." After a hiatus from the entertainment industry, Riley re-emerged in the late 1990s by appearing on the songs "I Love It" and "Look Around" on The Beatnuts album A Musical Massacre. She also starred in a number of gospel plays for best-selling playwright Tyler Perry, including Madea's Class Reunion, Madea Goes to Jail, Why Did I Get Married?, Laugh to Keep from Crying, Madea's Big Happy Family and A Madea Christmas. She also appeared in the film versions of Diary of a Mad Black Woman and Madea's Big Happy Family. She is also starred in Tyler Perry's Madea Gets a Job (2012) and Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Scorned (2014). Following her appearance on a number of tracks on the Diary of a Mad Black Woman soundtrack in 2005, the following year Riley released Let Me Be Me, her first album in fourteen years. In 2015 she released a new solo album entitled Still Believe.