Meet Amber Riley, an American actress and singer most credible for her role as Mercedes Jones on the hit series ‘Glee‘. In the series, Amber performs a wide range of hits including ‘And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going‘ by Jennifer Hudon, ‘I Look To You‘ by Whitney Houston, and ‘Bust Your Windows‘ by Jazmine Sullivan. Riley was born and raised in California. Upon graduation high school, she decided to pursue acting and singing. In 2006, Amber auditioned for the role of ‘Effie’ in the box office hit ‘Dreamgirls‘, a role that was later given to Jennifer Hudson instead.

Prior to her landing a role on ‘Glee’, Amber auditioned for American Idol but was refused by the producers. Riley has since been nominated for several awards, including  a Screen Actors Guild Award which she shares along with the cast of ‘Glee’. In the beginning of 2011, Riley received an NAACP Image Award nomination for her acting on the show. Along with starring in ‘Glee’, Riley loaned her voice to ‘The Simpsons‘ in 2010, as the character ‘Aiesha’. She can be heard in the ‘Elementary School Musical‘ episode.

Amber is a super talented and hard-working woman who puts her all in whatever she does. Her performance in ‘Glee’ can truly attest to that. Check out my favorite Amber cover: