Sharp was born in Rochester, New York. After graduating
cum laude from
The Boston Conservatory, Sharp set her sights on the stage. She performed in the Broadway National Tour of
Carousel, debuted Off-Broadway in Michael Bradford's
Living in the Wind and played eight different roles in the interactive comedy
Eat the Runt. Other theatre performances include
Abyssinia,
Aida,
Thunder Knockin,
Jitney,
The Producers,
Big Street,
Suburb and ''Joe Turner's Come and Gone
. On television, she guest starred on Welcome to New York, Third Watch, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', before moving to Los Angeles. In 2002, Sharp was cast on the CW comedy series
Girlfriends, which she played William Dent's (
Reggie Hayes) girlfriend, and later wife, Monica. Her role garnered a nomination for an
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. The series ended in 2008. From 2005 to 2006, she also had the recurring role on
Everybody Hates Chris as Sheila Ridenhour. Sharp also had roles in films ''
Malibu's Most Wanted, Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood, Never Die Alone and Why Did I Get Married?''. After
Girlfriends, Sharp had guest starring roles on
The Game,
Cold Case,
Melissa & Joey,
Elementary and
The Exes. From 2010 to 2013, she was a regular cast member on the
TBS sitcom,
Are We There Yet?. In 2015, Sharp was cast as Dale Cochran, the wife of
Johnnie Cochran (played by
Courtney B. Vance), in the FX anthology drama series,
American Crime Story. In 2016, she was cast in a series regular role opposite
Damon Wayans Sr. in the Fox series
Lethal Weapon playing Trish Murtaugh (played by
Darlene Love in the
Lethal Weapon film series).
Golden Brooks, her
Girlfriends co-star, originally was cast in the role, but was replaced by Sharp during filming of pilot episode. Later that year, she was cast as
Thurgood Marshall's wife in the biographical film
Marshall starring
Chadwick Boseman. In 2018, Sharp secured the rights to
John Williams’ 2013 biography
America’s Mistress: The Life and Times of Eartha Kitt. She was slated to star as Kitt and to produce the film alongside her husband, Brad Sharp. In 2019, Sharp was cast in the final season of the Fox musical drama series
Empire. In 2022, Sharp joined the third season of
Power Book II: Ghost as a series regular. ==Personal life==