Amber Riley, best known for her role of “Mercedes Jones” on FOX’s Golden Globe and SAG Award winning musical comedy “Glee,” won Season 17 of ABC’s hit competition series “Dancing with the Stars” alongside her partner Derek Hough. She got her first big break when Ryan Murphy cast her in the pilot "St. Sass." Although the pilot was not picked up to series, she was able to use that experience to land a role on the television series "Cedric the Entertainer Presents.” Amber has performed in numerous theater productions, including "Alice in Wonderland," "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Into the Woods" and "Mystery on the Docks" with the Los Angeles Opera. In November 2012, she made her New York stage debut to rave reviews in New York City Center’s Duke Ellington’s Cotton Club Parade.

Amber has received two individual NAACP Image Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy series for her work on “Glee” In 2011, she was nominated for a second Teen Choice Award for Choice TV: Female Scene Stealer and in 2010 received the Most Popular Geek Award at AOL’s 1st Annual Geek Awards. Amber previously served as an Ambassador for VH-1’s Save the Music Foundation and as a member of Seventeen Magazine’s Body Peace Council.