Recognized primarily from more than 30 years of working in network television, Mariann Aalda is also an accomplished stage actress with a penchant for creating quirkily comedic and dramatically complex characters.
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A pioneer in daytime television -- as one of the few African-American contract players....and with a front-burner storyline -- Mariann portrayed "DiDi Bannister," on EDGE OF NIGHT, the Procter & Gamble soap opera which first aired on CBS and later on ABC from 1981-1985. She was partnered in the poignant love story of "Calvin & DiDi," the hotshot police detective and the feisty, young defense attorney. Still beloved by soap fans, Aalda likes to fantasize that one of them was a young Michelle Robinson (now Obama)...whom she inspired to go to law school.
A native of Chicago, Mariann honed her comedy skills as a writer-performer with the NYC sketch troupe, Off Centre Theatre -- which also launched the comedy career of John Leguizamo -- and touring with the improv group, The Proposition, where Jane Curtin got her pre-SNL start. A graduate of Southern lllinois University, she also trained with New York’s prestigious Negro Ensemble Company; Joe Papp's Public Theatre, and Woody King’s New Federal Theatre, where she made her legit stage debut with the legendary Ossie Davis & Ruby Dee as in Take It from the Top.
Drawing on her live-performance roots in theater, sketch and improv, she's also jumped into stand-up. Here she is at the Hollywood Improv...
Drawing on her live-performance roots in theater, sketch and improv, she's also jumped into stand-up. Here she is at the Hollywood Improv...
On television, Aalda also played Dr. Grace Battles on GUIDING LIGHT; took over the high-profile role of "the tragically disfigured" Lena Hart on SUNSET BEACH, and played opposite O.J. Simpson for three seasons as his "long suffering" wife, Ellen Parker, on the HBO series FIRST & 10. In primetime, however, she is primarily known for her sitcom turns as series regular Elizabeth Royal-Winston on THE ROYAL FAMILY, recurring as Anthony's uppity girlfriend, Lita Ford on DESIGNING WOMEN, and as Oscar-winner Mo'Nique's nemesis, Hannah Foster on THE PARKERS along with a multitude of guest-star roles. Also a TV commercial veteran, she has more than 50 national on-camera spots to her credit along with numerous radio commercials.
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Representative Soap Opera Press...
An activist as well as an actress -- cited by the California State Assembly and named “Volunteer of the Year” by the Los Angeles County Dept. of Children’s Services for work with at-risk youth -- Mariann has served as a keynote speaker for the Chicago Dept. of Human Services, Executive Women International National Leadership Conference and The Screen Actors Guild, among others.
