Mariann Aalda is an American television, stage, and film actress. Aalda is primarily known for her work in television.

Career

She portrayed DiDi Bannister on the long-running ABC

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 soap opera

Soap opera

A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...

 Edge of Night, and had a regular roles on the CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 sitcom The Royal Family

The Royal Family (TV series)

The Royal Family is an American sitcom starring Redd Foxx and Della Reese. The series was created and produced by Eddie Murphy , who had previously worked with Redd Foxx and Della Reese in the 1989 film Harlem Nights. It ran for one season on CBS from 1991-1992...

, as the daughter of Redd Foxx

Redd Foxx

John Elroy Sanford , better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American comedian and actor, best known for his starring role on the sitcom Sanford and Son.-Early life:...

 and Della Reese

Della Reese

Delloreese Patricia Early, known professionally as Della Reese , is an American actress, singer, game show panelist of the 1970s, one-time talk-show hostess and ordained minister. She started her career in the 1950s as a gospel, pop and jazz singer, scoring a hit with her 1959 single "Don't You...

, and the HBO series 1st & Ten, as the wife of O.J. Simpson's character. In 1999, Aalda appeared on NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

's Sunset Beach

Sunset Beach (TV series)

Sunset Beach was an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on January 6, 1997, and last airing on December 31, 1999. The show followed the loves and lives of the people living in a fictional coastal city named Sunset Beach, on the coast of California...

as the tragically disfigured Lena Hart. She has also appeared in several films including The Wiz

The Wiz (film)

The Wiz is a 1978 musical film produced by Motown Productions and Universal Pictures, and released by Universal on October 24, 1978. An urbanized retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz featuring an entirely African-American cast, The Wiz was adapted from the 1975 Broadway musical...

and Class Act

Class Act

Class Act is a 1992 comedy film, directed by Randall Miller and starring hip-hop duo Kid 'n Play. An urban retelling of Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper, the screenplay is by Cynthia Friedlob and John Semper from a story by Michael Swerdlick, Richard Brenne and Wayne Allan Rice...

opposite Kid 'n Play

Kid 'n Play

Kid 'n Play is an American hip-hop and comedy duo from New York City that was popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The duo was composed of Christopher "Kid" Reid and Christopher "Play" Martin working alongside their DJ, Mark "DJ Wiz" Eastmond...

.

In addition to acting, Aalda co-hosted the lifestyle show, Designs for Living on the USA Network

USA Network

USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...

 and was a reporter for Now!, an entertainment news show for WNBC

WNBC

WNBC, virtual channel 4 , is the flagship station of the NBC television network, located in New York City. WNBC's studios are co-located with NBC corporate headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in midtown Manhattan...

. She is also one of the three writer-producer-performing partners of 3 Blacque Chix, with Iona Morris

Iona Morris

Iona Marie Morris is daughter to actor Greg Morris and older sister to actor Phil Morris. She is primarily an American voice actress but has also performed numerous times on television in speaking roles. She was the original voice of Storm in the X-Men and Spider-Man animated series...

 and Lola Love in the stage production Herotique-Aahh…. Aalda also writes a humor-infused "ethnic etiquette" advice column with writer-producer, Karen Greyson, for BlackBerrySpeak.com.

Film and television credits

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978		Guest at Aunt Emma's Party
1988	Beaches	Ticket Seller	Alternative title: Forever Friends
1989	Nobody's Perfect	Coach Harrison
1990	Pretty Woman Pretty Woman Pretty Woman is a 1990 romantic comedy film set in Los Angeles, California. Written by J.F. Lawton and directed by Garry Marshall, this motion picture features Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and also Hector Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy, and Jason Alexander in supporting roles. Roberts played the only...	Saleswoman
1992	Class Act Class Act Class Act is a 1992 comedy film, directed by Randall Miller and starring hip-hop duo Kid 'n Play. An urban retelling of Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper, the screenplay is by Cynthia Friedlob and John Semper from a story by Michael Swerdlick, Richard Brenne and Wayne Allan Rice...	Duncan's Mom

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981–1984	Edge of Night	Didi Bannister Stoner	Unknown episodes
1985	What's Happening Now!! What's Happening Now!! What's Happening Now!! is an American television sitcom spinoff of What's Happening!!. It ran in syndication from 1985 to 1988. Like the previous series, What's Happening Now!! is loosely based on the motion picture Cooley High...	Theresa	1 episode
1986		Angela Beauchamp	1 episode
1986–1987	1st & Ten	Ellen	Unknown episodes
1988	Hooperman Hooperman Hooperman is a U.S. television series starring John Ritter. It ran for two seasons on ABC, from 1987 to 1989. A comedy-drama, the series was created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher who were the team responsible for creating L.A. Law....		1 episode
1989	Designing Women Designing Women Designing Women is an American television sitcom that centered on the working and personal lives of four Southern women and one man in an interior design firm in Atlanta, Georgia. It aired on the CBS television network from September 29, 1986 until May 24, 1993. The show was created by head writer...	Lita	Episode: "The Girlfriend"
1990–1991	Guiding Light Guiding Light Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009...	Grace Battles	Unknown episodes
1991–1992		Elizabeth Royal Winston	15 episodes
1994	Models Inc.	Janet Johnson	1 episode
1995	Family Matters	Lois	Episode: "Midterm Crisis"
1995		Eunice Simpson	Television movie
1996	Grace Under Fire	Student	1 episode
1998	The Wayans Bros. The Wayans Bros. The Wayans Bros. is a situation comedy that aired from 1995 to 1999 on The WB. The series starred real-life brothers Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans. Both brothers were already well-known from the sketch comedy show In Living Color...	Casting director	Episode: "Help a Brother Out"
1998	Chicago Hope Chicago Hope Chicago Hope is an American medical drama series created by David E. Kelley that ran from September 18, 1994, to May 5, 2000. It takes place in a fictional private charity hospital.-Premise:The show stars Mandy Patinkin as Dr...	Woman	Episode: "The Other Cheek"
1999	Sunset Beach Sunset Beach (TV series) Sunset Beach was an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on January 6, 1997, and last airing on December 31, 1999. The show followed the loves and lives of the people living in a fictional coastal city named Sunset Beach, on the coast of California...	Lena Hart	1 episode
2000	Veronica's Closet Veronica's Closet Veronica's Closet is a sitcom which aired on NBC from September 25, 1997, to June 27, 2000.The show starred Kirstie Alley as Veronica “Ronnie” Chase, the head of her own lingerie company.- Season one :...	Brian's Mother	Episode: "Veronica Checks Out"
2003		Hanna Foster	Episode: "Join the Club"
2006	All of Us All of Us All of Us is an American sitcom that premiered on the now-defunct UPN network in the United States on September 16, 2003, where it aired for its first three seasons. October 1, 2006, the show moved to The CW, a new network formed by the merger of UPN and The WB All of Us is an American sitcom that...	Muriel	Episode: "He's Gotta Have It"

External links

• Official site