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IMDbPro

Mariann Aalda

  • Actress
  • Producer
  • Director
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Mariann Aalda
Profiled by AARP for for her career pivot from being sitcom and soap opera star to becoming a standup comic and performance artist after she started banging her head on the glass ceiling of ageism that befalls so many women in Hollywood.
Play demo reel1:45
Mariann Aalda #Age Disruptor
7 Videos
79 Photos
Long before there was Olivia Pope or Annalise Keating, there was DiDi Bannister on the ABC soap opera Edge Of Night (1981-84). As played by Mariann Aalda, the smart and spirited young attorney became a prototype for the professional African-American female characters that began to proliferate on network TV, earning her accolades and numerous awards from the African-American community. After graduating from Southern Illinois University and the Negro Ensemble Company conservatory training program where Laurence Fishburne and Robert Townsend were classmates, Aalda joined NYC's Off-Center Theatre Company as a sketch comedy writer and performer and toured the country with The Proposition improv troupe with Charlie Adler...before joining Edge Of Night as one of the first African-American daytime contract players and soap opera heroines. When the NY-based show went off the air, she moved to LA where she was quickly cast on the HBO dramedy, First & 10, in the recurring role of Ellen Parker, the long-suffering coach's wife, opposite OJ Simpson. From there, her sitcom career took off in numerous recurring and guest-starring roles, including the memorable turn opposite Meshach Taylor on Designing Women as his yuppie-from-hell girlfriend, Lita Ford. She was also a series regular on the CBS sitcom, The Royal Family, as Elizabeth Royal-Winston, the daughter of Redd Foxx and Della Reese. She later returned to daytime in the recurring role of the "tragically disfigured" Lena Hart, Sherrie Saum's mom on the NBC soap opera Sunset Beach. More recently, she has appeared on the NBC hit, The Blacklist and starred in the short film Gumbo on AMC's ALLBLK-TV. She returned to her comedy roots as co-producer and star in the 25-episode web series, Talk To Me, Ginger!, based on her performance art character, Adult Sex-Ed Evangelist & Mojo Motivator, Dr. Ginger, who is also the protagonist of her solo show, Gettin' Old Is a Bitch...But I'm Gonna Wrestle That Bitch to the Ground!, which has sold out shows in New York, New Orleans, Chicago, and broke a 30-year box office record at the 2019 National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, NC. In 2021, she was invited to perform an excerpt at the Silver Sirens Redefining Aging Summit in Sydney, Australia.. Heralded as an influencer in the positive aging movement for changing the narrative on older women, she was recognized by AARP' in a video tribute as an Age Disruptor; is a prolific podcast guest on shameless aging; is a sought-after pro-age moderator on the popular audio app, Clubhouse, and has a TEDx Talk, Ageism Is a Bully...Stand Up to It!
BornMay 7, 1948
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornMay 7, 1948
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • View contact info at IMDbPro

Photos79

AARP #DisruptAging media spokesperson.
Performance Art Character -- Ginger Peechee-Keane, Adult Sex-Ed Evangelist & Mojo Motivator
Mariann Aalda
Mariann Aalda and Meshach Taylor in Designing Women (1986)
"Mom" to Naya Rivera, Sylver Gregory & Larenz Tate in THE ROYAL FAMILY with Redd Foxx and Della Reese,
EDGE OF NIGHT cast photo
Mariann Aalda
Mariann Aalda
Mariann Aalda
Mariann Aalda
Mariann Aalda
Mariann Aalda

Known for:

Christopher Martin and Christopher Reid in Class Act (1992)
Class Act
6.0
  • Duncan's Mom
  • 1992
GUMBO (2022)
GUMBO
Short
  • Nadine
  • 2022
Mariann Aalda, Dominic Oliver, and Donald Watson in Ben & Tony (2022)
Ben & Tony
TV Movie
  • Lori
  • 2022
Della Reese, Larenz Tate, Mariann Aalda, Redd Foxx, Sylver Gregory, and Naya Rivera in The Royal Family (1991)
The Royal Family
7.2
TV Series
  • Elizabeth Royal Winston

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress

  • Mariann Aalda, Dominic Oliver, and Donald Watson in Ben & Tony (2022)
    Ben & Tony
    • Lori
    • TV Movie
    • 2022
  • GUMBO (2022)
    GUMBO
    • Nadine
    • Short
    • 2022
  • Talk to Me, Ginger! (2015)
    Talk to Me, Ginger!
    • Ginger Peechee-Keane
    • TV Series
    • 2015
  • The Blacklist (2013)
    The Blacklist
    • Mrs. Wempon
    • Risa Peña
    • TV Series
    • 2013–2014
  • All of Us (2003)
    All of Us
    • Muriel
    • TV Series
    • 2006
  • Diary of a Clippers Fan
    • Susan
    • Video
    • 2003
  • Jenna von Oÿ, Ken Lawson, Mo'Nique, Countess Vaughn, Dorien Wilson, and Yvette Wilson in The Parkers (1999)
    The Parkers
    • Hanna Foster
    • TV Series
    • 2003
  • Kirstie Alley, Kathy Najimy, Dan Cortese, Wallace Langham, Daryl Mitchell, and Ron Silver in Veronica's Closet (1997)
    Veronica's Closet
    • Brian's Mother
    • TV Series
    • 2000
  • Eddie Cibrian, Laura Harring, Randy Spelling, Timothy Adams, Sarah Buxton, Hank Cheyne, Vanessa Dorman, Jason George, Dax Griffin, Clive Robertson, Sherri Saum, and Susan Ward in Sunset Beach (1997)
    Sunset Beach
    • Lena Hart (uncredited)
    • TV Series
    • 1998–1999
  • Hector Elizondo, Mandy Patinkin, Roma Maffia, Adam Arkin, Roxanne Hart, and E.G. Marshall in Chicago Hope (1994)
    Chicago Hope
    • Woman
    • TV Series
    • 1998
  • The Wayans Bros. (1995)
    The Wayans Bros.
    • Casting Director
    • TV Series
    • 1998
  • Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1990)
    Captain Planet and the Planeteers
    • Salesgirl (voice)
    • TV Series
    • 1996
  • Grace Under Fire (1993)
    Grace Under Fire
    • Student (uncredited)
    • TV Series
    • 1996
  • The O.J. Simpson Story (1995)
    The O.J. Simpson Story
    • Eunice Simpson
    • TV Movie
    • 1995
  • Reginald VelJohnson, Jaimee Foxworth, Telma Hopkins, Rosetta LeNoire, Bryton James, Darius McCrary, Jo Marie Payton, Jaleel White, and Kellie Shanygne Williams in Family Matters (1989)
    Family Matters
    • Lois
    • TV Series
    • 1995

Producer

  • GUMBO (2022)
    GUMBO
    • associate producer
    • Short
    • 2022
  • Talk to Me, Ginger! (2015)
    Talk to Me, Ginger!
    • executive producer
    • TV Series
    • 2015

Director

  • Talk to Me, Ginger! (2015)
    Talk to Me, Ginger!
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2015

Videos9

Mariann Aalda: Laugh Factory / Mothers Day, 2022
Demo Reel 14:19
Mariann Aalda: Laugh Factory / Mothers Day, 2022
No Ethnics Allowed? Better rethink that.
Demo Reel 0:41
No Ethnics Allowed? Better rethink that.
An Old Black Lady Sketch Comedy Show
Demo Reel 0:46
An Old Black Lady Sketch Comedy Show
Passing with a purpose.
Demo Reel 1:49
Passing with a purpose.
TALK TO ME, GINGER! Improv Comedy - Web Series Trailer
Demo Reel 1:35
TALK TO ME, GINGER! Improv Comedy - Web Series Trailer
AGE as a state of I-dont-mind - Standup
Demo Reel 0:45
AGE as a state of I-dont-mind - Standup
CODE SWITCHING - Laugh Factory 2022
Demo Reel 1:24
CODE SWITCHING - Laugh Factory 2022
Solo Show Sizzle: Gettin Old Is a Bitch, But Ima Wrestle That B to the Ground!
Demo Reel 5:01
Solo Show Sizzle: Gettin Old Is a Bitch, But Ima Wrestle That B to the Ground!
Mariann Aalda #Age Disruptor
Demo Reel 1:45
Mariann Aalda #Age Disruptor

Personal details

Edit
  • Born
    • May 7, 1948
    • USA
  • Other works
    television commercial for Total cereal.

Self-verified on IMDbPro

  • Gender / Gender identity
    • Female

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