# Mariann Aalda

Mariann Aalda (born May 7, 1948) is an American television, stage, film actress, performance artist, and stand-up comic.

## Career

Aalda is best known for her work in television as one of the first African-American daytime soap opera heroines, playing DiDi Bannister-Stoner on ABC's The Edge of Night from 1981 until the show's cancellation in 1984. For many years before that she was a writer-performer with the sketch comedy troupe Off Center Theatre in New York, and toured with the Boston-based improv group, The Proposition, along with notable animation voice actor and director, Charlie Adler. Later, she appeared on the CBS show Guiding Light. She also had regular roles on the CBS sitcom The Royal Family, as the daughter of Redd Foxx and Della Reese, and the HBO series 1st & Ten, as the wife of O. J. Simpson's character.
Aalda also achieved notoriety recurring on the CBS sitcom Designing Women, as Anthony's yuppie-from-hell girlfriend, Lita Ford, and on the NBC soap opera Sunset Beach as the tragically disfigured Lena Hart. She co-hosted the lifestyle show Designs for Living on the USA Network and was a reporter for the magazine show NOW! on WNBC in New York. Her numerous guest-star roles are mostly sitcoms.
Aalda has also appeared in movies, co-starring in the urban cult film Class Act as rapper Kid's clueless mom, and as Coach Harrison in Nobody's Perfect. She was a featured player in Beaches and Pretty Woman, directed by Garry Marshall and The Wiz, directed by Sidney Lumet.
She is a leader in the positive aging movement, with a TEDx Talk and AARP recognition as an "Age Disruptor". She is a prolific podcast guest on the topic of shameless aging. She is resident Age Anarchist for Women of Color Unite (WOCU), a 5000-plus member advocacy group for women of color working both above and below the line in the entertainment industry. She also delivers her message on positive aging as a standup comedian and with her solo "existential comedy" show, Getting Old Is a Bitch...But I'm Gonna Wrestle That Bitch to the Ground!, which broke a 30-year box office record at the 2019 National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

## Film and television credits

Film :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1978 | The Wiz | Guest at Aunt Emma's Party | |
| 1988 | Beaches | Ticket Seller | Alternative title: Forever Friends |
| 1989 | Nobody's Perfect | Coach Harrison | |
| 1990 | Pretty Woman | Saleswoman | |
| 1992 | Class Act | Duncan's Mom | |
Television :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1981–1984 | The Edge of Night | Didi Bannister Stoner | Unknown episodes |
| 1985 | What's Happening Now!! | Theresa | 1 episode |
| 1986 | The Last Precinct | Angela Beauchamp | 1 episode |
| 1986–1987 | 1st & Ten | Ellen | Unknown episodes |
| 1988 | Hooperman | | 1 episode |
| 1989 | Designing Women | Lita Ford | Episode: "The Girlfriend" |
| 1990–1991 | Guiding Light | Grace Battles | Unknown episodes |
| 1991–1992 | The Royal Family | Elizabeth Royal Winston | 15 episodes |
| 1994 | Models Inc. | Janet Johnson | 1 episode |
| 1995 | Family Matters | Lois | Episode: "Midterm Crisis" |
| 1995 | The O. J. Simpson Story | Eunice Simpson | Television movie |
| 1996 | Grace Under Fire | Student | 1 episode |
| 1998 | The Wayans Bros. | Casting director | Episode: "Help a Brother Out" |
| 1998 | Chicago Hope | Woman | Episode: "The Other Cheek" |
| 1999 | Sunset Beach | Lena Hart | 13 episodes |
| 2000 | Veronica's Closet | Brian's Mother | Episode: "Veronica Checks Out" |
| 2003 | The Parkers | Hanna Foster | Episode: "Join the Club" |
| 2006 | All of Us | Muriel | Episode: "He's Gotta Have It" |