website years_active birth_place name image article_title birth_name occupation
-lsb- http://mariahowell.com/actress.php www.mariahowell.com -rsb- 1985 -- present gastonia , north carolina , u.s. maria howell maria howell.jpg maria howell
 wanda maria howell actress
maria howell

wanda maria howell is an american actress and singer .
howell was born in gastonia , north carolina and graduated winston-salem state university in winston-salem , north carolina .
howell worked as jazz singer and made her film debut in `` the color purple '' -lrb- 1985 -rrb- .
she lived in okinawa , japan , from 1995-2001 .
she made guest appearances on `` drop dead diva '' , `` army wives '' , `` the game '' , `` necessary roughness '' , and `` the vampire diaries '' , and well co-starred in films include `` daddy 's little girls '' -lrb- 2007 -rrb- , `` mississippi damned '' -lrb- 2009 -rrb- , `` the blind side '' -lrb- 2009 -rrb- , and `` what to expect when you 're expecting '' -lrb- 2012 -rrb- .
in 2013 , howell played seeder in '' '' .
also in 2012 , she was cast in recurring role of nbc post-apocalyptic series `` revolution '' as grace beaumont , and in 2013 plays ida hayes in lifetime comedy-drama `` devious maids '' .
