Victoria Rowell

Infobox actor


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name = Victoria Rowell
birthname = Vicki Lynn Rowell
birthdate = birth date and age|1959|5|10
birthplace = Portland, Maine, USA
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occupation = Actress, Writer, Presenter
yearsactive = 1987-present
spouse = Tom Fahey (1989-1990) (Divorced)
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emmyawards = Nominated (3 times) for her role as Drucilla Winters on "The Young and the Restless"
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Vicki "Victoria" Lynn Rowell (born May 10, 1959) is an award-winning American actress and dancer. She is known for two high profile television roles: Drucilla Winters on the daytime drama "The Young & The Restless", and her primetime role as Dick Van Dyke's medical examiner, assistant and pathologist, Dr. Amanda Bentley, on "".

Biography

Early life

Rowell was born in Portland, Maine. Her biological mother, Dorothy Rowell, was English and a Mayflower descendant, and her birth father, whose surname was Wilson, was of African-American descent. [ [http://www.mixedfolks.com/actors2.htm Her mother was white and her father was black.] ] [http://www.filmreference.com/film/57/Victoria-Rowell.html Victoria Rowell Biography (1960?-) ] ] Rowell knew very little about her father. Dorothy, who suffered from schizophrenia, took a taxi to a hospital to give birth to Rowell, leaving a son and two small daughters unsupervised. When she was 16 days old, Rowell, along with her two sisters, Sheree and Lori, was surrendered to child services. [ [http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2007/05/05/role_models/ Role Models, Boston Globe, May 5, 2007] ]

While living in Maine with foster parents Agatha C. and Robert Armstead, Rowell, then eight, began ballet lessons. She received a Ford Foundation scholarship to study at the Cambridge school of ballet. At 17, Rowell received scholarships to the School of American Ballet, the American Ballet Theatre and the Dance Theatre of Harlem. [ [http://www.diagnosismurder.co.uk/vr.shtml DiagnosisMurder.co.uk | Victoria Rowell ] ] She also became a member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, which is primarily composed of African-American women. After dancing with the American Ballet Theatre II and the Juilliard School of Music Dance Extension program with Anthony Tudor, Rowell accepted guest artist teaching posts in New England. [ [http://www.diagnosismurder.co.uk/vr.shtml DiagnosisMurder.co.uk | Victoria Rowell ] ]

Acting career

In the 1980s, Rowell became an in-demand runway and catalog model. She began to take acting lessons and earned featured roles on television shows such as "The Cosby Show". In 1990, she was cast as street urchin-turned-fashion model Drucilla Barber on the long-running soap opera "The Young and the Restless". Rowell became a fan favorite and was nominated for three Daytime Emmy awards in 1996, 1997 and 1998. She won 10 NAACP Image Awards for her portrayal of Drucilla. Rowell's first run as Drucilla was from 1990 to 1998. She briefly returned in 2000, then returned on a regular basis from 2002 until early 2007.

Rowell also played Dr. Amanda Bentley on the CBS series ', opposite Dick Van Dyke, prior to replacing Cynthia Gibb. For much of Rowell's stint on ', she was working on that show and on "The Young and the Restless" simultaneously. (One episode of "Diagnosis Murder" centered around murder on the set of "The Young and the Restless"; Rowell was featured as both Amanda and Drucilla in that episode.) During her time on "Diagnosis", Rowell enjoyed a wonderful on- and off-screen friendship with Van Dyke, learning every case and medical terms in almost every episode. She was on the show until the series ended in 2001.

Rowell's departure from "Y&R" in April 2007 generated some media coverage and controversy. Rowell expressed her anger about backstage politics at the show, and in particular, how those events impacted her and prevented her from being nominated for a Daytime Emmy. Rowell also indicated that she felt the African-American presence on the show was fading. Rowell told TVGuide.com, "Even iron bends". [ [http://www.tvguide.com/News-Views/Soaps/QA/?posting={F6FDDE36-24B3-4EB2-9396-4B45BC0C1A0A Victoria Rowell Tells Why She Quit The Young and the Restless: "Even Iron Bends"] ] Sony Pictures Television, which produces "Y&R", ordered Lynn Marie Latham to kill off Drucilla Barber Winters to prevent the character - and actress - from migrating to CBS Daytime sister show "The Bold and the Beautiful", as other departing actresses such as Eileen Davidson had done. [ [http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Scott_Novick/bnbnews.htm B&B News ] ] [ [http://www.soapcentral.com/yr/news/2007/0205-rowell.php Feb 2, 2007 | Rowell Asks to Be Released From Y&R | SoapCentral.com ] ] Rowell herself said a few months prior to her exit (and before it was revealed that her character would be killed) that she quit "Y&R" because she had asked to be allowed to write for the show and was turned down. She had previously written for "Diagnosis Murder".cite news | title=Y&R's Rowell: The Real Reason I Quit | date=2007-02-27 | publisher= "Soap Opera Weekly"| pages = 2-3 ]

Rowell was hired as a guest star to appear on "Noah's Arc", a TV series about four gay black men living in Los Angeles. She appeared in Season Two as "Vonda," who is having an affair with a woman while married to her husband.

Rowell has also made appearances in several feature films, including "The Distinguished Gentleman", "Dumb & Dumber", "Barb Wire", "Eve's Bayou" and "Home of the Brave" (in 2007).

Personal life

Rowell's first marriage was to Tom Fahey in 1989. They had a daughter, Maya, and divorced the following year. Rowell had a long-term relationship with musician Wynton Marsalis, and the couple had a son, Jasper (Jasper played Rowell's son CJ in ""). [ [http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/post/mulatto/vpost?id=1109621 Victoria Rowell with her two children.] In May 2008 Rowell announced her engagement to Radcliffe Bailey, an Atlanta artist, at her annual High Tea at Noon fundraiser.] Rowell was born Protestant and later baptized in the Catholic religion. [ [http://ledger.southofboston.com/articles/2008/02/02/life/life02.txt CELEBRATING FOSTER CHILDREN: High-achievers credit nurturing foster parents ] ]

In 1990, Rowell founded the "Rowell Foster Children Positive Plan", [ [http://www.rowellfosterchildren.org/index.html Rowell Foster Children Positive Plan ] ] which gives emotional support and financial aid to foster children, especially to those who aspire to become actors and dancers - the road Rowell took. In 2003, she was a special guest on the talk show "Dr. Phil", in which she gave an emancipated foster child a job, medical and dental care, and a scholarship from her foundation.

Work with foster children

In May 2006, Rowell was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by the University of Southern Maine in recognition of her work for the benefit of foster children. In 2007, Rowell published a memoir of her life that focused on her time in foster care. Entitled "The Women Who Raised Me", Rowell discusses all of the foster mothers who cared for her and for her sisters. She also pays tribute to the women in a documentary film, "The Mentor," that she participated in. [ [http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2007/05/05/role_models/ Role Models, Boston Globe, May 5, 2007] ] Rowell says that she began writing the book when "Y&R" turned down her offer to write for the show. She began a national book tour in April 2007.

In March 2008, Victoria was the first recipient of the Gift of Adoption Celebration of Adoption Award, an award given to individuals or groups who are helping to unite children with forever families.

References

External links

* [http://www.victoriarowell.com Victoria Rowell's Official Site]
*imdb name|id=0005389|name=Victoria Rowell
* [http://www.rowellfosterchildren.org/index.html Rowell Foster Children Positive Plan]
* [http://www.giftofadoption.org/ Gift of Adoption Fund]