Victoria Rowell

Victoria Rowell
Born	Victoria Lynn Rowell
Occupation(s)	Actress, presenter, writer
Years active	1987–present
Spouse(s)	Tom Fahey (1989-1990) (divorced) Radcliffe Bailey (June 27, 2009-present)
Awards	Soap Opera Digest Award - Outstanding Scene Stealer 1994 The Young and the Restless

Victoria "Vicki" Lynn Rowell (born May 10, 1959) is an American actress and dancer. She is best known for her portrayal of ballerina-turned-model Drucilla Winters on the CBS daytime drama The Young and the Restless, and medical examiner/pathologist Dr. Amanda Bentley on the CBS drama Diagnosis: Murder. From 1993 to 2000, she appeared on both series simultaneously.

Biography

Early life

Rowell was born in Portland, Maine on May 10, 1959. Her biological mother, Dorothy Rowell, was of English descent and a Mayflower descendant, and her birth father, whose surname was Wilson, was of African-American descent. 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.

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. She also became a member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, an African-American Greek-Lettered Sorority. 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.

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 11 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 Diagnosis: Murder, opposite Dick Van Dyke, replacing Cynthia Gibb. For much of Rowell's stint on Diagnosis: Murder, 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". Sony Pictures Television, which produces Y&R, ordered then-headwriter 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. 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.

Rowell was hired as a guest star to appear on Noah's Arc (TV series), 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).

In spring 2009, Rowell signed a six-figure deal with Atria Books for a book about the world of daytime TV. Rowell is currently on a national tour for her newest book, "Secrets Of A Soap Opera Diva", which some say is a thinly veiled look into her own life on Y&R.

It has been rumored that Rowell will appear in Bravo's reality series The Real Housewives of Atlanta for its third season.

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 they had a son, Jasper (Jasper played Rowell's son CJ on Diagnosis: Murder starting with season 3). In May 2008, Rowell announced her engagement to Radcliffe Bailey, an Atlanta artist, at her annual High Tea at Noon fundraiser. Victoria and Radcliffe married on June 27, 2009, in Dublin, New Hampshire.

Rowell was born Protestant and later baptized in the Catholic Church.

In 1990, Rowell founded the "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 2004, she was a special guest on the talk show Dr. Phil, in which she gave an emancipated foster child a chance at a job with Sony, 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. 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.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1987	Leonard Part 6	Joan Parker	Unknown
1988	As The World Turns	Nella Franklin	Unknown
1989-1990	The Cosby Show	Paula	2 Episodes
1990	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air	Mimi Mumford	1 Episode
1992	The Distinguished Gentleman	Celia Kirby
1991-1993	Hermans Head	Susan Bracken	2 Episodes
1995	Deadly Games	Courtney Lake	1 Episode
1996	Barb Wire	Cora D
1997	Eve's Bayou	Stevie Hobbs
1999	A Wake in Providence	Alissa
1993-2001	Diagnosis Murder	Amanda Bentley-Livingston	176 Episodes
2001	Family Law	Ms. Wilkes	1 Episode
2001	Feast of All Saints	Josette Metoyer
2002	A Town Without Pity	Dr. Amanda Bentley
2003	Without Warning	Dr. Amanda Bentley
2003	Black Listed	Patricia Chambers
2004	Motives	Detective Pierce
2005	A Perfect Fit	Sheila
2006	Noah's Arc	Vonda	2 Episodes
2006	Home of the Brave	Penelope Marsh
2007	Polly and Marie	Rebecca McCaw
2007	All of Us	Deborah Cooper	1 Episode
1990-2007	The Young and the Restless	Drucilla Winters	455 Episodes
2008	Of Boys and Men	Aunt Janay
2010	Ghost Whisperer	Adrienne	1 Episode

External links

• Victoria Rowell's Official Site
• Victoria Rowell at IMDb
• Victoria Rowell endorsed Petition (J.Donta-Genoacityfan)
• Rowell Foster Children Positive Plan
• Gift of Adoption Fund
• TheLoop21.com's interview with Victoria Rowell