Daphney Reid
Daphne Maxwell Reid is most widely recognized for her role as Aunt Viv on NBC's hit comedy The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. She is also known for her role on the CBS comedy series Frank’s Place, in which she co-starred with her husband, Tim. The couple teamed up again when she starred as Mickie Dennis on CBS’ Snoops, and also on the King World syndicated talk show, The Tim and Daphne Show for 76 1-hour episodes. Currently, she stars as Eartha on the Showtime series, Linc’s.
She is at home in comedy and drama and her television credits include roles in Simon & Simon, Hardcastle and McCormick, WKRP in Cincinnati, Cagney and Lacey, Hill Street Blues, Murder, She Wrote, The Fall Guy, The A-Team, The Cosby Show and Sister, Sister. She has also co-starred in movies of the week for NBC, CBS, and PBS, as well as the feature films Protocol and Once Upon a Time ... When We Were Colored.
Maxwell Reid was born and raised on Manhattan’s west side and was encouraged by several of her teachers to enroll in the renowned Bronx High School of Science, where she graduated as Senior Class President and Merit Scholarship recipient. While pursuing a major in Interior Design and Architecture at Northwestern University, an English teacher from her high school submitted a photograph to a magazine editor and friend who was preparing an article on college women. The result was a trip to New York and Maxwell Reid’s first full-page photograph in Seventeen Magazine. Quickly signed by the Eileen Ford Agency, she appeared in many magazines, and was also the first black woman to grace the cover of Glamour magazine.
Next, Maxwell Reid broke into the acting field. She had the opportunity to audition for a part in the series The Duke starring Robert Conrad, who promised her a continuing role, and kept his word. In 1979, she headed to Los Angeles where she continued to work with Robert Conrad, who enlisted her as the villainess in his series, A Man Called Sloane, and subsequently her first movie of the week, The Coach of the Year. It was February of 1980 in LA that she met her husband, Tim Reid, whom she had previously known in Chicago.
Maxwell Reid is also a designer and creates most of her own wardrobe.