Who Exactly Is Valarie Pettiford?
Valarie Pettiford was born on July 8, 1960, in Queens, New York City, USA; her zodiac sign is Cancer, and she is of American nationality. She is an actress, dancer, and jazz singer best known for her role as Big Dee Dee in the comedy series “Half & Half,” which aired from 2002 to 2006 and sstarredEssence Atkins, Rachel True, and Chico Benymon – it follows two half-sisters who are completely different but share an apartment building. The series received one award and was nominated for another 18.
Childhood, Family, And Education
Valarie Pettiford (Pinterest)Valarie Pettiford was reared as an only child in Queens by her father Ralph, an insurance agent, and her mother Blanch Pettiford, who both worked for the same company.
Valarie grew interested in performing at a young age after appearing in several plays at her school. After finishing elementary school, she joined the High School of Performing Arts, where she began her acting career after being cast in the musical “The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical “Wonderful Wizard of Oz” during her first year.
Valarie enrolled in 1978 but later chose against pursuing a college degree to focus on her acting career.
Theater Characters
Valarie appeared in various theatre pieces before matriculation, including the musical “Sweet Charity,” Oliver Goldsmith’s comedy “She Stoops to Conquer,” and Jean Genet’s “The Balcony” – she also featured in “Summer and Smoke.”
She was a swing performer in “A Broadway Musical” in 1978, and her subsequent roles included “Sophisticated Ladies” in late 1978, “Dancin'” in 1979, and Fay Kanin’s “Grind.” Valarie choreographed the play “Ladies and Gentlemen, Jerome Kern” in 1985 before being cast as one of the principal characters in the musical “Big Deal” in 1986. The next year, she played Anita in the popular drama “West Side Story,” which was inspired by Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” and in 1995, she played Julie in the musical “Show Boat.”
Valarie’s following roles in theatre productions were “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” in 2002, “The Wild Party” in 2005, and William F. Brown and Charlie Smalls’ “The Wiz” in 2006.
Movie Characters
Valarie appeared as a dancer in the 1984 crime drama “The Cotton Club,” which starred Richard Gere, Gregory Hines, and Diane Lane and is about jazz singers, dancers, and others who meet at The Cotton Club in the late 1920s – the film was a hit, winning one award and being nominated for eight others, including two Oscars.
She went on to play The Newscaster in the 45-minute crime family mystery film “Isaac Asimov’s Robots” before being cast as Denise in the adventure action picture “Rescue Me” (also known as “Street Hunter”) in 1990. Following that, she appeared in the drama “Confidences” in 2001, the sports comedy “Like Mike” in 2002, and the romantic drama “Paris” in 2003.
In 2007, she played Aunt Jackie in the dance drama “Stomp the Yard,” and in 2009, she participated in the critically praised film “The Anatomy of Hope: How People Survive in the Face of Illness,” which was based on Jerome Groopman’s eponymous novel.
Valarie played Terry’s mother in the comedy “Why Did I Get Married Too?” in 2010, and her next two parts were in the romantic comedy “Jumping the Broom” and the short film compilation “Stars in Shorts,” both in 2012. Her most recent prominent performances have been in the 2015 drama “Will to Love,” the 2017 romantic mystery drama “The Preacher’s Son,” and the early 2020 drama “Love Is Love Is Love.”
TV Series Characters
Valarie made her TV series debut in 1988 when she was cast as Jackie in the episode “No Place Like Home” of the crime drama “The Equalizer,” and the following year she played the supporting character Detective Courtney Walker in the soap opera “Another World,” starring Victoria Wyndham, Constance Ford, and Hugh Marlowe – the series was very popular, winning 43 awards and being nominated for 176 others, including a Primetime Emmy.
Valarie began playing another supporting character, Shelia Price, in the soap opera “One Life to Live” in 1990, and she continued to film for the show until 1994. In the years that followed, she appeared in single episodes of other shows, including the action crime drama “The Sentinel” in 1996, the crime drama “Silk Stalkings” in 1997, and the action crime series “Walker, Texas Ranger” the following year.
Valarie was invited to play the supporting character Gayle Noland in the crime drama “The District,” which starred Craig T. Nelson, Roger Aaron Brown, and Sean Patrick Thomas, and is about Newark PD Chief Jack Mannion and his attempt to rid Washington DC of crime – the series won two awards and was nominated for 14 others, including a Primetime Emmy.
Valarie’s next notable performance came in 2008 when she was cast as Sandra Lucas in the comedy series “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne,” and she appeared in a single episode of several series over the next five years, including the superhero drama “The Cape” in 2011, the procedural drama “The Finder” in 2012, and the fantasy horror drama “True Blood” in 2013.
Valarie appeared as Charlene Cooper, a supporting character, in the crime thriller series “The Blacklist,” which starred James Spader, Megan Boone, and Diego Klattenhoff, and is about FBI profiler Elizabeth Keen and Raymond Reddington, a mysterious criminal who has just turned himself in – the series won two awards and was nominated for 29 others, including two Golden Globes.
Valarie went on to play supporting roles in both the drama “Being Mary Jane” and the military drama “Valor” in 2017, while three of her most recent TV series roles have been in the British series “A Discovery of Witches” since 2018, the crime drama “The Family Business” since 2018, and the comedy “#blackAF” in which she guest starred in a single episode as The Grandma in 2 seasons.
Valarie is also a jazz performer, having published her CD “Hear My Soul” in 2005.
Relationship Status
Valarie has kept her love life private from the media, although it is known that she has been married to Tony Rader for nearly three decades. Tony is her manager, an actor, and a former baseball player for the Philadelphia Phillies. They met at a party in the late 1980s thanks to a mutual friend, and after three years of dating, Tony proposed to Valarie in 1991. The marriage took place in private in the summer of 1992, and the two have since appeared to be living a happy life together – they have opted not to have children and instead focus on their jobs.
Valarie hasn’t mentioned any previous men she may have dated before meeting Tony, therefore she is married and has no children as of October 2020.
Activities And Other Passions
Valarie’s main pastime is traveling, and her acting profession has brought her all over the United States, visiting virtually every state, as well as to Europe on several occasions for both business and pleasure – two of her ideal travel places are Miami, Florida, and Rome, Italy.
She enjoys watching movies in her leisure time, and Chadwick Boseman was one of her favorite performers, so she was devastated to learn of his death from cancer.
Other actors and actresses she admires include Robert De Niro, Johnny Depp, and Natalie Portman, while her favorite films are “The Sleepers,” the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, and “V for Vendetta.”
Valarie grew up being physically active because it was essential for her job – throughout her 20s and 30s, she went to the gym several times a week, performed yoga, and kept a rigorous diet. Valarie no longer goes to the gym, but she still does yoga, adheres to a strict diet, and meditates.
Body Structure And Net Worth
Valarie Pettiford (Pinterest)Valarie is 60 years old. She has long curly brown hair and brown eyes are 5ft 8ins (1.74m) tall and weigh about 135lbs (61kgs).
Her net worth is projected to be more than $3 million as of October 2020.