Anna Maria Horsford

A veteran of African-American sitcoms, Anna Maria Horsford began charming audiences in the late 1970s thanks to supporting roles in the likes of "Amen" (NBC 1986-1991), "The Wayans Bros" (The WB 1995-99) and "Reed Between The Lines" (BET 2011). Born to a Dominican mother and Antiguan father in Harlem, NY in 1948, Horsford attended the Manhattan School of Performing Arts before landing a receptionist job at one of her hometown's PBS stations. After working her way up to the position of director of the landmark variety show "Soul" (PBS 1967-1973), she then made the switch from behind-the-scenes to on-screen when she appeared as a prisoner in soap opera institution "Guiding Light" (CBS 1952-2009). Horsford's acting career then ventured into film with small parts in Cannes Festival-set romantic comedy "An Almost Perfect Affair" (1979), cult classic "Times Square" (1980) and stalker thriller "The Fan" (1981) as well as more notable performances in the biopic of prisoner Terry Jean Moore, "Love Child" (1983), prep-school comedy "Class" (1983) and crime caper "Crackers" (1984). While after briefly rubbing shoulders with the Brat Pack in "St. Elmo's Fire" (1985), Lucille Ball in TV movie "Stone Pillow" (1986) and Jack Nicholson in "Heartburn" (1986), she landed her first major recurring TV role as the deacon's marriage-hungry daughter Thelma Frye in hit sitcom "Amen" (NBC 1986-1991). Following performances in Christopher Reeve's pet project "Street Smart" (1987) and legal drama "Presumed Innocent" (1990), Horsford returned to the sitcom world with a recurring role on "The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air" (NBC 1990-96), widowed radio station owner Veronica in the short-lived "Rhythm & Blues" (NBC 1992) and security guard Deirdre 'Dee' Baxter in "The Wayans Bros" (The WB 1995-99). But she continued to remain a presence on the big screen, appearing as Judge Harris in romantic drama "Mr. Jones" (1993), Miss Annie in the critically-acclaimed "Once Upon A Time When We Were Colored" (1995) and Ice Cube's mother in stoner buddy comedy "Friday" (1995), a role she would also reprise in its sequel "Friday After Next" (2002). Horsford then added several box office-hits to her filmography including "One Fine Day" (1996), "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps" (2000), "Along Came A Spider" (2001) and "Minority Report" (2002) before landing recurring parts as the mother of rapper Method Man in "Method and Red" (Fox 2004) and Saigon in "Entourage" (HBO 2004-2011), cancer patient Liz Fallon in "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC 2005-) and A.D.A. Beth Encardi in "The Shield" (FX 2002-08). Following appearances in a string of music-based dramas including Toby Keith vehicle "Broken Bridges" (2006), Bone Thugs-n-Harmony biopic "I Tried" (2007) and gritty urban drama "Wigger" (2010), Horsford played matriarch Diane Boyd in "Our Family Wedding" (2010), office manager Ms. Helen in family sitcom "Reed Between The Lines" (BET 2011) and Madea's niece Eileen in "Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas" (2013).