Diana-Maria Riva
Riva in 2012
Born (1969-07-22) July 22, 1969[1]
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1996–present

Diana-Maria Riva (born July 22, 1969) is an American actress, known for her performances on television. She was a regular cast member in series including Philly (2001–02), Side Order of Life (2007), The Good Guys (2010), Telenovela (2015–16) and Gordita Chronicles (2022). Riva also had major recurring roles in The West Wing, The Bridge, Dead to Me and Glamorous.

Early life

Diana-Maria Riva grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, the daughter of Maria (née Riva) and Chris B. Uhlenbrock, a General Dentistry specialist. She attended St. Ursula Academy and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music[2]

Career

Riva began her career on stage appearing in Michael Weller play Help! in 1996.[3] Also that year, she made her screen debut in the short-lived ABC comedy series, Common Law. The series was canceled after only four episodes. She later was cast in a recurring role in the ABC legal series, Murder One created by Steven Bochco.[1] She later would appear on regular and recurring roles on his shows including NYPD Blue (1997, 1999), City of Angels (2000), and Philly (2001–02). Her other early television credits including Party of Five, The X Files, The Drew Carey Show, Everybody Loves Raymond, CSI, and Less Than Perfect. She has also appeared as a celebrity guest on the Donny Osmond version of the game show Pyramid.

In 2000, Riva made her big screen debut playing the supporting role in the romantic comedy film, What Women Want. She later appeared in films The Third Wheel (2002), Chasing Papi (2003), Our Family Wedding (2010), Short Term 12 (2012), Love & Mercy (2014), and McFarland, USA (2015). Riva had recurring roles in Sabrina The Teenage Witch (2002–03), The West Wing (2005–06), and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006–07). In 2007, she starred in the short-lived Lifetime drama series, Side Order of Life.

In 2010, Riva starred as Lieutenant Ana Ruiz in the FOX police comedy series, The Good Guys as the boss of detectives Dan Stark (West Wing/Studio 60 alum Bradley Whitford) and Jack Bailey (Colin Hanks) in the Dallas Police Department.[4] In 2012, she starred as a mother-in-law of Rob Schneider's title character in the short-lived CBS sitcom Rob!.[5] From 2013 to 2015, she had a recurring role in the FX crime drama The Bridge, and from 2015 to 2016 starred alongside Eva Longoria in the NBC comedy series, Telenovela.[1] The following year, she was regular cast member during the first season of CBS sitcom Man with a Plan as Mrs. Rodriguez. In 2019, she starred in the NBC sitcom Sunnyside opposite Kal Penn, and from 2019 to 2022 had a recurring role on the Netflix comedy-drama series, Dead to Me. In 2022, she starred in another short-lived comedy series, Gordita Chronicles for HBO Max.[6]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2000What Women WantStella
2002The Third WheelRose Lady
2003Chasing PapiFala
2003ExposedMaria
2004Employee of the MonthDeloris Crabtree
200917 AgainJudge
2010Our Family WeddingSonia Ramirez
2013Short Term 12Nurse Beth
2013TunaMarie
2014Love & MercyGloria
2015McFarland, USASeñora Diaz
2019NoelleHelen Rojas
2020KajillionaireFarida

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1996Common LawMaria Marquez
1997Murder One
1998The PretenderLupe Harmon
1997–1999Party of FiveLoraina/Nurse
1999The X FilesAngela Villareal
1997–1999NYPD BlueMaxine / Matron
1999–2001Everybody Loves RaymondSarah2 episodes
2000The Drew Carey ShowElenaEpisode: "Drew and the Racial Tension Play"
City of AngelsConnie4 episodes
2001–2002PhillyPatricia
2002–2003Sabrina The Teenage WitchAnnie
2004CSIJuanitaEpisode: "XX"
RebaMiss Laurie
2004–2005Less Than PerfectVivian
2005–2006The West WingEdie Ortega
2006–2007Studio 60 on the Sunset StripLilly Rodriguez
2007StandoffMartaEpisode: "No Strings"
The LoopBenita2 episodes
Side Order of LifeVivy PorterSeries regular
2008Ghost WhispererMrs. AldenEpisode: "Home But Not Alone"
2009CastleDetective Roselyn Karpowski2 episodes
In Plain SightRoberta ProcterEpisode "Who's Bugging Mary?"
2010The Good GuysLieutenant Ana RuizSeries regular
2012RobRosaSeries regular, 8 episodes
2013–2015The BridgeKitty ConchasRecurring role
2014Saint GeorgeConcepcion4 episodes
NCIS: Los AngelesMarcellaEpisode: "Black Budget"
Manhattan Love StoryAngieEpisode: "Happy Thanksmas"
2015Girl Meets WorldChairperson SanchezEpisode: "Girl Meets Creativity"
2015–2016TelenovelaMimi MoncadaSeries regular
Nominated — Imagen Award for Best Supporting Actress – Television
2016–2017Man with a PlanMrs. RodriguezSeries regular (season 1); 17 episodes
2017The MayorFrannyEpisode: "The Strike"
2018Madam SecretarySister Anne GutierrezEpisode: "The Magic Rake"
2019–2022Dead to Me[7]Detective Ana PerezRecurring role
Imagen Award for Best Supporting Actress – Television (2021)
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
2019SunnysideGriseldaSeries regular, 11 episodes
2020 The George Lucas Talk Show Herself Stu-D2 1138 on the Binary Sunset Sith (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip marathon)
2022Gordita ChroniclesAdelaSeries regular
2023GlamorousJulia Mejia10 episodes

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Dianna Maria Riva – Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com.
  2. ↑ "Diana-Maria Riva Biography ((?)-)".
  3. ↑ "Diana Maria Riva". TVGuide.com.
  4. ↑ Lowry, Brian (May 13, 2010). "The Good Guys". Variety. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
  5. ↑ Capobres, Kacy (February 16, 2012). "Diana Maria Riva Dishes Details On New Sitcom ¡Rob!". Fox News. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Diana Maria Riva on that '80s show comedy 'Gordita Chronicles'". June 22, 2022.
  7. ↑ Gordon, Naomi. "Netflix's Dead to Me season 2: Here's why we think it could happen". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.