Diana-Maria Riva (born July 22, 1969) is an American actress, known for her performances on television. She was regular cast member in series including ''

Philly Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

'' (2001-02), ''

Side Order of Life ''Side Order of Life'' is an American dramatic television series broadcast by Lifetime on Sunday night. It premiered on Lifetime on July 15, 2007. In its first five weeks it aired at 8:00pm ET/PT, then switched to the 9:00pm time slot. Lifetime ...

'' (2007), '' The Good Guys'' (2010), ''

Telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

'' (2015-16) and ''

Gordita Chronicles ''Gordita Chronicles'' is an American comedy series that premiered on the streaming service HBO Max on June 23, 2022. The series tells the story of Cucu Castelli, a reporter who narrates her youth in the 1980s as a willful and reluctant "gordita" ...

'' (2022). Riva also had major recurring roles in ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White Hous ...

'', '' The Bridge'' and '' Dead to Me''.

Early life

Diana-Maria Riva grew up in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

, the daughter of Maria (née Riva) and Chris, a dentist. She attended St. Ursula Academy and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music

Career

Riva began her career on stage appearing in

Michael Weller Michael Weller (born September 26, 1942) is a Brooklyn-based playwright and screen writer. His plays include '' Moonchildren'', ''Loose Ends'', ''Spoils of War'' and ''Fifty Words''. His screenplays include ''Ragtime'', for which he was nomina ...

play ''Help!'' in 1996. 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. She later would appear on regular and recurring roles on his shows including '' NYPD Blue'' (1997, 1999), '' City of Angels'' (2000), and ''

'' (2001-02). Her other early television credits including ''

Party of Five ''Party of Five'' is an American television teen and family drama created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox for six seasons from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000. The series featured an ensemble cast led by ...

'', ''

The X Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who ...

'', ''

The Drew Carey Show ''The Drew Carey Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1995 to September 8, 2004. Set in Cleveland, Ohio, the series revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalize ...

'', ''

Everybody Loves Raymond ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' is an American sitcom television series created by Philip Rosenthal that aired on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005, with a total of 210 episodes spanning nine seasons. It was produced by Where's Lunch an ...

'', '' CSI'', and ''

Less Than Perfect ''Less than Perfect'' is an American television sitcom created by Terri Minsky and starring Sara Rue and Sherri Shepherd which originally aired on ABC from October 1, 2002, to June 20, 2006. It follows Claude (Rue), who works at a television ne ...

''. She has also appeared as a celebrity guest on the Donny Osmond version of the game show ''

Pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

''. In 2000, Riva made her big screen debut playing the supporting role in the romantic comedy film, ''

What Women Want ''What Women Want'' is a 2000 American romantic fantasy comedy film written by Josh Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa, and Diane Drake, directed by Nancy Meyers, and starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. The film earned mixed reviews from critics but wa ...

''. She later appeared in films '' The Third Wheel'' (2002), ''

Chasing Papi ''Chasing Papi'' is a 2003 American comedy film directed by Linda Mendoza (in her feature film directorial debut) and starring Roselyn Sánchez, Sofía Vergara, Jaci Velasquez, and Eduardo Verástegui. The women discover that their boyfriend ha ...

'' (2003), ''

Our Family Wedding ''Our Family Wedding'' is a 2010 American romantic comedy film directed by Rick Famuyiwa. It stars Forest Whitaker, America Ferrera, Carlos Mencia, Diana-Maria Riva, Lance Gross, Charlie Murphy and Regina King. The story is about an African-A ...

'' (2010), '' Short Term 12'' (2012), '' Love & Mercy'' (2014), and ''

McFarland, USA ''McFarland, USA'' (also known as ''McFarland'') is a 2015 American sports drama film directed by Niki Caro, produced by Mark Ciardi and Gordon Gray, written by Christopher Cleveland, Bettina Gilois and Grant Thompson with music composed by An ...

'' (2015). Riva had recurring roles in ''

Sabrina The Teenage Witch ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a fictional American teenager named Sabrina Spellman. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and first appear ...

'' (2002-03), ''

'' (2005-06), and ''

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip'' is an American comedy-drama television series created and primarily written by Aaron Sorkin. The series was about the production of a live comedy series, similar to ''Saturday Night Live''. Produced by Warner Br ...

'' (2006-07). In 2007, she starred in the short-lived Lifetime drama series, ''

''. In 2010, Riva starred as Lieutenant Ana Ruiz in the

FOX Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

police comedy series, '' The Good Guys'' as the boss of detectives Dan Stark (''West Wing''/''Studio 60'' alum

Bradley Whitford Bradley Whitford (born October 10, 1959) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman in the NBC television political drama ''The West Wing'' (1999–2006), for which he ...

) and Jack Bailey (

Colin Hanks Colin Lewes Hanks (born November 24, 1977) is an American actor. He has starred in films including '' Orange County'', ''King Kong'', '' The House Bunny'', '' The Great Buck Howard'', and the ''Jumanji'' film series. His television credits includ ...

) in the Dallas Police Department. In 2012, she starred as a mother-in-law of

Rob Schneider Robert Michael Schneider (; born October 31, 1963) is an American actor, comedian, and screenwriter. A stand-up comic and veteran of the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'', he went on to a career in feature films, including starri ...

's title character in the short-lived

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

sitcom '' Rob!''. 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 Eva Jacqueline Longoria Bastón ( Longoria; March 15, 1975) is an American actress, producer, and director. After a number of guest roles on several television series, she was recognized for her portrayal of Isabella Braña on the CBS daytim ...

in the NBC comedy series, ''

''. 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 Kalpen Suresh Modi (born April 23, 1977), known professionally as Kal Penn, is an American actor, author, academic lecturer, and former White House staff member in the Barack Obama administration. As an actor, he is known for his role portrayin ...

, and from 2019 to 2022 had a recurring role on the Netflix comedy-drama series, '' Dead to Me''. In 2022, she starred in the another short-lived comedy series, ''

'' for HBO Max.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
AllMovie entry
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riva, Diana-Maria 1969 births Living people Actresses from Cincinnati American film actresses American people of Dominican Republic descent American people of German descent American television actresses Hispanic and Latino American actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses