Wanda Maria Howell is an American actress and singer.

Career

Howell was born in Gastonia, North Carolina and graduated

Winston-Salem State University Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) is a historically black public university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina. History Winston-Salem State University was founded as Slater Industrial Academy on ...

in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She worked as jazz singer and made her film debut in '' The Color Purple'' (1985). She lived in

Okinawa, Japan is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city o ...

, from 1995-2001. She made guest appearances on ''

Drop Dead Diva ''Drop Dead Diva'' is an American legal comedy-drama/fantasy television series that aired on Lifetime from July 12, 2009, to June 22, 2014. The series was created by Josh Berman and produced by Sony Pictures Television. It stars Brooke Elliot ...

'', ''

Army Wives ''Army Wives'' is an American drama television series that followed the lives of four army wives, one army husband, and their families. The series premiered on Lifetime on June 3, 2007, and ran for seven seasons, ending on June 9, 2013. The sh ...

'', ''

The Game The Game or The Games may refer to: Sports and games * The Game (dice game) (German: ''Das Spiel''), a dice game designed by Reinhold Wittig * The Game (mind game), a mind game, the objective of which is to avoid thinking about The Game itself * ...

'', '' Necessary Roughness'', and ''

The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. The series premiered on The CW on September 1 ...

'', and well co-starred in films include ''

Daddy's Little Girls ''Daddy's Little Girls'' is a 2007 American film written and directed by Tyler Perry and produced by Perry and Reuben Cannon. The film stars Idris Elba, Gabrielle Union, Louis Gossett Jr., and Tracee Ellis Ross. It tells the story of a lawyer wh ...

'' (2007), '' Mississippi Damned'' (2009), '' The Blind Side'' (2009), and '' What to Expect When You're Expecting'' (2012). In 2013, Howell played

Seeder A seeder is a stamp-type leatherworking tool used in leather carving. It is predominantly used in floral designs to represent the seeds in the center of a flower, hence the name. Similar to other stamp-type tools, it is held vertically over the ...

in '' The Hunger Games: Catching Fire''. Also in 2012, she was cast in recurring role of NBC post-apocalyptic series ''

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

'' as Grace Beaumont, and in 2013 played Ida Hayes in Lifetime comedy-drama ''

Devious Maids ''Devious Maids'' is an American television comedy-drama and mystery series created by Marc Cherry, produced by ABC Studios, and executive produced by Cherry, Sabrina Wind, Eva Longoria, Paul McGuigan, Larry Shuman, David Lonner, John Mass, P ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, Maria Living people American film actresses American television actresses American stage actresses Actresses from North Carolina 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Winston-Salem State University alumni African-American actresses People from Gastonia, North Carolina Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people