Patrika Darbo (born April 6, 1948) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

actress. She is known for her roles as Nancy Wesley and Shirley Spectra in the television

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

s '' Days of Our Lives'' and '' The Bold and the Beautiful'', respectively. In 2016, Darbo won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for her role in the online comedy series '' Acting Dead'', becoming the first winner in that category.

Early life

Patrika Darbo was born in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which th ...

, the daughter of Patricia, a restaurant hostess, and "Chubby," a nightclub manager. At age six her parents divorced; her mother then remarried Donald Davidson when Darbo was 11. She grew up in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...

. She studied theater at

Georgia Southern University Georgia Southern University (GS or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, and other locations include the Armstrong Campus in Savannah and the Liberty Campus in H ...

in Statesboro, Georgia, graduating in 1970,SOAP Central bio
soapcentral.com; accessed May 13, 2014. and later attended the Atlanta School of Drama. She worked as a credit manager until 1984, when she began a professional acting career.

Career

By 1991, Darbo had featured in numerous stage, film and television credits and was contracted to the ABC network. In 1991, the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' reported that Darbo was undertaking a personal campaign to seek nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in '' Daddy's Dyin': Who's Got the Will?'', written by

Del Shores Delferd Lynn Shores (born December 3, 1957) is an American film director and producer, television writer and producer, playwright and actor. Biography The first play Shores wrote was ''Cheatin which premiered in 1984 in Los Angeles at The MainS ...

. Darbo appeared as Penny Baker on '' Step by Step'' (1991–1992). In 1992, she appeared in the feature film Leaving Normal under the name 66 with Meg Tilly and Christine Lahti. In 1993, she played Pam Magnus, a banking employee killed by John Malkovich's character in the Clint Eastwood film "

In the Line of Fire ''In the Line of Fire'' is a 1993 American political action thriller film directed by Wolfgang Petersen and starring Clint Eastwood, John Malkovich and Rene Russo. Written by Jeff Maguire, the film is about a disillusioned and obsessed former C ...

". In 1994, she starred as Roseanne Barr in an NBC television movie, ''Roseanne and Tom: Behind the Scenes''. She starred as Miss Spencer in '' Ruby Bridges'' (1998). From 1998 to 2005, Darbo played Nancy Wesley on the NBC

'' Days of Our Lives'', a role that earned her an Emmy nomination for outstanding supporting actress in 2000. Darbo was a guest star in two '' Seinfeld'' episodes; " The Revenge" (1991) and "

The Sniffing Accountant "The Sniffing Accountant" is the 68th episode of the sitcom ''Seinfeld'', being the fourth episode of the series' fifth season. It aired on NBC on October 7, 1993. In the episode, George's father gets him an interview as a brassiere salesman. Ev ...

" (1993). Later, in 2010, she also guest starred in Showtime's '' Dexter'' as a landlady. In 2009 and 2012, Darbo briefly played the role of Jean on '' Desperate Housewives''. Between 2010 and 2012, she portrayed the recurring role of Dr Freed in the teen drama web series '' Miss Behave''. In 2012, Darbo played Grams in '' Mickey Matson and the Copperhead Conspiracy''. In November 2012, it was announced that Darbo would reprise her role as Nancy Wesley on '' Days of Our Lives'' in 2013. After a three-year absence, Darbo returned to the series in the fall of 2016. In 2016, Darbo won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for her work in the series '' Acting Dead''. She is the first winner of this category. From February 2017 to March 2018, Darbo starred as Shirley Spectra on '' The Bold and the Beautiful''. She briefly returned in November 2018. In 2018, Darbo played Rosie in ''

God Bless The Broken Road ''God Bless the Broken Road'' is a 2018 American Christian drama film directed by Harold Cronk. A loose interpretation of the 1994 song "Bless the Broken Road," the plot follows a mother who loses her husband in the War in Afghanistan and must c ...

.''

Personal life

Darbo has been married to director Rolf Peter Darbo since 1973.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Darbo, Patrika 1948 births American film actresses American soap opera actresses American television actresses American voice actresses Living people Actresses from Atlanta Actresses from Jacksonville, Florida 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses