A native New Yorker who began her love affair with the performing arts at a young age. Her first love was ballet, but during her childhood, she was also known to sing along to whatever Broadway music albums her family was playing. Dedication to her art lead her to the Joffrey Ballet training, while also pursuing a modeling career with Ford Models children’s division, working for Danskin, Avon, Macys, Young Miss magazine and many other clients over the years. Later she became an Arthur Murray ballroom instructor, following in her father’s footsteps. Vocal and dance training with wonderful instructors among them: Robert Marks, Jeanie LoVetri, Penny Krietzer, Leda Eglesky, Chet Walker, Juan Carlos Copes then led her to many community theatre, dinner theatre, and regional musical theatre productions and many corporate company gigs. She was thrilled to join Actors Equity after being an EMC (Equity Membership Candidate).
Her work as a musical theatre performer, dance captain and choreographer took her all across the US and abroad. On the SS Seabreeze touring the Caribbean, her nightly cabaret performances taught her to be adaptable, as dancing on a moving vessel on water comes with its challenges. She was also thrilled to perform in Japan in different parts of the country over the course of two years learning to love the language and culture along the way.
Diane’s dancing also led her to her first film. She didn’t dance in the film, but while auditioning stapled a flyer for her current Citibank Argentine Tango dance gig to her headshot and literally “stuck out in the pile” of so many hopefuls, according to the Casting Director. Within a few months of focusing on film work, she joined SAG-AFTRA and had the unforgettable opportunity to work in a film with Michael Caine. Diane recalls how gracious he was to her; although they only did one scene together, he introduced her to his family, and then talked about the scene so she, a complete novice, felt comfortable. That work lead to many more films and to television appearances. Another amazing opportunity was playing Phyllis in Sex and the City with the incomparable Sarah Jessica Parker and Chris Noth. Both actors were equally kind to her and that made Diane’s experience on set even more thrilling.
Her VO work started with a job for FOX-TV, where she described the season’s fall lineup. She also did VOs for business corporations including: DMOD and Data Pilot, where she was briefly an Avatar as well as the website voice. But one assignment that really challenged her vocal skills was to voice all the women screaming at a mental institution as background sound scape for a stage play.
Diane has always appreciated the value of training. When she wasn’t in a show or re-inventing herself as a business person, she was often in acting classes working with with inspiring instructors including: Alexander Dinerlaris, Ruth Nerken, Jeff Cohen and Jaqueline Brogan among others. Her training with Atlantic Acting School, where she was fortunate to work with highly acclaimed teachers, including founding member, Karen Kohlhaas, gave her the foundation she uses in her work today. Diane also continues to be a member of SAG-AFTRA Conservatory; having worked with session directors Ron August, Melinda Hall, Dar Bejnar and Jon Freda who helped round out her Commercial, Shakespeare, Teleprompter and Improv skills. She was so impressed with the conservatory training, seminars and workshops, that she wanted to let other actors know more about it. That spirit inspired Diane to create a SAG-AFTRA Conservatory program website prototype, which she was later recognized for; becoming a recipient of the Joseph C. Riley award. She is currently a board member of the SAG-AFTRA Conservatory.
Currently, Diane is extremely busy as co-Producer of Unseen Theatre, an audio podcast showcasing original plays featuring female protagonists that will soon launch. She can also be seen in any number of staged readings with one of the many playwrights’ groups of which she is happy to be a member including: The PlayGround Experiment, NYC Playwrights and Time Square Playwrights.