Victoria Rowell

Her tweets coincided with the series' 41st anniversary.

Victoria Lynn Rowell (born May 10, 1959) is an American actress.

Vicki Lynn Rowell was born in Portland, Maine, on May 10, 1959.

Her biological mother, Dorothy Rowell, was of English descent and a Mayflower descendant, and her birth father, whose surname was Wilson, was of Jamaican descent.

Rowell knew very little about her father.

Dorothy, who suffered from schizophrenia, took a taxi to a hospital to give birth to Rowell, leaving a son and two small daughters unsupervised.

When she was 16 days old, Rowell, along with her two sisters, Sheree and Lori, were surrendered to child services.

While living in Maine with foster parents Agatha C. and Robert Armstead, Rowell, then eight, began ballet lessons.

She became a member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, an African-American Greek-lettered sorority.

After dancing with the American Ballet Theater II and the Juilliard School of Music Dance Extension program with Antony Tudor, Rowell accepted guest-artist teaching posts in New England.

In the 1980s, Rowell became an in-demand runway and catalog model.

She began her career as a ballet dancer and model before making her acting debut in the 1987 comedy film Leonard Part 6.

Rowell made her film debut in the 1987 comedy film Leonard Part 6 opposite Bill Cosby and later had a recurring role on The Cosby Show In 1988, she also had the recurring role of Nella Franklin on the CBS daytime soap opera, As the World Turns.

In 1990, Rowell joined the cast of the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless as Drucilla Winters, her signature and longest role on television, for which she was nominated for three Daytime Emmy Awards.

In 1990, Rowell was cast as street urchin-turned-ballet dancer Drucilla Barber on the CBS daytime soap opera, The Young and the Restless.

Rowell's first run as Drucilla was from 1990 to 1998.

In 1990s, Rowell co-starred in several films.

She starred alongside Eddie Murphy in the 1992 comedy The Distinguished Gentleman, and later had roles in the films Dumb and Dumber (1994) and Barb Wire (1996).

She is an 11-time NAACP Image Awards winner (for The Young and the Restless).

She had the role of Eddie Murphy's character's love interest in the 1992 comedy film, The Distinguished Gentleman.

Rowell is also well known for her role as Dr. Amanda Bentley in the CBS medical crime drama Diagnosis: Murder (1993–2001).

From 1993 to 2000, she appeared on both series simultaneously.

Rowell has had a number of roles in feature films.

From 1993 to 2001, Rowell starred as Dr. Amanda Bentley in the CBS primetime series Diagnosis: Murder, opposite Dick Van Dyke, replacing Cynthia Gibb from the original made-for-television movie.

For much of Rowell's stint on Diagnosis: Murder, she was working on that show and on The Young and the Restless simultaneously.

One episode of Diagnosis Murder centered around murder on the set of The Young and the Restless; Rowell was featured as both Amanda and Drucilla in that episode.

The series run from 1993 to 2001, producing 178 episodes and two television movies, aired after the series' cancellation.

Rowell became a fan favorite and was nominated for three Daytime Emmy Awards in 1996, 1997, and 1998.

She won 11 NAACP Image Awards for her portrayal of Drucilla.

Diagnosis: Murder has also run in syndication as of 1997.

She briefly returned in 2000, then returned on a regular basis from 2002 until early 2007.

She departed from the show in 2007.

In 2007, Rowell became unhappy with the soap opera behind the scenes, labeling daytime television and The Young and the Restless as racist for not having enough African-American cast and crew.

She also argued the directions of her storylines which were not heard, prompting her to leave.

Within the storyline, Drucilla fell off a cliff and was presumed dead as her body was never found.

Rowell has openly expressed pleasure in returning, and due to the character's strong appeal and popularity, viewers have begged the series to rehire her.

However, CBS has stated that having Drucilla return is not the creative decision they are looking for, which has disappointed fans of the actress.

In 2014, Rowell posted a series of tweets criticizing the show for not having enough African-Americans in decision-making positions.

"Young & Restless on air for 40 years, loyally watched by their absolute competitive-edge audience (blacks) & not one black Exec producer?"

– she tweeted.