Patrika Darbo
Darbo in 2008
Born	(1948-04-06) April 6, 1948 (age 75) Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Education	Georgia Southern University
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1983–present
Spouse	Rolf Darbo ​ (m. 1973)​

Patrika Darbo (born April 6, 1948)^[1] is an American actress. She made her big screen debut appearing in the 1988 romantic comedy film It Takes Two and later appeared in The 'Burbs (1989), Daddy's Dyin': Who's Got the Will? (1990), Spaced Invaders (1990), Leaving Normal (1992), In the Line of Fire (1993) and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997). Darbo played Roseanne Barr in the 1994 biographical television film Roseanne & Tom: Behind the Scenes.^[2][3]

Darbo is known for her roles as Nancy Wesley and Shirley Spectra in the television soap operas 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

Darbo was born in Jacksonville, Florida, 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.^[4][5] She grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. She studied theater at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia, graduating in 1970,^[6] and later attended the Atlanta School of Drama.^[6] She worked as a credit manager until 1984, when she began a professional acting career.^[7]

Career

Darbo began her career with guest-starring roles in the television shows including The Optimist, Bay City Blues, Riptide and St. Elsewhere. She made her big screen debut, appearing in the comedy film The Night Before and the romantic comedy It Takes Two. The following year, Darbo appeared in the comedy films Troop Beverly Hills and The 'Burbs. In 1990, she appeared in a five feature films and guest-starred on Roseanne as a Roseanne lookalike/Dan's crush. By 1991, Darbo was contracted to the ABC network.^[7] In 1991, the Los Angeles Times reported that Darbo was undertaking a personal campaign to seek nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the comedy-drama film Daddy's Dyin': Who's Got the Will?, written by Del Shores.^[7]

From 1991 to 1992, Darbo was a regular cast member in the ABC sitcom Step by Step playing the role of Penny Baker, the sister of Suzanne Somers. In 1992, she appeared in the comedy-drama film Leaving Normal playing the character named 66.^[8] Later that year she appeared in the horror-comedy The Vagrant directed by Chris Walas. In 1993, she played Pam Magnus, a banking employee killed by John Malkovich's character in the Clint Eastwood action thriller film In the Line of Fire. In 1994, she had a supporting role in the comedy-drama film Corrina, Corrina. On television, Darbo guest-starred on Seinfeld (Darbo was a guest star in two episodes; "The Revenge" (1991) and "The Sniffing Accountant" (1993)), Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and Married... with Children. In 1994, Darbo starred as Roseanne Barr in an NBC biographical television film, Roseanne and Tom: Behind the Scenes.^[9][10] After her first leading role, Darbo returned to playing supporting parts on both film and television. In 1997, she appeared in the action film Speed 2: Cruise Control and the mystery thriller film Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil working again with Clint Eastwood. In 1998, she starred as Miss Spencer in the biographical television film Ruby Bridges.^[11]

In 1998, Darbo was cast as Nancy Wesley on the NBC daytime soap opera, Days of Our Lives. In May 1998. The serial's casting director, Fran Bascom told Carol Bidwell of Los Angeles Daily News that their producer, Tom Langan wanted "a real woman, not one of these super-skinny actresses" to join the cast. Bascom said that she immediately thought of accredited actress Darbo. Langan approved Darbo's hiring and decided that she did not need to audition for the role.^[12] In 1999, Darbo received Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Female Newcomer.^[13] In 2000, she received Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.^[14] She left the series in 2005. Darbo returned to the role in 2013, 2016, 2017 and as of 2022 appears on the recurring basic.^[15]

Darbo appeared in the horror films Madhouse (2004) and Hatchet (2006). She played Mrs. Claus in the Christmas adventure film The Search for Santa Paws (2010). Later, in 2010, she also guest starred in Showtime's Dexter.^[16] In 2009 and 2012, Darbo guest-starred on Desperate Housewives. Between 2010 and 2012, she portrayed the recurring role of Dr Freed in the teen drama web series Miss Behave. She also guest-starred on The Middle, Devious Maids, The Big Bang Theory and 9-1-1: Lone Star. In 2012, Darbo played Grams in the adventure-comedy film, Mickey Matson and the Copperhead Conspiracy.^[17]

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.^[18] From February 2017 to March 2018, Darbo starred as Shirley Spectra, the sister of Sally Spectra (Darlene Conley) on the CBS soap opera, The Bold and the Beautiful. She briefly returned in November 2018.

In 2017, Darbo appeared in the comedy-drama film, The Hero. In 2018, Darbo played Rosie in the Christian drama film God Bless The Broken Road.^[19] In 2023, she appeared in the Christmas comedy film Ladies of the '80s: A Divas Christmas.^[20]

Personal life

Darbo has been married to director Rolf Peter Darbo since 1973.^[21]

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations