Ms. Darling was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and started dancing at
the age of the three at the
Gene Kelly Dance Studio. By the age
of 6, she was performing in shows at the dance studio. At the age of
14, she appeared twice on the
Ted Mack & the Original Amateur Hour (1948),
after having started singing at the age of 13. As a teenager, Darling
attended the Pittsburgh Playhouse School of Acting, then went on to
Carnegie Mellon University where she graduated from the drama
department. Upon graduation, she was a member of the original company
of the American Conservatory Theatre (A.C.T.). She worked for several
years with the Pittsburgh Playhouse, before moving on to the Washington
Arena Stage in Washington D.C. From there, to the Longwharf Repertory
Company in Connecticut, before starring in "Macbird" at the Village
Gate in New York City.
Darling made her first Broadway appearance in "How Now Dow Jones", then
going on to "Maggie Flynn", followed by the drama "Fire". During her
time on Broadway, she appeared on
The David Frost Show (1969),
as well as branching out to comic improvisations touring the East Coast
summer tents. Upon returning to New York, Darling performed in
Shakespeare in Central Park for Joseph Papp,
while also appearing in the soap opera
The Secret Storm (1954) -
playing the first hooker on daytime television. The character was such
a hit among the show's viewers that
Troy Donahue was brought in to play her
boyfriend. In 1973, she moved to Hollywood and, after only six weeks,
landed her first starring role on the television series
Temperatures Rising (1972).
After joining the cast of
Der Sechs-Millionen-Dollar-Mann (1974),
which spawned into
Die Sieben-Millionen-Dollar Frau (1976),
Darling then went on to star in
Eight Is Enough (1977),
making her the only actress to star in three Top 10 television series
at the same time. During this time, she also appeared at the
Improvisation, performing Harry Chapin's
music. She also performed with Harry Chapin
on
The Merv Griffin Show (1962),
as well as making some concert appearances. During the 1990s, Darling
guest-starred on some of the highest rated television series, including
L.A. Law: Staranwälte, Tricks, Prozesse (1986),
Mord ohne Spuren (1992)
and Cheers (1982). She received an
Emmy nomination as Best Supporting Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for
her role on Inspektor Hooperman (1987). Most
Darling has been seen in recurring roles on
Dharma & Greg (1997) and
Verrückt nach dir (1992). 2001
found Ms. Darling juggling many acts. Member of an original musical,
"You Haven't Changed A Bit, And Other Lies", which did open mid-June
for an unlimited run in Los Angeles, she was also awaiting the release
of her third independent film,
Ronnie (2002). This, all addition to her
being one of the busiest voice-over actresses in Hollywood. Today, she
is one of the busiest actresses in the world of animation, lending her
voice to characters in more than twenty of the most popular animation
series, including
Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles (1987),
Tenchi Muyo! (1992) and
Astro Boy (2003).
Ms. Darling can also be heard via the Internet - in one of the first
few successful animation cartoon series - Julius And Friends. Her voice
is also recognizable in full length animation features such as Tarzan,
Aladdin (1994),
Die Schöne und das Biest (1991),
Arielle, die Meerjungfrau (1989),
Das große Krabbeln (1998),
Findet Nemo (2003) and many more.
In 2005, Ms. Darling finished the independent films
Winding Roads (1999),
Ronnie (2002) and
On Edge (2001). She resides in Los
Angeles.
