Actor / Director Profile

Victoria Rowell is an actress, advocate, mother, a former foster child and now a New York Times Bestselling author of The Women Who Raised Me," published by William Morrow/An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. The memoir received The African American Literary Award and two NAACP Image Award nominations in the literary category, and she walked away with a statuette for Outstanding Literary Work/Debut Author.Rowell is an Emmy-nominated actress, who co-starred in the hit prime time television series "Diagnosis Murder" (1993) for eight seasons while simultaneously continuing her role as "Drucilla Winters" on the daytime drama, "The Young and the Restless" (1973). Born in Portland, Maine, Rowell was raised in foster care for 18 years. She trained as a dancer for eight years before turning professional and dancing with various companies, including the American Ballet Theater (ABT) II and the Twyla Tharp Workshop. After dancing, she pursued a career in modeling, and graced the pages of Seventeen and Mademoiselle magazines. Modeling led to acting -- she landed a recurring role on the highly-rated "The Cosby Show" (1984). An advocate for foster children like herself, she founded the Rowell Foster Children's Positive Plan in 1990, which enriches the lives of foster children through artistic and athletic expression.