Daphne Maxwell Reid
About Daphne Maxwell Reid :
Daphne Maxwell Reid is known as Aunt Viv, the matriarch on NBC's hit comedy, "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air". She is also known for her role of mortician/embalmer Hannah Griffin on the CBS comedy series "Frank's Place" in which she co-starred with her husband, Tim Reid. She teamed up with Tim again when she starred as Mickie Dennis on "Snoops" for CBS. In 1998-99, she played the bawdy hooker Eartha on Showtime’s “Linc’s” which was created and produced by her husband and shot at New Millennium Studios in Virginia and Paramount Studios. Currently, she reoccurs as Mrs. Hunter on UPN’s “Eve”.
With her husband, actor/writer/producer Tim Reid, and two other Virginia businessmen, Reid cofounded and is a principal partner in New Millennium Studios, the first full-service film studio in Virginia. The first of three phases of a 60-acre project including a 15,000 square foot soundstage, a state-ofthe-art postproduction facility and a 25-acre back-lot was completed and opened on July 12, 1997. Reid has served as New Millennium Studios’ COO and Business Affairs principal, helping with designing, building and growing the new company from the ground up to a $4 million facility in six years, including over $1.5 million in revenues in 2001.
To date, New Millennium Studios’ founders have produced two feature films, “Asunder” ; and “For Real” , both of which Ms. Reid served as Executive Producer; a television series, “Linc’s” ; an on-going syndicated television series, “American Legacy Television” ; over 40 commercials; and have hosted numerous television and feature films shot at the facility. Low cost, high quality Content Creation is the focus of the venture and the ownership and distribution/exploitation of intellectual properties is the goal. Toward that effort, New Millennium Studios has created Obsidian Home Entertainment to distribute film titles both theatrically and in home video/DVD. New Millennium Studios Television has created original programming for the launch of the new cable network, TV One including the “Cowboys of Color” and “Gospel Challenge” series, as well as the highly acclaimed “Black Wheels” documentary shown both in syndication and on Speed Channel. As of January 2006 Cowboys and Wheels became available on DVD through Obsidian Home Entertainment joining five other NMS properties.
In 1992 Reid used her production talents to market an innovative new project for the McCall Pattern Company when she created, produced and starred in a four video and four-pattern kit called "Suddenly You're Sewing, with Daphne Maxwell Reid" , that actually teaches you how to sew. With monthly visits as a celebrity presenter on QVC TV, Maxwell Reid sold over 10,000 kits to the home-shopping viewer. Through fabric and craft outlets she sold another 15,000 kits. The kit has been widely acclaimed and won the prestigious PCM award for the best new product of 1992 from the home sewing and craft industry. Maxwell Reid also designed a bi-annual line of patterns for the McCall Pattern Company called the “Daphne Maxwell Reid Collection” found in fabric stores across the country. The project is currently being readied for re-release on DVD.
For the past 6 years she has narrated and co-produced, with The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, a Public Radio series called “Art On The Air”.
Excerpt from State of the Black Union. Stop Asking. Start Telling
Reid has been honored with Doctor of Humane Letters degrees from Norfolk State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Bethune Cookman University and has been a frequent guest speaker at numerous forums including University of Virginia Law School, St. John’s Law School, and Howard University Law School, discussing the entrepreneurial aspects of the entertainment field. She held a position as Federal Commissioner for the Jamestown 2007 Commemoration and co-chairs the Communications Committee as well as participating on the Education Committee, African American Advisory Board, and several other committees. Ms. Reid also is a member of the Board of Visitors for Virginia State University, the Petersburg Library Foundation Board and the Petersburg Area Art League, each focusing on a different aspect of her varied interests. In addition, she formerly held a Board seat on the Virginia Commonwealth University Foundation Board.
Eighteen years ago, Daphne Maxwell Reid and her husband Tim created The Tim Reid Scholarship
Foundation that raises scholarship funds annually to assist college students in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities in Virginia through the “Tim Reid Celebrity Weekend” golf tournament held every May.
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