American actress Daphne Reid was born on July 13, 1948 in New York City. She studied at the Bronx High School of Science, and later attended Northwestern University on a scholarship, eventually earning a degree in architecture and interior design. While still at university, she began pursuing a career in modeling, and signed on with the Eileen Ford modeling agency. Reid was the first African-American woman to be featured on the cover of Glamour magazine. She has worked on numerous television series such as The Love Boat, The A-Team, Hill Street Blues, Cagney & Lacey,
Crossing Jordan , and Murder, She Wrote.
Vivian Banks is played by Daphne Reid in the classic NBC television sitcom
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air . She is the Will's aunt, and the caring mother of the Banks family. Vivian works as a university professor of history and literature, as well as briefly teaching Black American history at Bel-Air Academy, the high school that Carlton and Will attend. She is a sensible and outspoken woman who voices her opinion equally with her husband Philip, yet also cautions him against his more grandiose career plans, especially when he talks about going into politics. She also gives birth to baby Nicky later on.
(Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.)