VICTORIA ROWELL BIOGRAPHY
Born in Maine, Victoria Rowell is a New York Times bestselling author, The Women Who Raised Me (HarperCollins) and has been recognized by 193 members of Congress for advocacy on behalf of education, arts, foster and adoptive youth, parents and social workers. She directed the Rowell Foster Children's Positive Plan charity for 20 years, funding fine arts scholarships and college stipends.
Rowell also served on the Princeton University Center for African American Studies Advisory (Professor Eddie Glaude). She has received the Black Women Physicians Award, the Madam C.J. Walker Legacy Award, and the Walter Mosley Author of Distinction Award. Rowell is a Hambidge Center-Creative Arts Fellow.
Rowell participated in the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival documentary with A Ballerina’s Tale, starring prima ballerina, Misty Copland. Rowell is an alumna of American Ballet Theater, winning full scholarships to both ABT and School of American Ballet. Ms. Rowell holds an American Ballet Theater/Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Teacher Training Accreditation. She served on the Americans for the Arts Board of Directors and has spoken on Capitol Hill on the importance of arts in underserved communities.
After fifteen years of collaborative service with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a charitable arm of United Parcel Service endeavoring to build better futures for disadvantaged children and families in the United States, Rowell became an ambassador for the Carrie Steele Pitts Home in Atlanta, Georgia-CSPH.org.
Rowell was Mistress of Ceremonies for the National Education Association Foundation Gala in 2017. Also, a Ted Talks ATL speaker and panelist for Race Forward and Color Lines, underscoring her long-term human/civil rights advocacy with an emphasis on racial and economic disparity in the work-place.
Rowell has received honorary doctorates from the University of Southern Maine and Wheelock College in Boston, Massachusetts. She was the keynote speaker for the United States Conference of Mayors luncheon in Washington, D.C. on “Why Art Saves Lives.” Additionally, she was awarded the United Nations Association USA-Pacific, Los Angeles Chapter Award in recognition of her contributions in education, human rights and world peace. Her work and travels have included, India, Africa, Russia and more.
Rowell is an EMMY nominated comedic and dramatic artist. She co-starred in the LIFETIME TV remake of Jane Austen’s classic, “Pride & Prejudice” as Catherine Darcy. Her executive produced and directed movie, “Jacqueline and Jilly,” addressing the Opioid addiction crisis in a well to do Virginian black family, was met with praise and released on UMC.TV and also aired on BET in 2020.
Rowell teamed up again with AMC Networks/RLJ Entertainment streamer / UMC.tv with her interior design prowess. The first AMC Networks/UMC.tv Original (DYI) limited Series, “Trash vs Treasure,” with low-income clientele launched in July 2020. https://www.trashvstreasure.com #trashvstreasureumc.
Rowell historically directed the Viacom/CBS BET HER short film, “Everything Is Fine,” focusing on mental wellness in a black family, which premiered in July 2020 and starred Charmin Lee and LaRonn Marzett.
Rowell appeared in two BET HER short films from the same series, “The Waiting Room: A Long Look in the Mirror” and “Like, Comment, Subscribe” in October 2020 as part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Rowell/Days Ferry Productions co-produced a five-part, behind the scenes, “Secrets of a Soap Opera Diva” podcast with the Entertainment Speakers Bureau, available now wherever podcasts are available, such as Apple, Spotify and more. #SecretsOfASoapOperaDiva.
Rowell co-stars with director/actor, GregAlan Williams in the dramatic, criminal justice feature film, “Birdie.”
Rowell has worked with creative luminaries such as: Anne Rice, Misty Copeland, Anne Roth, Neema Barnette, Sharon Stone, Twyla Tharp, Kasi Lemmons, Denyce Graves, Colleen Atwood, Terri Lyne Carrington, Milos Forman, Irwin Winkler, Richard Brooks, Samuel L. Jackson, Peter Medak, Johnathan Lynn, Patrick Demarchelier, Bruce Webber, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Bruce Willis, Jan de Bont, Peter/Bobby Farrelly, Eddie Murphy, Dick Van Dyke, Jim Carey, Beau Bridges, Harry Lennix, Anthony Tudor, Forest Whitaker and more. CBS, Viacom, Universal, Sony, NBC, ABC, AMC, Disney, Warner Brothers, Fox, MGM, HBO and UMC, Amazon, and ROKU have all featured her.
Rowell co-executive produced several UPtv Christmas holiday movies for Uplifting Entertainment Network. UPTV boasts over 70 million subscribers worldwide.
Rowell has received multiple civic awards, including the National (Elizabeth Catlette) Award for Exceptional Service to Youth presented by The Links, Inc. The Betty Shabazz/Child Welfare ‘Dove Award’, The Sojourner Truth Black Education & Cultural History Award. The Whitney M. Young Jr. Special Award. Court Appointed Special Advocates - Dallas, Texas Award, and the100 Black Men Chairman’s Award
Education, Arts & Philanthropic collaborations include the National Association of Counties Arts Advocacy Award, the California Endowment, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Boston Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the High Museum, the Roxbury Film Festival, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Booker T. Washington High School, Bethune Cookman College, Howard University, Spelman College, a Tennessee State University Lifetime Achievement Award, University Southern California/Annenberg, UCLA, Department of Children Services, American Ballet Theater, Ballet Hispanico of New York, Havana Biennial, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The California Endowment, National Urban League NYC Advisory, Jack & Jill, Inc., Nissan, Nike, AT&T, Capital Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, HBO, The Douglas Theater, TimeWarner/Essence Music Festival, SonEdna Foundation, the National Black Theater Festival, Mississippi State/John Grisham Library, the National Book Fair, Washington, D.C., the Juilliard School of Music, the Robey Theater, the Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts, Dance Theater of Harlem, the Portland (Maine) School of Ballet, and the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Victoria has participated in initiatives that support of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Spotlight Awards, the Los Angeles Opera, the Tribeca Film Festival (jurist), the American Federation of Radio Television Artists, the Screen Actors Guild, the Television Academy and the Laura Turner Seydel/Captain Planet Foundation.
Victoria has 25 years of lecturing experience including remarks for the Association for Black Cardiologists, the National Dental Association, the YWCA Rochester, juvenile justice and prison facilities such as the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut.
Rowell’s message is one of hope and reciprocity. She spent eighteen years in foster care, emancipating in New York City. Rowell has two adult children, Maya and Jasper.