Biografia
Ms. Darling was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and began dancing at the age of three at the Gene Kelly Dance Studio. By six, she was performing in the studio's shows. At 14, after starting to sing at 13, she appeared twice on Ted Mack & the Original Amateur Hour (1948). As a teenager, Darling studied at the Pittsburgh Playhouse School of Acting, then graduated from Carnegie Mellon University's drama department. Afterward, she joined the original company of the American Conservatory Theatre (A.C.T.). She spent several years with the Pittsburgh Playhouse before moving to Washington Arena Stage in Washington D.C., then to the Longwharf Repertory Company in Connecticut, and later starred in "Macbird" at the Village Gate in New York City.
Darling made her Broadway debut in "How Now Dow Jones," followed by roles in "Maggie Flynn" and the drama "Fire." While on Broadway, she appeared on The David Frost Show (1969) and toured the East Coast summer tents with comic improvisations. Returning to New York, she performed Shakespeare in Central Park for Joseph Papp and appeared on the soap opera The Secret Storm (1954), portraying the first hooker on daytime television. The character's popularity led to Troy Donahue joining as her boyfriend. In 1973, she relocated to Hollywood and, within six weeks, secured her first starring role on the television series Temperatures Rising (1972). She then joined the cast of The Six Million Dollar Man (1974), which led to The Bionic Woman (1976), and later starred in Eight Is Enough (1977), becoming the only actress to star in three Top 10 TV series simultaneously. During this period, she also performed at the Improvisation, singing Harry Chapin's music, appeared with Chapin on The Merv Griffin Show (1962), and made concert appearances.
In the 1990s, Darling guest-starred on top-rated TV series including L.A. Law (1986), Bodies of Evidence (1992), and Cheers (1982). She earned an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on Hooperman (1987). More recently, Darling appeared in recurring roles on Dharma & Greg (1997) and Mad About You (1992). In 2001, she balanced multiple projects, including the original musical "You Haven't Changed A Bit, And Other Lies," which opened for an unlimited run in Los Angeles, and awaited the release of her third independent film, Ronnie (2002). Additionally, she became one of Hollywood's busiest voice-over actresses, lending her voice to characters in over twenty popular animated series such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987), Tenchi Muyo! (1992), and Astro Boy (2003). Darling's voice is also featured in one of the early successful internet animation series, Julius And Friends, and in major animated films like Tarzan, Aladdin (1994), Beauty and the Beast (1991), The Little Mermaid (1989), A Bug's Life (1998), Finding Nemo (2003), among others. By 2005, she completed independent films Winding Roads (1999), Ronnie (2002), and On Edge (2001). She currently resides in Los Angeles.
