ABOUT DARLA
Hailing from Tampa, Florida, known for its great sports teams and cigar-making, Darla has had a passion for performing since the age of 4, when she danced in her first recital.
Since then, Darla has taken quite a unique path to get where she is today. She started modeling at the age of 19, when she became a cheerleader for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers football team, and remained with them for three years. During this time, she was also attending college part-time and working full-time hours. Deciding what her major was to be in college was a hard decision and took her several years to decide. Since she loved to work out and play sports, she finally decided to major in Exercise Science and became a Corporate Fitness Trainer, running fitness centers for various companies and their employees.
Even though she enjoyed the fitness training and made it a big part of her life, she still was not satisfied with her career choice. After all, she wanted to be an actor! Unfortunately, being an actor was not a “real” career, so Darla had to choose another career that she just might enjoy. She figured if she could not be in front of the camera, why not try behind it. At that point, since Darla had several college credits and classes in broadcasting and advertising - her first college major, - she decided to try out advertising. She got a job at a marketing/ advertising agency that specialized in the funeral service industry, where she remained for 7 years as the Website Development Manager.
In the summer of 2003, Darla was getting the itch again to pursue her lifelong dreams. She and a friend attended a convention where she met one of her favorite actors. After having the opportunity to talk for a few minutes, this person told Darla to "Never give up." These words stuck with her. After hearing those words from someone she really admired, Darla made some changes in her life and committed to pursue acting full-time.
Two months later, Darla had a "featured" role in her first movie "The Punisher," which she says is one of the best experiences she’s ever had. Within three years of becoming a full-time actor, traveling throughout the state of Florida to attend classes, auditions and for work, Darla became one of the biggest commercial and hosting bookers in the state. Since there were not as many film and TV productions in Florida, Darla worked on several independent and short films, as well as booking a day player role on the TV show "South Beach." In late 2006, Darla booked a national Super Bowl commercial for Bud Light. After that, her acting teacher at the Performers Studio Workshop in Tampa, suggested she move to Los Angeles. In June 2007, Darla FINALLY made the move and is now a working actor in LA - very happy and living her dreams. "Better late than never!"
Note from Darla:
Thank you James Marsters for saying those 3 little words to me. "Never Give Up." It gave me that extra push I needed to pursue my dreams and made me realize it's never too late. It changed my life.