Sunnyside
Season 1 SABC3 (*193) 20:30 Comedy
Diana Maria Riva (Detective Perez in dark comedy show Dead To Me, 2019now) says that playing hard-working immigrant Griselda in comedy series Sunnyside (2019) opened her eyes. “A lot of people who’re coming into the country live her life. She does multiple jobs, she’s a single mother, she battles day to day, but she never gives up. It’s both inspiring and terrifying because it’s not a life people should be forced to lead,” says the 51-year-old actress.
She’s an only child and has half 1 Dominican, half German heritage – her housewife mom Maria Riva has roots in the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean, while her dentist father Chris B Uhlenbrock has German blood. Diana Maria is a devout Catholic 2 and went to Saint Ursula Academy prep school in Cincinnati, Ohio, as well as the University Of Cincinnati CollegeConservatory Of Music. “Music, acting and theatre is all I’ve ever wanted to do. I think my parents sent me to these schools because they were annoyed by me singing at home all day,” she says. Diana Maria was cast in Sunnyside 3 before her character was written and she influenced the writers, saying that “they wanted a South American type of character. When I told them about my heritage, they made Griselda from the Dominican Republic too.”
She’s a homebody and lives in Burbank, 4 LA with her animator hubby Michael Smith, daughter Sophia (16) and son Justin (19). “I have a granite fire pit in my backyard, it’s my favourite place in my house. I’ll sit with a bottle of wine in front of the fire and just stare at the stars,” says Diana Maria.