Daphne Maxwell Reid is most widely recognized for her role as Aunt Viv on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. She is also known for her role on the Frank's Place, in which she co-starred with her husband, Tim. The couple teamed up again when she starred as Mickie Dennis on Snoops, and also on the King World syndicated talk show, The Tim and Daphne Show for 76 1-hour episodes.

She is at home in comedy and drama and her television credits include roles in Simon & Simon, Hardcastle and McCormick, WKRP in Cincinnati, Cagney and Lacey, Hill Street Blues, Murder, She Wrote, The Fall Guy, The A-Team, The Cosby Show and Sister, Sister.

Maxwell Reid was born and raised on Manhattan's west side and was encouraged by several of her teachers to enroll in the renowned Bronx High School of Science, where she graduated as Senior Class President and Merit Scholarship recipient.

While pursuing a major in Interior Design and Architecture at Northwestern University, an English teacher from her high school submitted a photograph to a magazine editor and friend who was preparing an article on college women. The result was a trip to New York and Maxwell Reid's first full-page photograph in Seventeen magazine. Quickly signed by the Eileen Ford Agency, she appeared in many magazines, and was also the first black woman to grace the cover of Glamour magazine.

Next, Maxwell Reid broke into the acting field. She had the opportunity to audition for a part in the series The Duke starring Robert Conrad, who promised her a continuing role, and kept his word. In 1979, she headed to Los Angeles where she continued to work with Robert Conrad, who enlisted her as the villainess in his series, A Man Called Sloane, and subsequently her first movie of the week, The Coach of the Year. It was February of 1980 in LA that she met her husband, Tim Reid, who she had previously known in Chicago.

Maxwell Reid is also a designer and creates most of her own wardrobe. She was asked to display some of her designing abilities as a guest co-host for Home Show, which led to a regular co-host spot. In 1992, she took her sewing talent into a co-venture with the McCall Pattern Company and created, produced and starred in a four-video and four-pattern kit titled Suddenly You're Sewing. With monthly visits as a celebrity presenter on QVC TV, Maxwell Reid sold over 10,000 kits and through retail outlets, she sold another 15,000. The kit has been widely acclaimed and in 1992 won the prestigious PCM award for the "Best New Product" from the home sewing and craft industry. She also designs a bi-annual line of patterns for the McCall Pattern Company called the Daphne Maxwell Reid Collection, available in fabric stores across the country.

At NMS, she has earned the nickname of "Mama Millennium" for her unbelievable ability to juggle the countless tasks involved in running the studio, while also remaining calm, cool and collected, with a ready ear for anyone who needs her valuable advice and expertise.